Arthur Leichthammer, Policy Fellow for Geoeconomics at the Jacques Delors Centre, appeared as a guest on the programme “Phoenix Runde” to discuss the topic: “Power politics in the Gulf – To whom belongs the Strait of Hormuz?”.
In the Phoenix Round Table with presenter Anke Plättner and guests Siemtje Möller (SPD, deputy chair of the Bundestag parliamentary group), Daniel Gerlach (Editor-in-Chief of Zenith), Hartwig Ross (maritime security expert) and Arthur Leichthammer, the discussion focused in particular on how to ensure stability in the situation surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, how to protect international economic hubs, and what the crisis surrounding the Strait of Hormuz means for Germany and Europe.
During the discussion, Leichthammer addressed the critical importance of interlinked economic dependencies, the potential costs for Europe, and the exploitation of economic dynamics as a means of exerting political pressure. He emphasised the need to prepare for a world in which strategic nodes of the economy are leveraged for political ends.
As a long-term strategy, Leichthammer emphasised that reducing demand for goods that one does not produce oneself is the most effective way to build resilience and independence. According to Leichthammer, this is precisely where Europe and Germany should start and learn from this experience.
The full programme can be watched here on the ARD streaming platform (in German).