Neo-fragmentation
End of trust and public governance
- In a highly individualized world, people lose trust into politics and public authorities
- Nation-states are increasingly fragmented without global concepts taking hold in parallel. In return, various competing non-state-actors are gaining in importance
- Digital network monopolies operate purely on the basis of power and profit: Digital divide in all countries and societies
- Value competition is everywhere: authoritarian ideas gain a foothold in the West AND Western ideas are globally attractive
- Loss of control over monetary system boosts alternative private payment devices
In a highly individualized world, people are losing trust in politics, administration and public media. At the global level, this is also weakening the role of nation states, so that various interest-driven actors – from companies and lobbyists to civil society groups and numerous regional and local entities – are stepping into this gap. Urban areas in particular are becoming actors in their own right on the world stage, so that overall one could speak of a shift toward market states. While the USA and China are able to secure their position in this process, Europe is torn apart between the various centers of power.
The loosening of nation-state structures coupled with the weak position of global institutions is creating a patchwork of different actors and rules. Uniform value systems that provide orientation no longer exist. Instead, competing value systems rise all over the world. Authoritarian ideas are gaining a foothold in the West and, in parallel, Western ideas are attractive worldwide – even if China and other authoritarian states are trying to seal themselves off from this development. In this world without global leadership and cooperation, numerous conflicts occur, which also repeatedly trigger large migration flows.
Digital network monopolies act purely according to power and profit considerations. In doing so, they also rely on alternative private means of payment, thus forcing the public sector to lose control over the monetary system. The digital elite acts largely independently of real developments in specific countries and regions. While Western nations are largely able to maintain their position, the growth of the global middle class in Asia is stagnating and the global South is falling further behind. Many people around the world are having to curtail their consumption desires. This fragmentation ultimately also weakens the dynamics of the global economy – even with formal free trade structures.
The development is exacerbated by the global consequences of climate change, which in many countries of the global South further restrict the functioning of state institutions. The lack of global cooperation and overarching governance ultimately leads to a lack of reforms in the agricultural and food sector, and in some regions even jeopardize food supplies. Climate policies remain limited to individual regions, segments or corporate initiatives, which makes global success impossible from the start.
