Political Disruption is back
At least the newsletter is.
Dear subscriber to political disruption,
We sincerely appreciate your patience. After a significant pause, we are thrilled to reintroduce your regular newsletter focusing on the intricate interplay between international politics and economics.
Thank you for your continued support.
Political disruption, as a dynamic, has been a constant presence, of course. In fact, the three years since the previous issue of this newsletter was released have borne witness to significant political upheavals. In one of the prior issues, I discussed how the pharmaceutical industry fell victim to economic warfare during the initial stages of the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. However, matters only worsened for the pharmaceutical sector—remember the era of vaccine nationalism—and the ramifications extended to various other industries as well. Sectors like energy and food gained prominence following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while the technological rivalry between the United States and China escalated considerably. Concurrently, the role of governments in supporting economic domains, ranging from microchips to clean energy, grew more pivotal. Clearly, political disruption had established itself as a lasting force.
The coronavirus also disrupted my life by thrusting me into a new role at ETION—an entrepreneurial platform based in Belgium—as a futurist and geopolitical analyst. This trajectory led me to publish my inaugural book, "Het Onzekerheidsvoordeel" (The Uncertainty Advantage). One of the subsequent ripples was the interruption of this newsletter due to time constraints, as writing a book proved to be more demanding than initially anticipated.
Nonetheless, we are now back on track. I am in the final stages of completing the first draft of my upcoming book, which delves into the realm of [drum roll] … political disruption. Consequently, this seemed like an opportune moment to relaunch this newsletter.
The foundational concept behind this newsletter remains consistent with the inaugural edition. Within the scope of Political Disruption, I will continue to explore:
The proliferation of economic coercion and its far-reaching implications.
The reverberations of military conflicts throughout economies, triggering profound upheavals.
The substantial impact of political instability on the intricate tapestry of global supply chains.
The intricate interplay between the evolution of technology and the complex threads of geopolitics.
This week, you will receive the inaugural issue of the revitalized political disruption series. I sincerely hope you enjoy it.
Warm regards,
Hans
P.S. Kindly share this issue with your friends, colleagues, children, grandparents—essentially, anyone you believe would benefit from contemplating how political events, whether in proximity or from afar, are progressively disrupting our economies.
Thank you!
Hans