The Age of Major Transformations:A Reading of the Report: Global Trends: Paradox of Progress

Abstract

Since 1997, the US National Intelligence Council (NIC) has every four years published an “unclassified” assessment of the main trends that are likely to shape the world over the coming twenty years, thus aiding the senior American leadership to think and plan for the long term. The latest report was published on January 9, 2017 coinciding with the arrival of the administration of President Donald Trump. It examines how global trends will converge at an unprecedented rate, making government and cooperation more difficult in the future and radically changing the nature of power on the global scene. This paper looks at the most important geopolitical, security, economic, and technological trends discussed in this report and which the Americans see as formative of the world's future in the medium term.