No 7 - DEFENCE -

The world is opening up more and more. Progressive globalisation, the continuous fall of national borders and trade barriers and relaxed copyright rules are clear evidence. For that very reason, however, a countermovement is spreading that starts where the opening process reaches its limits and tips over into an actual threat for many people.

Not only the barriers built between the USA and Mexico or the radical action taken against online sharing platforms, but also the increase in gated communities or the rapid growth of neopopulist protest parties bear witness to that. Traditional defence strategies such as barrier-building or counterattack are, however, inadequate long-term guarantees of security and prosperity. In fact, they even jeopardise these goals. Abstrakt No 7 explores the phenomenon of defence in factual and fantastical writings. What defence strategies exist? How can we arm ourselves against the complex threats of the present and future such as the revolution in the financial markets or the growing mental stress of the achievement-oriented society?

With contributions from psychology professor Brigitte Boothe, historian Philipp Sarasin, immunologist Johannes Ring and footballer Christoph Metzelder.

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