From climate emergencies to ever-expanding Big Tech to fears over the very future of democracy, the stakes in 2019 couldn’t have been higher. What will 2020 have in store for the world?
2019 has been a whirlwind of upheaval and change around the world. Altamar has had no shortage of global issues to jump into, from the colossal but rocky U.S.-China trade relationship to tiny Guyana’s oil bonanza. Throw in protests in Hong Kong, the return of Peronism to Argentina, growing cyberwarfare and worldwide attacks on press freedom for good measure. It’s been a turbulent year. And, it begs the question – what will 2020 have in store?
David Rothkopf joins Altamar to peer into the crystal ball and predict the primary global issues to track in the coming year. Rothkopf is a prolific author and journalist who writes extensively on international affairs. He is the CEO of The Rothkopf Group and was also the former editor-at-large of Foreign Policy magazine and served as U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade.
Before we met with Rothkopf, we identified the top five trends we believe will shape the international political stage in 2020. First and foremost, citizen unrest will continue to be a major global force as citizens worldwide take the streets to express discontent with governments across the political spectrum. We’re also witnessing the decline of the West, including the dominance of its institutions and cultural influence that spread in the wake of WWII. 2020’s third trend will also undoubtedly be the ongoing climate emergency, as humanity pushes ever closer to the point of no return in addressing climate change. Fourth, the end of privacy could be upon us with the rise of Big Data, coordinated election interference and worldwide disinformation campaigns. Finally, we agree that the new face of trade will be something to keep a close eye on in the new year. Rising globalization fears has sparked a backlash, prompting countries to eschew favorable trade policies and regulate it instead – tariffs for instance became a weapon of choice among global players, a trend that’s unlikely to abate any time soon.
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