‍The annual Munich Security Conference (MSC) is dedicated to promoting peaceful conflict resolution and international cooperation and dialogue, and one of the most important forums in the world to discuss global strategies and security policies.

In February 2019, more than 500 high-profile political dignitaries gathered in Germany for the 55th MSC, seeking solutions for a series of global and regional issues.

Earlier this week, "Munich Security Report 2019" was released as the background document for this year's MSC. The title, “The great puzzle: Who will pick up the pieces?”, suggests that the world might be in crisis now.

Harvey Dzodin, a senior fellow at the center for China and Globalization, agreed that the world is fraught with uncertainties at the moment, and said that “they could rename the conference to the Munich insecurity conference.”

The main factor causing the current problem in the world has to do with the Trump administration's policies. The president shows little interest in sticking to international agreements, and his tweets often openly challenge international institutions including NATO and the United Nations. Even worse: under the Trump administration, the U.S. appears ready to relinquish its role as a leading power in what is still called the "free world."

That leaves us with a vital question: Who will take over the power and lead the world to be a better place?

Cui Hongjian, the director of Department for European Studies at China Institute of International Studies, said that apart from the U.S.' withdrawal from the multilateral agreements, another reason for the lack of leadership is the reluctance of the western world to accept the emerging powers as new faces of leadership.

However, according to Fraser Cameron, the director of the EU-Asia Center, how to deal with the uncertainty is not an easy question. The security conference used to focus on military and political issues, but now it looks to address various other global problems as well, such as environmental challenges.

In terms of the current world organizations, such as WTO and IMF, these institutions were created in the ashes of the World War II, at a time when nations like China and India did not have much influence. Thus, it is important to rebuild the world institutions, in which China and other emerging powers could play a vital role.

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