While motorcades rolled through The Hague and NATO leaders debated the world’s stability behind closed doors, a quieter form of reckoning unfolded at the Royal Theatre. In a special event curated by Crossing Border Festival and Het Nationale Theater, the American author and geopolitical thinker Robert D. Kaplan was joined by Dutch journalist Michael Persson for a conversation about the state of the world and the challenges that lie ahead.
Kaplan was in town to promote Waste Land, his latest meditation on global entropy. The title borrows from TS Eliot’s poem of the same name to paint a portrait of a world in permanent crisis. Central to Kaplan’s argument is the image of a “geopolitical Weimar:” a fragile, disordered interregnum between established global orders, where technology and the relentless pace of change threaten to unravel the tenuous fabric of international stability.
Much of the discussion circled around U.S. President Donald Trump, whom Kaplan portrays as a harbinger of deeper structural upheaval rather than a passing aberration. However, it was Kaplan’s diagnosis of our tightly networked, claustrophobic, anxiety-ridden world that struck the deepest chord. As a result of the breakneck advancements in technology, Kaplan suggested, geography has collapsed – war, famine, protest, and disinformation are no longer distant troubles but immediate, intimate realities. “We are all too close to each other,” warned Kaplan.
This intimacy, while fostering connection, has also amplified anxiety and fear. Kaplan’s reflections suggested a world where boundaries – between nations, cultures, and even private lives – are dissolving, creating a shared vulnerability that few know how to manage. It was this claustrophobia of modern life, he argued, that feeds into the instability and unrest defining our era. The evening was as literary as it was political with Dutch actor Yela de Koning supporting Kaplan’s worldview by reading an excerpt from TS Eliot’s Waste Land.
Kaplan’s position remains distinctly conservative, often sounding like a cautionary tale against radical change. His emphasis on hierarchy and order, coupled with selective criticism, felt at times one-sided. Complex present-day conflicts were touched upon, and he emphasised the importance of the strength of institutions and a robust U.S. presence on the global stage.
The evening ended on an upbeat note. Kaplan expressed that his hope emanates from mankind’s ability to muddle through. He said that we don’t know what’s on the horizon but all things are possible. Eva Lakeman 25th June 2025
