Meet our new director, Matthias Jobelius!

I studied Political Science in Berlin and Development Studies in London. Geographically, my focus was mainly on Africa, which led me to spend time in South Africa, Namibia, Uganda and Tanzania. My first position at the FES, however, was in India. That was in 2006. Back then, one could observe how an increase of prosperity goes hand in hand with a deepening of social divides. This paradoxical concurrency has since then, come to define the global economic order in which we live. From 2008-2012, I was the FES representative in the South Caucasus, based in Tbilisi. Shortly after my arrival, Russia invaded Georgia during a five-days war in August 2008. In retrospect, this can be seen as a sign of two developments that really became visible only later: a geopolitical revisionism and a world order in flux, giving rise to wars and conflicts. My next stop for the FES was Romania, before I moved to Berlin in 2016. There I headed various departments at FES Headquarters. Before moving to New York, I was responsible for the FES's work in North America and the European Union. The EU is often very cumbersome in normal times. But it has always emerged stronger from crises. Seen in this light, the many crises of our time always offer opportunities for renewal. Never waste a good crisis - that's what you learn from working on EU affairs.  

All the major challenges facing humanity in the 21st century can only be overcome through cooperation between states. And as these challenges become ever greater, multilateralism is becoming increasingly important. At the same time, however, our multilateral system currently seems less and less capable of meeting these challenges. On the one hand, this is due to the institutions. We cannot solve the problems of the 21st century with institutions from the 20th century. On the other hand, no matter how modern institutions may be, in the end it depends on the political will of states to strive for multilateral solutions instead of pursuing nationalistic agendas. FES can make a small but visible contribution to reforming the multilateral system and prioritizing cooperative solutions. Our global network helps us with this. We are currently active in over 100 countries around the world. Knowing the perspectives and needs of other regions allows us to formulate policy recommendations for a fairer and more inclusive multilateralism. In addition, we are privileged to work with fantastic progressive partners in political parties, trade unions and civil society organizations. Together, we work to ensure that it is not the law of the strongest that prevails, but the strength of the law. By the way, we may be a small foundation, but we are not inexperienced. FES turns 100 years old this year. Enough to know that you can achieve a lot with capable political alliances and good strategies.

Climate change, AI, growing wealth concentration, financial crises, conflicts - many global trends are putting our societies under stress. This stress is further exacerbated by the business models of some self-proclaimed “social media” companies, which are increasingly eroding the political discourse in our societies. Yet, societies under stress are more susceptible to authoritarian temptations and populist gamblers. The task of politics now is to bring about change that is acknowledged as being fair, inclusive, and directed towards the common good. This requires the enforcement of rules – not just on the domestic, but also on the multilateral level, as the world as a whole is in disarray. To describe our changing global order, one can currently often read the famous quote by the late Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci: “The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born.” What is often omitted is the sentence that follows: “Now is the time of monsters.” Multilateralism is necessary to tame the monsters that grow out of disorder. In this sense we need the UN as our “Ghostbusters” of the 21st century.

The city, its history, its geography, its people and its culture give me a lot of energy. My wife and I live in the East Village. The East Village has always been an important place for New York's music culture, and there are still many reminders of this in the cityscape. I pass a mural commemorating the punk musician Joe Strummer almost every day. “The future is unwritten” is says there. A good motto, which fits the uncertain times we live in. But it also reminds us that fatalism and pessimism are the wrong answers. The future can be shaped, we are in control of our own destiny. That is the message. And that is why it is always worth working towards a better future.