The president of the Council on Foreign Relations explains that companies today are facing the most complex international environment in 80 years.
Shubham Singhal: The world as we know it is shifting. And from a business standpoint, while for a long time we were able to largely ignore geopolitics, now it’s really at the forefront. How would you define and describe today’s geopolitical economic order and the relationships among some of the major economies around the world?
Michael Froman: This is probably the most complex international environment in 80 years. You’ve got the reemergence of great power politics. You’ve got wars not just in the Middle East and Europe but also in parts of Africa, such as Sudan. Most importantly, you’ve got unparalleled rivalry between China and not just the US but the West more broadly. That cuts across economics, technology, politics, and military dimensions. And then you’ve got transnational issues like pandemics and climate change that require a degree of international cooperation precisely at a time when international cooperation is probably at its lowest ebb and international institutions are weak and in need of reform. So geopolitics is becoming increasingly important to CEOs, boards, and senior management teams because it’s affecting everything from where they put their supply chains to who they can count on trading with and what technology they might use, as well as whether there’ll be sanctions or other restrictions on their ability to operate.