On July 12th and on the occasion of bidding farewell to the outgoing founding Director of the KAS New York office, Dr. Stefan Friedrich and welcoming the new Director, Ms. Andrea Ostheimer de Sosa, the former President of the German Bundestag and Chairman of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung offered his thoughts on opportunities and responsibilities in a globalized world at a reception at the UN Headquarters. Prof. Dr. Norbert Lammert underlined that the opening of the KAS Office in New York is a demonstration of the orientation of the foundation to contribute to multilateralism.

He explained that all multilateral systems will be blamed for a lack of efficiency or for being too expensive eventually, which will ultimately lead to the consideration whether or not they make sense at all. Prof. Dr. Lammert had a clear answer to this point in case: in a globalized world multilateral approaches to global problems are indispensable. Although one of the effects of globalization are, he explained, the phenomenon that some seek to create simple answers to complex questions, simple answers don't meet the necessities for appropriate policy responses. In fact, the more complicated an issue, Prof. Dr. Lammert explained, the less likely it can be solved on national grounds.

He further explained that the least debated consequences of globalization are the political implications, such as the unavoidable reduction of sovereignty.

Although we've never had less preparedness to find multilateral solutions, Prof. Dr. Lammert insisted that they have never been more important.