“In the coldest winter, I found out that there is an invincible summer inside me.’’
At history’s turning points – whether personal or global – human nature is tested for endurance. We tend to believe that external conditions define the boundaries of what’s possible. Yet it is precisely in moments of deepest anxiety and uncertainty that what Camus called the “invincible summer” reveals itself – an inner foundation, a capacity to remain unbroken by the weight of circumstance.
In the realm of international security, this is especially relevant. When dialogue falls silent, treaties are torn apart, and tensions rise, what remains is a core belief: that reason, diplomacy, and humanity have not yet been exhausted. This is no naïve hope, but one tempered by the cold lessons of history.
Just as winter can awaken a hidden instinct for survival, so too can crisis reveal not only the vulnerabilities of international institutions but also their ability to recover and renew. The key is to remember: even in the darkest scenarios, a turn toward peace is still possible.
Perhaps this is what Albert Camus meant – not only about the individual, but about humanity itself.
Kaspar David Friedrich “The Monk by the Sea’’, 1808-1810
