Ground Zero

We are living in the era of 9/11 – and we have to rethink our view of the world

Our present began on 11 September 2001. The world we live in today has its origins in Ground Zero: the end of the USA as the sole world power, Guantanamo prison and the confrontation between the West and the Islamic world; this has led to refugees escaping the wars in the Middle East, and the rise of populism and nationalism. Has Bin Laden in fact won and knocked the West’s self-assurance? Isn’t it time to rethink our worldview?

For Stefan Weidner, an expert on the Arab world and a knowledgeable observer of global politics, the story of 9/11 will only end when we say goodbye to our images of the enemy from the past 20 years. Only then can the existential problems of humanity – such as climate change – be shifted to the top of the global political agenda. During the pandemic, of all things, we now have an opportunity to undo disastrous paradigms.


“Weidner’s reflections on the opposing poles of interventionism, isolationism and universalism are likely to be thought-provoking for both militarists and supporters of the peace movement. His criticism that the West missed an opportunity ten years after 9/11 during the Arab Revolution is justified.”
- Katharina Wiedey, Freitag

“This mixture of historical, philosophical and political analysis of the last twenty years is very pleasurable to read because it is both well written and well conceived. “
- Rolf-Bernhard Essig, Fränkischer Tag

“Ground Zero describes objectively, in well-researched and well-constructed prose, the connections we need to make to understand our present. The book makes connections between the Arab Spring via theories of the alleged clash of civilisations, to the war in Afghanistan; and from historical assassination to today’s right-wing populism, while connecting the dots between globalisation and the Corona pandemic. An essay full of illuminating moments and twists. “
- Guy Helminger, Tageblatt (LUX)