‘Tribalization. Why War is Coming.’

War is coming. In his book Tribalization, director of The Tahir Institute for Middle East Policy Koert Debeuf depicts war as the inevitable outcome should the current geopolitical situation of wide-scale decline of democracy and globalization continue. To describe this worldwide process towards more authoritarian nationalism and fundamentalism the author coins the term tribalization, and reminds his readership of the highly similar 1930s.

Leaving traditional explanations aside, Debeuf explains the continuous historical interaction between globalization and tribalization not as a mere economic or political phenomenon. Tribalization is collective psychology. It interrupts globalization when communities react to a collective trauma by going back to their mythical, tribal past. The author interweaves his train of thought with personal anecdotes and facts from 20th century Belgian and international history. Debeuf’s insights are based on history and psychology but also on his personal experiences as a front-row witness during the Arab Revolution in Egypt and during his previous political functions, in Belgium and the European Union.

With: Koert Debeuf (author), Sander Van Hoorn (NOS Correspondent in Brussels), Milan Schreuer (New York Times Correspondent in Brussels) and Daisy Hombroeckx (marketing officer, ASP Editions).