Session Abstract

Since the end of the Cold War and fall of the Iron Curtain, humanity has experienced an exponential increase in its level of connectedness, openness, and interdependence. The past three decades represented a golden era for globalization, fueled by relentless digital and technological disruptions, an information and data revolution, and an extraordinary ease of movement for talent and capital across borders. We were closer and more connected than ever before. The world was flat, and all people everywhere were gaining an opportunity to participate in the global economy.

However, hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the structure of the post-Cold War globalized economy became fractured. The events triggered by the pandemic and geo-political tensions brewing over the past three years have pivoted us to new reality, profoundly reframing the globalization agenda of the last three decades. While the pandemic obliterated digital borders, the calls for nationalist and protectionist measures, self-sufficiency, and nearshoring to de-risk supply chains enlightened the reality that countries will always act and base policy on national interest. The effects of the pandemic from inflation to unemployment and the subsequent seismic shock of the Russia-Ukraine crisis have not just reinforced that countries are ultimately on their own and but have put this into overdrive.

The pendulum is swinging once again, and our world is becoming increasingly fragmented and polarized.

Kevin Parikh shares his predictions for the post-globalized economy and how it will fundamentally reshape the way we do business, work, communicate and live together. Supply chain, manufacturing, travel, financial services – no industry will be speared. New players and trading blocs will emerge, creating new opportunities for nation states, businesses, and communities to innovate, diversify their risks, and structure new global partnerships.