The future seems threatening, but fear alone does not help in times of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Political scientist Florence Gaub explains why Germany and Europe are stronger than they think.
Crises, wars and conflicts cause deep fear and uncertainty, but it is by no means a given that everything will get worse. Florence Gaub, political scientist and futurologist, points this out energetically. She says: We ourselves have a say in what the future will look like – and not just actors like Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
Why is fear usually a bad advisor? What primary goal is the aggressive Russia under Vladimir Putin really pursuing? And why is the transatlantic partnership far from over? Florence Gaub, author of the book “Scenario. The future is at stake”, answers these questions in the following conversation.
t-online: Ms. Gaub, is it still worth making long-term plans?
Florence Gaub: Why not, please?
Many Germans look to the future with pessimism: Germany’s economy is not doing well at all, the planet is heating up, and the specter of a third world war is looming large.
The future cannot be predicted, no one can. But we are by no means completely at its mercy. Because you can do research, you can think about what could happen. In this way we are already influencing the future.
That’s exactly what you’ve made your career, isn’t it?
That’s the way it is. I have done my job well when I can help others make the right decisions. Now my employer is NATO, which has only one task: to prevent war. The worst futures I think about should, at best, never happen. But if war does break out, NATO should win it. I and others think about development paths and make recommendations on how we can avoid a bad future.
That’s exactly what your book “Scenario” is about. In it you quote the film character Doc Brown from the film series “Back to the Future” with the words: “The future is what we make of it.”
That sums it up exactly. In the book, the reader is faced with the challenge of shaping the future. Not as a politician, not as a general, but as an advisor who looks at world politics from the second row. There are paths and decisions that prove to be positive, but also those that are less good. I had a lot of fun writing it. You are constantly discovering something new.
