At the Davos Forum, the risk of polycrises worries

About fifty Heads of State and Government, and some 1,500 big bosses and economic decision-makers, are expected in Davos.

AP - Markus Schreiber

Text by: Mounia Daoudi Follow

2 mins

For these first face-to-face winter reunions since the Covid-19 epidemic, after a reduced version organized last May, the Davos forum which opens on Tuesday January 17 is being held in a context of strong concerns about the state of the world.

Advertising

Read more

From our special correspondent in Davos,

As almost every year at the same time for more than half a century, the world's economic and political elite meet from this Tuesday in the small ski resort of Davos, in the Swiss Alps.

About fifty Heads of State and Government are expected, and some 1,500 big bosses and economic decision-makers, including directors of central banks and heads of international institutions.

Not to mention representatives of civil society and the world of culture.

For this 53rd edition, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has chosen the theme “Cooperating in a fragmented world”.

Because in the very opinion of the organizers, the geopolitical and geoeconomic context in which this meeting is being held is the most complex the world has known for decades.

In question, the Covid crisis from which the planet is still struggling to recover, and of course the war in Ukraine and its most visible consequences: soaring energy prices, runaway inflation or even climate change and its devastating effects on the most vulnerable.

The dear life at the heart of the concerns

There is no shortage of subjects for concern and this explosive cocktail does not really encourage optimism.

From now on, the concept of polycrises is imposing itself in all debates.

Clearly, how a single crisis can cause many others.

But today, the main issue of concern for policymakers is that of the high cost of living, designated by experts at the World Economic Forum as a major risk for the stability of the world for at least the next two years.

As one analyst summed it up, the fear of the end of the month has taken precedence over that of the end of the world.

In this context, “Cooperating in a fragmented world” is likely to prove very complicated in Davos.

The founder of the World Economic Forum, the Swiss economist Klaus Schwab, recalled it a few days ago: it is "

 " and the lack of cooperation that have brought the world to where it is.

Globalization seems more than ever at a crossroads.

Even on subjects as global as the fight against climate change, the tendency is towards withdrawal and isolationism.

This is evidenced by the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States, which gives pride of place to companies investing in renewable energies and electric cars, provided that they relocate to American soil.

In Davos, the participants will therefore try to relaunch globalization which is going through an existential crisis from which it may not recover.

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

• Ukraine

• Coronavirus

• Energies

• Environment