Bushati-Gallon: What can Europe learn from Henry Kissinger?

2025-12-06 17:53:00, Politikë CNA

Europe is at a critical moment for its geopolitical architecture, where security challenges, changes in the world order, and the reconfiguration of the American role are forcing the European Union to rethink its strategic project.

In the discussion held at Public Square, two of the most important voices of European analysis – Jérémie Gallon, head of Europe at McLarty Associates, visiting scholar at the Atlantic Council and author of the book Henry Kissinger, and Ditmir Bushati, former Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

The interlocutors brought clear perspectives on the future of European autonomy, the role of defense, and relations with the United States.

Bushati and Gallon began this conversation with the possibility of Europe finding its geopolitical compass, and what it can learn first and foremost from the legacy of Henry Kissinger, a statesman who, despite the ups and downs that took place in his life, still remains a great source of inspiration for all those who wish to build a more strategic and geopolitical Europe.

Regarding this issue, Gallon brings to attention two moments. According to him, we need more intellectuals of works in Europe, at a moment when history is returning along with its tragedies.

"I think that today's Europe needs to reconnect with realpolitik to shape developments in the current geopolitical chess field ," says Gallon.

According to them, at the center of the debate lies the danger of a Europe that remains a spectator of crises and not an actor in them.

"If Europe does not build real strategic capacities, it risks being neither the protagonist of its own destiny nor of the new global order," said Gallon, emphasizing that Kissinger's strategic legacy remains a clear warning for the continent in this era of great tensions.

In this perspective, reviewing relations with the US is seen as a necessity to maintain transatlantic cohesion without compromising strategic independence.

Bushati points out that Kissinger pushed the US to pursue a three-pronged foreign policy axis. He wanted to strengthen the transatlantic relationship, pursue a policy of détente with the Soviet Union at the time, and establish friendly relations with China.

As American foreign policy under Trump has changed significantly, how should Europe navigate these turbulent waters in a ruthless geopolitical environment?

Relations with the US remain the axis of the transatlantic alliance, but no longer in the logic of a Europe that expects automatic security guarantees from Washington. The shift of American focus towards the Indo-Pacific region, the increase in US-China rivalry and direct interventions in European domestic politics force Europe to think about the future as a power that pursues its own destiny, preserving the alliance but not giving up autonomy.

In this perspective, the consolidation of the European project, including the Western Balkans, is not simply "enlargement", but a strategic necessity for a Europe that aims to be a shaping power of the new world order, and not collateral damage of agreements between other powers. /CNA