Friday, March 25, 2016

The Changing Global Environment

Shift in global political, trade and economic patterns – center of gravity moving from traditional ‘North’ to ‘South’.
Growing influence of new formations: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Arica (BRICS), GROUP OF 20,(G20) ,Colombia, Indonesia, Egypt, Turkey, South Africa (CIVETS ), Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)
Growing impact of non-state actors and social movements: growing social disparities, economic and financial volatility, insecurity and scarce resources
New global opportunities and frontiers: The ‘New Economies’ - the Blue Economy, the Green Economy and the Knowledge economy; exploration and utilisation of outer space (SKA project, satellites for communication, defence and environmental surveying) and advanced technologies.

Global Trends that Impact on SA’s Influence
A new transnational resource agenda (scarce resources fuelling tensions, protectionism).
Changing nature of conflict: internal armed conflict with regional dimensions; deployment of new technologies (robots, drones, cyber warfare, spy satellites);
Shifting demographics: effects of global population growth, aging populations (the North, China) and youth bulge (Africa)

Economic migration: rapid urbanisation, stress on infrastructure and service delivery, social costs, political implications.
Regionalism: economies of scale, eroding sovereignty, protectionism vs cooperation for mutual benefit.
The future role of global governance institutions (UNSC, BWI): Reform or Replace.


No comments:

Post a Comment