Futures Group

Kenichi Ohmae is authoring a new book on the promise of Russia. In an article on the Singapore Business Times, he was quoted as saying “In the near future, Russia will become a dominant player in world affairs, just like China. Many things will change. Russia will rise, sooner or later.”

We’ve heard much of Russia’s abundance in resources, dwindling population, weak governance and institutions, weak manufacturing sector, over dependence on energy exports and so on … and this is a refreshing contrarian view to the dismissals one hears of Russia as a hollow power. So I wait for the book with anticipation.

The Economist has a special report on Russia here.

I respect Thomas Barnett’s depth of reasoning, and this is one of the latest posts where he talks on religion after his previous post on China’s spiritual awakening. This time it is on Russia. Reproducing Barnett’s post below:

The great awakening in Russia
from Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog by Thomas P.M. Barnett

ARTICLE: “Reviving the Russian Soul: The surprising success of spiritual films in Russia reveals a longing for depth in post-Soviet culture,” by Mike Kauschke and Elizabeth Debold, What is Enlightenment?, October-December 2007.

Gave a long podcast interview to this mag when I spoke at the religious conference in Palm Springs a bit back. Sean needs to keep an eye out for this, as we must link. Good story here on an easy-to-predict return of spirituality in Russia. Not just a gap left over from the Sovs, like with China, but the reality of improved economic standing. People want those handholds for a life well-led. Bring in ’da noise (populism), bring in ’da funk (progressivism). Expect to see these transitions again and again in the New Core, along with the emerging global middle class.

Certainly not the death of religion and meaning. While I don’t really see Russia’s spiritual awakening washing on our shores here in Singapore, what would a market-led Islam in Indonesia look like, a Taiwanese or Korean style Christianity in China look like, would a viral vibrant new Hinduism emerge from the New India? The market threshold for a new religion is much much higher than before, it would be interesting I think.

The Brookings Institution articulated in a recent report the need for America’s next President to exhibit clear leadership on 10 main economic challenges.

These are:

1. Restoring Financial Stability
With U.S. financial troubles at the center of the current global vortex, the U.S. has important obligations to strengthen the global financial system, including by enhancing financial regulation and diminishing reliance on foreign credit.

2. Setting the Right Green Agenda
For the U.S., it is time to muster the political will to act on climate change at the national level while also working to forge international agreement so that markets and regulatory policy will provide a consistent set of incentives to wean the economy from carbon foundations.

3. Exercising Smart Power
Investing in the education, health, livelihoods, and the security of the world’s poorest not only makes Americans feel good about themselves but also makes the world feel good about America. It is critical to increase not only resources but also the impact of each dollar spent.

4. Reimagining Global Trade
Americans feel most secure about global engagement when they are well equipped to compete and have insurance against economic risks. This requires vigorously enforcing the trade rules and investing in economic competitiveness.

5. Navigating China’s Rise
On issues such as climate change, enforcement of trade rules and exchange rate adjustment, where the stakes are simply too high to ignore, America should look for cooperative mechanisms to advance its goals where possible but continue to press bilaterally with China and better deploy regional and international mechanisms where necessary.

6. Deciphering “Russia, Inc.”
Difficult as it may be to accomplish, America nonetheless has significant interests in alternately coaxing and goading a resurgent, resource nationalist Russia toward international norms and cooperation on energy, trade, financial integration and security more broadly.

7. Engaging an Emerging India
America has enormous interests in India’s successful integration into the global economy as the world’s most populous democracy engages in the task of lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty. America must look for areas of cooperation where possible and deepen bilateral engagement broadly in order to make progress on its agenda.

8. Revitalizing Ties to Latin America
America must become a stronger partner to its neighbors and engage on issues of mutual concern, including on energy, environmental protection, economic competitiveness and social policies.

9. Supporting Africa’s Growth Turnaround
America can become a stronger and steadier partner to Africa as it navigates economic challenges by supporting global standards for natural resource management, opening markets to African products, supporting vibrant private enterprises, supporting African efforts to enhance regional security and build resilience to climate change, and both increasing and improving the quality of development assistance.

10. Pursuing a Positive Agenda for the Middle East
America can build partnerships in the Middle East based on trust and mutual respect if it aligns its agenda on economic and political reform with the aspirations of the majority of the region’s people: the young who are striving for opportunity and global integration.