East Asia

Welcome to 2036: What the world could look like in ten years, according to nearly 450 experts

By Mary Kate Aylward, Peter Engelke, Uri Friedman, and Paul Kielstra

We polled geostrategists and foresight practitioners on our most burning questions about the biggest drivers of change over the next decade. Check out their forecasts on everything from the future of NATO to the rise of cryptocurrency.

The Global Foresight 2036 survey: Full results

In the fall of 2025, the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security surveyed the future, asking leading geostrategists and foresight experts around the world to answer our most burning questions about the biggest drivers of change over the next ten years. Here are the full results. 

Local and community-driven solutions for development in fragile states

By Elton Skendaj, Peter Mandaville, and Ibrahima Bokoum

This collaborative paper examines community-driven approaches to development from three unique perspectives and highlights the importance of putting local agency at the center of international development work.

China’s property slump deepens—and threatens more than the housing sector

By Jeremy Mark

China's property sector slump is in its fifth year, with no end in sight. This poses real risks to the banking system and the country's financial stability.

TikTok’s new ownership structure doesn’t solve security concerns for Americans

By Kenton Thibaut

The deal does little to address the systemic challenges of information manipulation, foreign influence, and data exploitation on the platform.

Taiwan has been a strategic blind spot for South Korea

By Bee Yun Jo

South Korea is beginning to acknowledge that cross-Strait stability is increasingly a foundational element of overall regional security.

In Iraq, China’s long game unfolds

By Sardar Aziz and Mohammed A. Salih

As China seeks new markets abroad and energy security at home, Iraq has become integral to Beijing’s plans in the Middle East. Baghdad finds itself caught between its security needs, for which it depends on the United States, and the economic needs of its growing population.