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Finnish President Alexander Stubb on Thursday issued a stark warning about the fragility of the current global order, stressing that breakdowns in international institutions and norms risk creating power vacuums that will be filled by "raw power, rogue behaviour, and predatory hegemons".
During his keynote address at the 11th Raisina Dialogue 2026 in the national capital, Stubb said humans often over-rationalise the past and over-dramatise the present, which can lead to underestimating future challenges, especially at a time of rising insecurity. He argued that drawing simplistic parallels with past eras of stability can blind leaders to the depth of today's crises. "I think we human beings make three mistakes. We over-rationalised the past. We think the world works in a certain way and juxtapose examples thereof. The second mistake we make is we overdramatise the present, and when we make these two mistakes, we underestimate the future," he said. "The problem is that we nerds of international relations quite often draw parallels with the past and the present, sometimes to make convincing-sounding predictions and to make a case that the world was more orderly and better in the good old days. At the same time, we get quite heated as if the world has never experienced a crisis of such scale as we are facing now," the Finnish President added. The Finnish President singled out ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, Sudan and Ukraine, warning that while local in origin, these disputes have the potential to take on global dimensions if unchecked and emphasised that such conflicts demand concerted efforts rooted in diplomacy, cooperation, and respect for legal norms. "By this we do not want to dismiss the increase in the number of concerns of local and regional conflicts we are witnessing in the world," Stubb said. "I'm deeply concerned about what we see today in the Middle East, Sudan and Ukraine, just to name a few. My worry, though, is that these conflicts are incrementally becoming global. My aim today is to try to find a pathway back to an international order in which institutions, norms, and rules are respected. Without a functioning world order, power vacuums will be filled by raw power, rogue behaviour, and predatory hegemons," he added. The Finnish President also spoke warmly about India's role on the world stage, highlighting his nearly three-hour meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and describing it as an "empowering moment". He noted that India and Finland together represent nearly 1.5 billion people, signalling shared interests and values in shaping an equitable global future. "It's also a great honour for me as the President of Finland to have spent the better part of three hours in the presence of the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. We've got to be such good friends that I feel I can say this. For me, it was an empowering moment because today we stood there together representing almost 1.5 billion people," the Finnish President said. His remarks come amid growing international tensions, with conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Sudan increasingly raising fears of wider geopolitical instability. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with the Finnish President, inaugurated the 11th edition of the Raisina Dialogue, India's flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics. Stubb is also the Chief Guest for the three-day event. Prime Minister Modi was also accompanied by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during the inaugural session. The dialogue, which brings together global policymakers, diplomats, and thought leaders, focuses on key global and regional issues, including economic cooperation, security challenges, and emerging geopolitical trends. The three-day dialogue is scheduled from March 5 to March 7. The 2026 edition, themed "Samskara - Assertion, Accommodation, Advancement", will see participation from representatives of 110 countries, including ministers, former heads of state and government, members of parliament, military commanders, captains of industry, technology leaders, scholars, journalists, and youth leaders. The Raisina Dialogue is India's premier conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics, held annually in New Delhi since 2016. Organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs, this three-day event convenes global leaders, policymakers, academics, industry experts, and journalists to discuss critical international issues. (ANI)
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