The Yale World Fellows Program is partnering with Roland Berger Strategy Consultants to launch Project 2012, an analysis of impending global political, social and economic upheavals aimed at preparing decision makers for this transitional year.
In 2012, China, France, Russia, and the United States will all elect or appoint new national political leadership. These four countries alone currently generate more than 40% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In addition, 24 other countries around the world — including India, Spain and Mexico — will also hold elections in 2012, and altogether they account for some 50% of global GDP.
“Project 2012 — Why 2012 Will Turn the World Upside Down” will analyze the core issues affecting business and politics in 2012 and beyond. In addition to the Yale Fellows Program, the Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, a global consultancy headquartered in Germany that initiated the project, will collaborate with the Haute Ecole de Commerce in Paris.
“In normal times such a coincidence would hardly be worth mentioning,” says Charles-Edouard Bouée, partner and member of the executive committee of Roland Berger. “But as we are living in a time of great economic and political turbulence, the elections in 2012 will in some cases lead to changes in government that will affect the whole global economy. This may cause some instability, but could also open up new opportunities for development.”
Significant changes to the global political and economic environment require decision makers to adjust their strategies and approaches, adds Bouée, noting that events such as the financial crisis in the United States, political unrest in the Arab world, and environmental disasters such as the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in 2011 have shown how localized events directly affect the global economy.
“Global events in 2012 will herald great changes, ” says Dr. Michael Cappello, director of the Yale World Fellows Program. “To arrive at a comprehensive view of potential scenarios for 2012, we must look closely at various dimensions of global interaction: politics, business, health, the availability of raw materials and demographics in various regions. Each will have a major impact on economic development.”
A team of experts from business, science, politics, sociology, the media and civil society coordinated by Roland Berger is collaborating on Project 2012. The team is analyzing developments in individual countries as well as economic, social, political and environmental macro-trends affecting global developments, and will derive adaptive strategies for decision makers.
Two hundred and five Yale World Fellows from 78 countries across six continents will contribute to the research. Other universities and experts from around the globe are invited to join.
For further information on Project 2012, visit www.theproject2012.org. Interested participants can register on the website to contribute a wiki entry. To subscribe to the Roland Berger newsletter, go to www.rolandberger.com/press-newsletter.
