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.
America and Europe have clashed over Iraq, climate change and the Middle East. But it is in both parties’ interests to work together, says John Peet Relations between America and Europe are always complex and difficult, with frequent trade disputes and differences on foreign policy matters. Yet for most of the past half-century the two…
The threat of terrorism is an excuse for political repression across central Asia. Yet without radical reform, argues Martha Brill Olcott, the region will fall prey to the extremism it has spawned A wave of violence rippled across the former Soviet Union in 1999. Bombs exploded in both downtown Tashkent and suburban Moscow, while guerrillas…
An allegory of history: Novelist Ben Okri was awarded the Booker Prize in 1991 for The Famished Road. In 2001 he was awarded an OBE. Here, we post the famous: “The Mysterious Anxiety of Them and Us“. Or read the full poem below, or read the summary here or read the analysis here and the…
The benefit of eating organic food is not so much what it does for you, says Marion Nestle, but what it does for the environment Despite being a long-time analyst of the politics of nutrition, I must confess to a rather late interest in organic foods. Ironically, my epiphany came as a result of an…
For citizens to enjoy longer lives, says Henry McKinnell, governments should invest in the latest and most effective medicines – In the summer of 1890, a girl was born in Smilde, the Netherlands. Six months later, 5,000km away, a boy was born in Syracuse, New York. The boy was healthy, but the girl struggled for…
Africa’s political elites have undermined their countries’ economies, says Moeletsi Mbeki. The region must give power to the private sector producers if it is ever to develop – When African and Asian colonies gained independence last century, their new leaders faced two main challenges: to consolidate quickly their political power while ensuring stability and, in…
The interests of the United States and Canada – in economics and the environment as much as in security – are inseparable, says Paul Martin – There has long been a tension at the centre of Canadian foreign policy. We have many ways of describing it, but, in essence, it comes down to this: should…
America created violent political Islam inadvertently as part of its Cold War strategy, says Mahmood Mamdani – I was in New York City on 9/11. In the weeks that followed, newspapers reported that the Koran had become one of the biggest-selling books in American bookshops. Astonishingly, Americans seemed to think that reading the Koran might…
Despite apparent new openings to end the Arab-Israeli conflict, the basic political problems remain unchanged. Robert Malley spells out what a realistic plan should look like – The Middle East appears to be witnessing a rare moment of consensus. With the death of Yasser Arafat, the Palestine leader, the re-election of George Bush, and Israeli…
Corinne Maier created a sensation last summer with Bonjour Paresse, a handbook for idlers. Here she fantasizes about leaving corporate life for good – That day I had a dream: I would never work again. At the beginning it was simply a dream. It was just before the alarm went off, at around 7 am….
