Together with JongRijk organized Socires a meeting for young government officials on the impact of geopolitical shifts on their work. Global power shifts, geopolitical uncertainty, war and technological disruptions also affect Education, Health, and Social Security. At this meeting, the young officials met Menno Middeldorp (Global Head of RaboResearch) and Trineke Palm (Director of the Scientific Institute of the Christian Union).
The role of geopolitics in the economic analyses of Rabobank
Menno Middeldorp showed how geopolitics has become increasingly important in Rabobank's economic analyses. From trade wars to dependencies in the chip and energy chains, economic analyses can no longer be separated from international politics. Middeldorp showed, among other things, the impact of the 5% NATO standard on the Dutch economy and which dependencies are currently relevant to Europe. According to research, more and more companies in the Netherlands are aware of geopolitical unrest, and that is also necessary, because the motives of political leaders are not always consistent and beneficial to the European economy.
Attention to human and world
Trineke Palm added a normative layer. In addition to the analysis, attention needs to be paid to the human and world views of geopolitical issues. She reflected on the forming effect of personal life experiences ('how does the"9-11 Generation" to the world?') and what role do personal experiences play in expectations for the future? With Reinhold Niebuhr, Trineke spoke of justice in times of brokenness. It is precisely in times of chaos that trying to do justice and to act righteously is important to return to stability.
We talked to the participants about:
- NATO standard and the impact of defence expenditure (5%)
- American policy and geopolitical unpredictability
- Supply chains and technological dependencies
- Climate change as a geopolitical issue
- Resilience vs. resilience
- European cooperation and the future of the multilateral legal order
- The attitude of Dutch politics towards Israel
Thanks to everyone involved for the rich conversation. This meeting shows once again that policy benefits from government officials who look beyond their own domain and the figures with understanding of human and world views.