One participant addresses societal crises in the chat, saying as Bahr thought in terms of states, how would he have dealt with challenges within society, such as the climate crisis or the shift towards the right? Hans Joachim Gießmann outlines Bahr's method, adding that he has always found it fascinating. You have to have the big picture in mind and then work towards that step by step. That is a valid approach even for problems at societal level. We just have to be prepared to solve these problems with difficult or uncomfortable actors, as they need to be negotiated at a global level. And, he says, the attack on Ukraine sets us back years in terms of climate change and the pandemic. - sf

Katrin Rulle