{"id":19316,"date":"2026-02-13T11:30:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T10:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/?p=19316"},"modified":"2026-02-13T11:40:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T10:40:18","slug":"the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/","title":{"rendered":"The Old Order is Gone \u2013 Progressives Must Decide What Replaces it"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
Read the Newsletter here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Editorial<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dear progressives,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Munich Security Conference convenes this week, one reality hangs over the gathering: the old order is gone. Not fading, not pausing \u2013 gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the previous global leaders\u2019 summit in Davos, the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney put it bluntly: \u201cWe know the old order is not coming back.\u201d<\/em> His words were more than a diagnosis \u2013 they were an unmistakable reference to the rupture accelerated by the current U.S. administration. What was once discussed in analytical circles has now become a geopolitical fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark Carney\u2019s diagnosis in Davos<\/strong> has sent shockwaves far beyond the Alpine conference halls and newspaper editorials. Especially in traditionally Atlanticist Germany, this has sparked an intense political debate. Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil are articulating remarkably similar conclusions: Germany and Europe must think more geopolitically, act more strategically \u2013 and move more decisively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In just a few years, Germany has reached another historic turning point \u2013 a moment described with a word that has entered the international vocabulary: Zeitenwende. What we are experiencing today feels like Zeitenwende 2.0<\/strong><\/em>: the first sparked by Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, the second by the United States\u2019 growing retreat from its role as a reliable ally and its increasingly confrontational stance toward liberal democratic norms \u2013 visible in Munich, in Davos, and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Change itself is not the core problem. Uncertainty is. In one of our recent papers, we argued that policy uncertainty \u2013 not transformation per se \u2013 is the main barrier to renewal in industrial heartlands. The same holds true for global affairs today. The key question is no longer whether the world is changing, but how progressives will shape it \u2013 and whether they will do so with clarity and confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In light of authoritarian state capitalism in China and an increasingly authoritarian tech-capitalism in the United States, Germany and Europe must rapidly rethink their role and responsibility<\/a>. This debate is often framed domestically as one about competitiveness and sovereignty. But for progressives, the answer must go further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One promising concept is what we like to call \u201csystem competitiveness\u201d \u2013 or, in proper German word-smith fashion, Systemwettbewerbsf\u00e4higkeit<\/strong><\/em>. Yes, it is a word monster. But it captures something that is a necessary condition for a Carney-like reshaping of the international order: it is not just economic performance that ultimately matters, but a democracy\u2019s capacity to deliver security, industrial strength and innovation, social cohesion, and climate leadership at the same time. This is where system competitiveness meets what we would call the politics of collectivism<\/strong>: the democratic ability to mobilise collective resources, coordinate public and private actors, and prioritise community, group and state over the individual..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the mountain we must climb \u2013 and it is precisely where Das Progressive Zentrum positions its work. We strengthen transatlantic and international partnerships, draw policy lessons from long-term projects such as our Industrial Heartlands initiative, and create spaces for progressive exchange \u2013 from Berlin to London to Barcelona, and soon beyond. Most importantly, we share these insights to help progressives navigate this new era together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The old order is gone. What comes next is ours to shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With best regards,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

Dominic Schwickert
<\/strong>Executive Director, Das Progressive Zentrum<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Florian Ranft
<\/strong>Member of the Management Board, Head of Green New Deal & Progressive Governance, Das Progressive Zentrum<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
Read the Newsletter here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Fotos: MSC\/Kuhlmann; Copyright: World Economic Forum\/Valeriano di Domenico<\/p>\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>

Dominic Schwickert<\/a><\/h4>
Executive Director of Das Progressive Zentrum<\/div>
<\/use> <\/svg><\/a> <\/use> <\/svg><\/a> <\/use> <\/svg><\/a> <\/div><\/div>
Dominic Schwickert has been Executive Director of Das Progressive Zentrum since 2012. He has proven expertise in the field of political and strategic consulting. Dominic worked i.a. for Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Bertelsmann Stiftung, IFOK GmbH, Stiftung Neue Verantwortung, German Bundestag as well as for the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. <\/div><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>

