MUNICH — Not for the first time, the central figure at this year’s Munich Security Conference was someone not in attendance.

DAVOS — This year’s World Economic Forum in Davos was even more exhausting and bewildering than usual.

BERLIN — Where will Europe’s borders end?

BERLIN — May was a busy month for Arab diplomats. Twelve years after the Arab League suspended Syria’s membership, Syrian President Bashar Assad was officially welcomed back into the fold.

 BERLIN — When NATO leaders descend on Vilnius this month for the alliance’s annual summit, they will demonstrate that the organisation, newly united behind support for Ukraine, is far from “brain dead”, as French President Emmanuel Macron infamously described it in 2019.

DAVOS — Is globalisation coming back to life?

BERLIN — The European Parliament elections are still a year away, but political parties across the European Union have already shifted to campaign mode.

MUNICH — Is sound, forward-looking foreign policy still possible? Talking to the statesmen, diplomats, intelligence operatives and scholars gathered at the Munich Security Conference last week, I had my doubts.Consider US-China relations.

BERLIN — Ukraine will enter 2023 with wind in its sails. Against all odds, it repelled Russia’s initial attempt to take Kyiv, then recaptured extensive territory around Kharkiv and Kherson, and inflicted heavy losses on the invading forces.