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The World Next Year: 2012 Edition

By experts and staff

Published
  • James M. LindsayCFR Expert
    Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy
Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong use umbrellas to write
Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong use umbrellas to write “2012” (courtesy Reuters).

Bob McMahon and I sat down for our usual weekly podcast session but with a twist. Rather than discussing what’s on the horizon for next week, we talked about how things look to be shaping up for 2012.  We discussed the transition of government leaders across the globe; the ascent of political Islam after the Arab uprisings; the continuing economic turmoil in Europe and elsewhere; the looming crises of governance across the globe; the frayed U.S.-Pakistan relationship; and the possible emergence of Africa.

[audio: https://i.cfr.org/content/publications/media/podcast/2011/20111216_TWTY…]

The highlights:

Of course, December is the time for “best of” and “top ten” lists. Time has the top ten everything of 2011. Yahoo picks the top news stories of 2011. CFR.org picks eleven world-shaking developments in 2011. Booz Allen identifies what it sees as the top ten cyber security trends for financial services in 2012. The Institute for Human Rights and Business has its top ten business and human rights issues. Joshua Keating lists the ten worst predictions for 2011, thereby saving me some time in compiling the Friday File. Thank you, Joshua. The New York Times Book Review names the top ten books of 2011, some of which I have read. The Atlantic.com has the most important economic graphs of the year and what films to look forward to in 2012. Frommer’s has its top travel destinations in 2012. (Curacao sounds mighty appealing right about now.) BaseballInstinct.com lists the Boston Red Sox’s top ten prospects in 2012, one or more of whom will eventually break my heart. That’s the only prediction I know I will get right.

Bob and I are taking a break next week from podcast duties. We will be back on January 5. In the meantime, we wish you and yours a safe and happy holidays.