Global Reorientation: A Very Short Description of the State of World Affairs
Global Reorientation: A Very Short Description of the State of World Affairs

Summary/Abstract: The world is undergoing a period of profound reorientation. This process, characterised by the combination of uncertainty, acceleration, and change, is calling into question familiar assumptions, mechanisms, and relational structures. How could a concise summary of the planetary situation look in an applied policy perspective? To anticipate the future of the security field, the primary task is to understand the current tension among a variety of factors, processes, and actors, that is, to develop an actively inter- and transdisciplinary view that includes the maximum number of trans-sectoral key dialectics, systemic shifts, and interrelated trajectories. What are the key pillars in terms of concepts and analytical components needed to read the evolving big picture, and what prospects are emerging at their intersection? This essay lists the main building blocks for a contemporary reading of events and developments to consider in an inter- and transdisciplinary medium-term perspective. It is a woodcut sketch with the intention to function as a practical and flexible toolkit. The elements discussed should be combined according to the needs of contextual understanding and anticipation, applied to concrete problems, and then placed in the overall surrounding environment in flux. The aim of this condensed map is to obtain a malleable picture of the essentials that incorporates continuities and dynamics and can be used to prepare concrete actions at the intersection of Ideal- and Realpolitik.

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