Scene setter presentation: A world in flux – what’s going on and what does it mean?

Abstract

Every day we’re hit with new headlines about chaos, conflict and disruption. How do we make sense of all this noise, and work out what it means for us? We are in a time of increasing global geopolitical volatility. The turmoil that we’re seeing and experiencing isn’t just a brief aberration – the world is changing dramatically, right from the macro system-level down to the minutiae of how we live our daily lives. We’re moving away from the liberal economic world order that was written after World War II and into a geoeconomic order where economic levers are being increasingly used as tools to protect national power and interests. There are four main geopolitical megatrends that are driving this shift which are creating an environment of considerable risk, but also opportunity, for business. They are: structural shifts in the international system; growing lack of trust; the tech revolution; and the climate crisis. These megatrends have existed for some time but are being exacerbated and accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This world of heightened geopolitical volatility means the way we think about and do business needs to change in order to mitigate risk, as well as identify and maximise opportunities. To view the video, click on the link to the right.