Background

We live in an age of transformation in which strong global forces change the way we live and function. The rise of new emerging economies such as China, India, and other countries in the global south; the rapid proliferation of digital technologies; the rising challenges of globalization; and the global pandemic; all that issues above have impacted global society.  Simultaneously, the resurfacing of old international rivalries, the breaking of conventional alignments, and the emergence of new powers are changing the international structure of the 21^st century, if not the methodology and analytical methods used by scholars to understand it.

Although power politics is shifting, non-traditional challenges are also on the rise: seemingly never-ending wars in Africa and the Middle East, global migration, environmental problems, and the possibility of transnational terrorism are unavoidable factors that must be taken into account in any possible future scenario. Industrial Revolution 4.0 has had transformative impacts on all lines of society, and the global society must be prepared to face up to new developments that are evolving to the core.  Such and other global developments bring substantial new opportunities to global society, nations, industries, businesses, and individuals that have successfully adopted them— but the risk for those who can not keep up has also risen dramatically.