Strategic Survey 2020 The Annual Assessment of Geopolitics The worst pandemic in a century tested governments, strained societies and frayedinternational ties during the year to mid-2020. But there was much more to this periodthan COVID-19. Climate change – another severe global challenge – grew more critical. USPresident Donald Trump was impeached, the United Kingdom left the European Union, andIranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani was killed. Strategic Survey 2020 provides a comprehensive overview of major developments in everyregion of the world, and in-depth analysis of key geopolitical and geo-economic issues: War The US–Taliban agreement to end the United States’ longest war; the persistence ofother complex armed conflicts. Power China’s growing influence, especially in Europe and the South Pacific; Turkey’s forceprojection in the Middle East and beyond; the EU’s quest for strategic autonomy; thenew geopolitics of the Red Sea; the implications of Ethiopia’s giant dam for relationsbetween Nile states; the increasing use of economic sanctions as a tool of statecraft. Rules The decline of multilateralism; prospects for arms control; key gaps in internationallaw; Central Asia’s connectivity; changes in the status of Jammu and Kashmir; duallegitimacy in Venezuela. Strategic Survey 2020 also assesses a diverse range of political leaders: Progress of three ambitious reforming presidents: Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa,Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico. Foreign-policy legacies of two veteran leaders: Angela Merkel and Abe Shinzo. Trump’s challenges to both the transatlantic relationship and China. Evolution of and prospects for Vladimir Putin’s presidency. Strategic Survey 2020 is the indispensable guide to the events, actors and forces that de nedan exceptionally complex year. It highlights the geopolitical issues that will shape theinternational agenda in 2021.