Florian Ranft<\/a><\/h4>
Member of the Management Board and Head of Green New Deal<\/div>
<\/use> <\/svg><\/a> <\/use> <\/svg><\/a> <\/use> <\/svg><\/a> <\/div><\/div>
Florian Ranft is a member of the Management Board and is head of Green New Deal & Progressive Governance at Das Progressive Zentrum.<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How Germany and Europe rethink power, security, and progressive strategy
\n\u2013 Newsletter featuring progressive analyses, events and publications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":19317,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[232],"tags":[272,444],"class_list":["post-19316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsletter","tag-hausblog","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Old Order is Gone \u2013 Progressives Must Decide What Replaces it - Das Progressive Zentrum - EN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How Germany and Europe rethink power, security, and progressive strategy \u2013Newsletter featuring progressive analyses, events and publications.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Old Order is Gone \u2013 Progressives Must Decide What Replaces it\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Newsletter featuring progressive analyses, events and publications\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Das Progressive Zentrum - EN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-13T10:30:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-13T10:40:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Headerbild_Klingebil_Carney.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ekunze\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ekunze\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/\",\"name\":\"The Old Order is Gone \u2013 Progressives Must Decide What Replaces it - Das Progressive Zentrum - EN\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Headerbild_Klingebil_Carney.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-13T10:30:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-13T10:40:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/9faf143eaf7b10eadfe5cc16ad2ea7c2\"},\"description\":\"How Germany and Europe rethink power, security, and progressive strategy \u2013Newsletter featuring progressive analyses, events and publications.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Headerbild_Klingebil_Carney.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Headerbild_Klingebil_Carney.png\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":768,\"caption\":\"Fotos: MSC\/Kuhlmann; Copyright: World Economic Forum\/Valeriano di Domenico\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Old Order is Gone \u2013 Progressives Must Decide What Replaces it\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Das Progressive Zentrum - EN\",\"description\":\"Renewing the Promise of Progress.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/9faf143eaf7b10eadfe5cc16ad2ea7c2\",\"name\":\"ekunze\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/81e41185957163b6241d3d7f30ddc477?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/81e41185957163b6241d3d7f30ddc477?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"ekunze\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/author\/ekunze\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Old Order is Gone \u2013 Progressives Must Decide What Replaces it - Das Progressive Zentrum - EN","description":"How Germany and Europe rethink power, security, and progressive strategy \u2013Newsletter featuring progressive analyses, events and publications.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Old Order is Gone \u2013 Progressives Must Decide What Replaces it","og_description":"Newsletter featuring progressive analyses, events and publications","og_url":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/","og_site_name":"Das Progressive Zentrum - EN","article_published_time":"2026-02-13T10:30:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-13T10:40:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":768,"url":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Headerbild_Klingebil_Carney.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"ekunze","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"ekunze","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/","url":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/","name":"The Old Order is Gone \u2013 Progressives Must Decide What Replaces it - Das Progressive Zentrum - EN","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Headerbild_Klingebil_Carney.png","datePublished":"2026-02-13T10:30:52+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-13T10:40:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/9faf143eaf7b10eadfe5cc16ad2ea7c2"},"description":"How Germany and Europe rethink power, security, and progressive strategy \u2013Newsletter featuring progressive analyses, events and publications.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Headerbild_Klingebil_Carney.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Headerbild_Klingebil_Carney.png","width":1920,"height":768,"caption":"Fotos: MSC\/Kuhlmann; Copyright: World Economic Forum\/Valeriano di Domenico"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/the-old-order-is-gone-progressives-must-decide-what-replaces-it\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Old Order is Gone \u2013 Progressives Must Decide What Replaces it"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/","name":"Das Progressive Zentrum - EN","description":"Renewing the Promise of Progress.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/9faf143eaf7b10eadfe5cc16ad2ea7c2","name":"ekunze","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/81e41185957163b6241d3d7f30ddc477?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/81e41185957163b6241d3d7f30ddc477?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"ekunze"},"url":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/author\/ekunze\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19316"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19327,"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19316\/revisions\/19327"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.progressives-zentrum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}