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016: a year that will indefinitely have grave consequences that will shape the future. A year of two pivotal electorate decisions: Brexit and Trump. Both are indicative of the Western trend of the populist protest against the incumbent neoliberalist order, which has been brewing under the surface since 2008. It is clear that these problems had been ignored for so long by the liberal consensus, which is why such vote results were so shocking and unexpected. We will also get to see the implications of these crucial decisions. The door to leaving the European Union has always been secured shut, but now the British decision has opened this door for all other members, whose populations are increasingly dissatisfied with the neoliberal economic policies and the negative effects of being ruled by one single central bank and monetary policy. Meanwhile, a Donald Trump presidency might bring back 1920s-style protectionism to the US, endangering the fate of free trade agreements, such as NAFTA. The anti-globalisationist rhetoric of the new leader of this global superpower might have some consequential backlash on the US’ s status as the leader of the‘ free world’ and its chief influence in global affairs. At the same time, we should prepare to see China continue to climb to overshadow the USA and become the world’ s greatest single power, with Beijing collecting more influence in Asia through its being a core state in the continent. We have already seen this manifest in ASEAN, but its influence will spread further than South-East Asia, extending into Africa, with huge influxes of Chinese investment and migration particularly in Tanzania, South Africa, and a copper deal with the Democratic Republic of Congo. It has already found profitable in the way of events in the Middle East, regarding both the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and natural resources, its close alliance with Iran and Pakistan, with CPEC( China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) becoming operational in November 2016, reviving the ancient Chinese‘ silk road’. China is also rapidly militarising, hugely expanding its navy in order to assert dominance over the South China Seas. As we have seen from the US-China clash in those seas in 2016, an escalation of a crisis into an intense conflict between these two superpowers could be on the horizon. The likelihood of this might multiply with a President Trump, who according to his infamous tweets, has no patience for giving into Beijing’ s demands, or those of any power.
We also witnessed two highly significant data leaks: Hillary Clinton’ s emails and the Panama Papers. How the big reveal of tax-avoidance and asset laundering schemes of prominent government officials will affect their fate in these positions of power is unpredictable. We are continuing to see the shifting terrain of knowledge authority and can only expect to see more political secrets unfold, under the influence of new powers such as Wikileaks.
2016 also saw the rise of new technology industries, particularly the autonomous and green car, with key players Google, Uber and Tesla paving the way, and we can only expect the other major ' disruptors ', such as Facebook and Amazon, to rush to follow their lead. Uber’ s growth has been exponential, but its encounters with legal complications indicate the disparity between law and technology. The issue of law having failed to catch up with the rapid development of technology is one that will need to be addressed.
This new wave of technology has increased the closeness of different countries and created an even more globalised and interconnected world in many respects. However, at the same time, with the accompanying colossal economic benefits, non-Western civilisations, particularly China and those of Islam, have become increasingly more culturally assertive and less inclined towards Western values and institutions which were imposed on them. With the West’ s internal crisis, propelled by the 2008 Financial Crisis, it is more vulnerable to erosion both from the outside and within. There is often the common misconception that economic modernisation and the increasing connectivity between countries goes hand-in-hand with Westernisation, and as proven in 2016, this could not be more inaccurate. The overshadowing of the West is inevitable; it is the question of how the West recognises this and responds that will determine the damages. T A M A R A J A C O B S E D I T O R- I N- C H I E F
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