What can we expect from the 61st Munich Security Conference?

The 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC) will be held in Germany from February 14 to 16. An annual forum established in 1963, the MSC has become a crucial platform for discussing international security and strategic issues.

This year's MSC comes at a pivotal moment, with a new U.S. administration, a new European legislative cycle, and upcoming German parliamentary elections.

According to the MSC, the three-day conference will focus on global security challenges, including global governance, climate security, regional conflicts and crises, and the future of the transatlantic partnership.

Here are three keywords that can help you understand the latest version of the MSC.

1. Multipolarization

The MSC released its annual report, the Munich Security Report, titled "Multipolarization" days ahead of the forum. The report predicts a significant shift in the international order from a U.S.-dominated, unipolar post-Cold War era toward a multipolar world without a single prevailing ideology.

"It has become a truism of foreign policy debates that the world is becoming ever more 'multipolar.' While the extent to which today's world is already multipolar is debatable, the world's 'multipolarization' is a fact," read the report.

Xiao Qian, deputy director of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, said the " multipolarization " theme marks a noticeable tone shift compared to previous years.

The themes over the past years, such as "Unlearning Helplessness" in 2022, "Re:vision" in 2023, and "Lose-Lose?" in 2024, often conveyed a sense of Western anxiety, Xiao, who will attend MSC 2025, told China Media Group (CMG).

The 2025 report's focus on multipolarization reflects Europe's move toward a more balanced and pragmatic understanding of global affairs, setting aside previous emotional responses in favor of clear-eyed analysis, she said.

The report also highlights several of U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial proposals since taking office in January, such as threats to purchase Greenland, reclaim control of the Panama Canal, and make Canada the 51st state of the United States. Additionally, Trump's announcements of the U.S. withdrawal from international organizations such as the World Health Organization, the Paris Agreement, and the United Nations Human Rights Council have drawn significant scrutiny.

Given Trump's land grab threats, Washington is not perceived as "an anchor of stability, but rather a risk to be hedged against," the report said.

In the foreword of the Munich Security Report, Christoph Heusgen, chairman of the MSC, said if countries want to preserve common ground in a world shaped by more actors and increasing polarization, they all have to recommit to those rules laid down in the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that everyone has agreed to.

To adapt to the existing order peacefully, respondents to the Munich Security Index have consistently highly rated factors such as avoiding new arms races, preventing violent conflicts within and among states, allowing for more inclusive economic growth, and jointly addressing shared threats like climate change.

2. Transatlantic relations

The future of transatlantic relationships, an initial focus of the forum back in 1963, will loom large at MSC 2025 since Europe is gripped by the spread of anxiety brought about by the second Trump administration.

Trump's presidential victory has "buried the U.S. post–Cold War foreign policy consensus," the Munich Security Report said, adding that the United States is likely to shift most of the burden of defending Europe onto its NATO allies in Europe.

The use of the word "bury" in the report shows Europe's sober understanding of the United States under the Trump administration, said Xiao.

The report also analyzes and forecasts the adjustments already being made in U.S. policy, including the Trump administration's reduced security commitments to NATO and Ukraine and decreased participation in multilateral institutions.

The pressures facing the European Union, driven by internal polarization, are set to intensify with the new U.S. administration, which may reduce its security commitment to Europe, launch trade wars, and embolden populist movements that deepen Europe's internal divisions, said the report.

Xiao said the United States would make selective engagement in international affairs if and only when it believes its narrowly defined U.S. interests are at stake.

According to Xiao, Europe has responded accordingly. Heusgen told German media in a recent interview that Europe must unite, uphold the rules-based international order, and increase investment in defense capabilities to effectively address the rise of populism and Trump's "America First" diplomacy.

Quoting former German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2017, Heusgen said, "We Europeans must really take our destiny into our own hands," in a call for Europe not to always rely on the United States to solve Europe's problems.

Xiao said that Heusgen's remarks reflect the view of many elite Europeans, once again putting the continent's strategic autonomy on the agenda.

3. Global South

Heusgen said since becoming chairman of the MSC, he has prioritized ensuring that debates in Munich reflect the emerging multipolar world by inviting guests from a broader range of countries to share their perspectives.

According to the organizers, around 30 percent of this year's conference speakers will be from Global South countries. The Munich Security Index 2025 also suggests that, in aggregate, people in emerging economies like Brazil, India, South Africa and China are more optimistic about a more multipolar world than respondents in the G7 countries.

China has stressed on many occasions that it has always been a member of the Global South and will always belong to the developing world. Chinese Foreign Ministry Wang Yi will attend MSC 2025 and speak at an event on China to share China's position on major international issues in light of the theme of the conference.

Against the background of a fast-evolving world fraught with instabilities and transformations unseen in a century, Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, will elaborate on China's propositions at the conference on building a community with a shared future for mankind and advancing an equal and orderly multipolar world, according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun.

Jiang Feng, chairman of the Board of the Shanghai Academy of Global Governance and Area Studies at Shanghai International Studies University, said China's role is highly anticipated by the international community, given the current complex and rapidly changing international landscape where the world faces multiple crises.

Jiang, who will attend MSC 2025 as a Chinese scholar, noted that the United States is becoming increasingly isolationist, focusing on others primarily to advance its own interests. Meanwhile, Europe, despite its intentions, is facing growing internal problems and weakening economic growth.

Countries around the world are paying close attention to China's development and its potential to play a significant role in global governance, he told CMG.