Why War Has Come

Is war the inevitable outcome? 
Putin’s war on Ukraine has brought armed conflict in the spotlight. Was this bound to happen? Could it have been avoided? A few years back, politologist Koert Debeuf, already argued that the present geopolitical landscape - with its continuing deterioration of democracy and globalisation on a wide scale - would inescapably lead to war.

Koert comes up with the insightful term ‘tribalization’ to explain the spiral of dangerous world politics that has brought us to this point. However, tribalization transcends typical economic and political explanations. Tribalization is collective psychology. A key concept rooted in both history and psychology, plus the experiential awareness that Koert has gained from witnessing the conflicts and revolutions of the Middle East first hand. Join our live discussion at Full Circle. 

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Koert Debeuf is an Associate Fellow at the Brussels School of Governance at the Free University of Brussels. He is also the Director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy Europe and Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for the Resolution of Intractable Conflict at Harris Manchester College, Oxford University. Previously he lived for five years in Cairo where he followed the Arab Spring. From 2003 until 2008 he was advisor and speechwriter of the Prime Minister of Belgium.