The World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting has proved its power time after time in setting the global agenda, identifying emerging issues and challenges, and engaging leaders from all walks of life in dialogue, initiative and action. In the same way, Global Agenda seeks to lead opinion and debate on all the key issues facing the world. It aims to be thought-provoking and controversial, but balanced and fair. And it tries to make room for voices from all sides of society. We live in deeply unsettled, challenging times. Many of the certainties on which we have come to depend in recent years are in doubt. In place of trust lie scepticism, suspicion and fear. It is more vital than ever that all sides of the debate are heard – from the worlds of business, civil society and government. Like the World Economic Forum itself, Global Agenda aims to be a forum for discussing issues, testing ideas and initiating change.
Relations between Europe and the United States are in much better shape than they might appear, says Javier Solana – Some see the re-election of president George W Bush as heralding four years of transatlantic tension and division. The pessimists paint a picture of diverging social values and irreconcilable world views generating a steady stream…
The Bush administration has a unique opportunity to help reform the very institutions of global governance it has undermined, says Anne-Marie Slaughter. A failure to do so will only deepen the rift between America and its allies – The first administration of George W Bush was no friend to international law, at least by common…
It may be unwise to rely on Saudi Arabia to fulfil galloping oil demand, says Matthew Simmons – The world assumes that regardless of how fast demand for oil grows, it can continue to be supplied by ever-increasing amounts of oil from the Middle East, and particularly from Saudi Arabia. This assumption may be false….
The Rolling Stones, the Olympics and the Salvation Army are among the world’s most enduring institutions, says Ralph Shrader. Their secret? Being true to their core values – When a group of young men formed a band in 1962 in London, few would have predicted that they would still be together today, as a rock-and-roll…
The stockmarket bust may not yet be over, says Robert Shiller, while an oil price boom might spark a slowdown – or even a crash – in soaring house prices – Fluctuations in the world economy are largely driven by confidence. A changing level of public confidence is the ultimate driver behind much of the…
The media have been accused of undermining democracy. But, argues Richard Sambrook, an independent press is essential to freedom Democracy and the media – freedom of speech or a free press – have developed in tandem for more than 300 years. They are, in many ways, umbilically linked. If democracy began as the will of…
Despite arguments to the contrary, America’s current account deficit is a huge problem, says Kenneth Rogoff. But a decline in the dollar won’t solve it: a more sophisticated, multilateral, response is required – Will America’s latest public and private borrowing rampage, already more than a decade old, end in tears? Should we expect the gaping…
Global instability and burgeoning Asian demand have sent the oil price soaring, says Bill Richardson. America needs to calm the Middle East in the short term, find alternatives to oil in the medium term, and rejoin the international dialogue on climate change and energy use – The media tell different stories when they discuss Iraq…
Democracy today is in crisis. We need a radical new approach that is truly representative if the developing world is ever to have a proper say in global government, argues Saif Al Islam Al Qadhafi Government by the people and for the people remains a widely accepted definition of democracy. But it is an ideal…
The trial of Slobodan Milosevic is a step in the right direction. But without a show of political will, efforts to build an international criminal court will be jeopardized, says Carla Del Ponte – On February 12, 2002, for the first time in modern history, a head of state was brought before an international tribunal…
