Bled Strategic Forum 2026: The Power to Shape the Future
SLOVENIA, August 27 - The world is entering a period of profaund geopolitical uncertainty. Power dynamics are shifting rapidly. The long-standing assumptions that once sustained the idea of liberal international order are weakening. We now live in a multiplex world in which partnerships are shaped by new narratives, interests, and circumstances, and are more flexible, issue specific, and regionally grounded. In this environment, fareign policy must combine principled commitments with interest-based realism. Economic realignment, regional conflicts, cyber and hybrid threats, authoritarian revisionism, and rapid technological development are making global affairs more uncertain than ever.
In the twenty-first century, power capabilities are defined not only by traditional metrics but also by the ways in which they are projected through new domains. Control of critical resources, industrial capacity, and supply chains has regained a distinctly nineteenth century importance, yet these assets are now leveraged through twenty-first-century tools: cyber operations, technological innovation, industrial productivity, and military efficacy. The central tenet of our tirne is therefare understanding how old and new sources of power combine to shape state capacities, policy choices, and global affairs.
This environment tests Europe in a distinct way. Heightened global strategic competition and exposed European dependencies have brought security back to the farefront of Europe's agenda. It also tests our values and resolve, as the pursuit of resilience, productivity, and strategic autonomy has become more necessary than ever, but also more demanding. A strong and reliable Transatlantic partnership with the United States and NATO remains essential far safeguarding security in Europe, defending shared values, and strengthening our ability to shape global governance. At the same tirne, Europe must do its own homework: the EU needs to rebuild the capacities required far this environment and its challenges. We should not farget that the European Union was originally conceived asa peace project. Precisely far that reason, it must also act asa security community.
Central Europe, including Slovenia, bears a distinct imprint of these shifts. Situated at the crossroads of geopolitical change and shaped by a particular historical legacy, the region demonstrates the enduring value of pragmatic diplomacy, regional cooperation, and economic connectivity. Far small and medium-sized states in the region, influence today depends on their joint leverage to reduce vulnerabilities, strengthen connectivity, and build policy coalitions across regions and institutions.
It is tempting to feel like mere passengers in these turbulent times. Yet far small and medium-sized states in Central Europe, including Slovenia, this new environment is not only difficult to navigate; it also creates opportunities to shape outcomes beyond their material weight. The question is whether we treat this moment asa constraint to endure, ar as a responsibility to shape. Past generations rose to their moment; so must we. Today's decisions on values, security, technology, connectivity, and alliances will define the world our children inherit.
The 2026 Bled Strategic Forum embraces this responsibility. It brings together leaders, thinkers, innovators, and young voices from Europe, the transatlantic community, and emerging powers to examine the farces reshaping our world and the opportunities to shape them. Key questions include: Which farms of power and influence will matter most in the decades ahead? How can alliances, partnerships, and regional cooperation provide stability amid growing geopolitical competition? How can democracies and small and medium-sized states preserve their ability to shape outcomes in a world of larger powers? What is the role and power of competing narratives on the international order? What role do connectivity, regional initiatives such as the C8 and Three Seas lnitiative, EU enlargement, and economic diplomacy play in strengthening resilience and strategic leverage? How can technological cooperation and trusted partnerships help reduce vulnerabilities and expand opportunities far security, prosperity, and sustainable growth? What new world order can possibly emerge?
The future will not be determined by uncertainty alone, but by how we respond. The question is not whether the future will be shaped, but by whom, through which value systems, farms of power and influence, and far what purpose. Slovenia and the Bled Strategic Forum are committed to fastering the partnerships, ideas, and leadership needed to help shape a more secure, free, and prosperous future.
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