The world is opening up more and more. Progressive globalisation, the continuous fall of national borders and trade barriers and relaxed copyright rules are clear evidence. For that very reason, however, a countermovement is spreading that starts where the opening process reaches its limits and tips over into an actual threat for many people. Not only in the barriers built between the USA and Mexico or the radical action taken against online sharing platforms, but also the increase in gated communities or the rapid growth of neopopulist protest parties bear witness to that. Traditional defence strategies such as barrier-building or counterattack are, however, inadequate long-term guarantees of security and prosperity. In fact, they even jeopardise these goals.