GEOPOLITICAL CONSEQUENCE OF THE ECONOMIC CRISIS

The speed with which the financial crisis that originated in the USA has spread into the rest of the world has shown how interdependent the world is. The financial crisis followed by the economic and social crisis has not triggered trade wars but was a strong blow to globalisation through protectionism, hostility towards foreign investors and immigration. On the positive side, it strengthened efforts to improve global governance to prevent recurrence of such crisis. G20 emerged as a new global economic governance body.

The crisis has speeded up the process towards multipolar world by accelerating the shift of much of the economic power from the G7 to the rest of the G20 countries with China and India as the two new world powers. The crisis generated sharp increase in unemployment, inequalities, extreme poverty that are often drivers of social unrest, political instability, regime change, increase in xenophobia, extremism, organised crime and terrorism. However, so far there has not been any big threat to international security indicating that global coordination in crisis response has succeeded in preventing the worst.

Read more in Policy Paper prepared especially for 5th GLOBSEC Security Conference by BRIGITA SCHMOGNEROVA, former Vice- President for Environment, Procurement and Administration at the European Bank For Reconstruction and Development (London) at : http://www.ata-sac.org/globsec2010/uploads/documents/Brigita%20Schmognerova%20-%20Geopolitical%20Consequence%20of%20the%20Economic%20Crisis.pdf