A world of rising risks and little leadership

The era of American dominance is “definitively over,” war with China is growing more likely, and world leaders are risking long-term security by refusing to face challenges like climate change, according to a new Atlantic Council report, “Global Risks 2035.”

The takeaway, from Axios World editor Dave Lawler: Author Mathew Burrows, a CIA veteran who previously steered long-term risk forecasts for the U.S. intelligence community, writes that the world is slipping into a “new bipolarity” defined by competition between the U.S. and China.

Why it matters: Climate change, disruptive technologies and rising inequality feature prominently in Burrows’ analysis of the greatest risks facing the world in the next 15 years.

But hanging over everything is the fundamental restructuring of global power as China grows more influential and seeks to redefine the world order to suit its interests.

The U.S. has so far been unwilling to adapt to the changing global reality, Burrows tells Axios.

No other country would imagine it could “only ensure national security through primacy,” he says.

Meanwhile, most in China are convinced the U.S. will never accept China as an equal.

As walls go up between the countries, “misunderstandings can begin to develop,” Burrows says.

A World War I scenario, in which neither side wants war but “there is also no one putting the brakes on,” looks increasingly possible, according to Burrows.

What to watch: Burrows writes that a sliding China could actually be a bigger risk than a booming one.

A Chinese economic downturn could be destabilizing domestically, he says, because the Communist Party “has tied its legitimacy to year-after-year of increasing opportunities and very steady growth.”

But given China’s central role in the global economy, and the already rising tides of “protectionism and political destabilization,” it could be a deeply destabilizing event globally, Burrows warns.

The big picture: Most of the worst-case scenarios Burrows envisions are based not on an unexpected event, but on failure to act on entirely foreseeable challenges like struggling middle classes in the West, growing mountains of debt and climate change.

Go deeper: Read the report. Share this story.

Πηγή: axios.com