Geopolitical competition, Geoeconomic Disruptions. What order can stabilize the international system?

After years of intensifying geopolitical rivalry and geoeconomic disruption, the post-war order is undergoing a profound transformation. Power, influence, and ideas are increasingly dispersed – not simply shifting from West to East, but reorganizing around new regional and thematic centers of gravity. The result is a world that is more multipolar, yet also more fragmented, where cooperation is harder to sustain even as global challenges multiply.

Across Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia, geopolitical tensions are reshaping alliances, supply chains, and governance structures. The contestation of norms once seen as universal – from trade rules to data governance – reflects a broader rebalancing of the international system. As the old order gives way, the question is not whether power is changing hands, but how a new form of collective stability can emerge.

To explore these dynamics, the Global Solutions Initiative, in partnership with FES Asia, will convene a Policy Lab on the Future of Global Order. Bringing together thought leaders from more than 20 countries, the Lab will use futures and strategic foresight methodologies to map potential scenarios, identify leverage points for cooperation, and reimagine the principles of a more inclusive multilateral system.

Moving beyond traditional panels, the Lab’s dialogue-driven format – held under Chatham House rules – will foster candid, solutions-oriented exchanges among policymakers, scholars, and strategists. The aim is to build a shared understanding of how today’s disruptions can be transformed into pathways toward a more resilient and equitable international order.