Are we willing to build a new global social contract?
A stimulating conversation with Sundeep Waslekar about a potential new future
Links to podcast and video at the end of the article
Sacrifice to benefit? “I am” because “we are”.
Sundeep Waslekar says “more and more our problems are civilizational, but our responses are national”. He also believes we are brainwashed on our screens. “And because we are all sleeping, the whole world is asleep. And my biggest fear is that we may sleepwalk into a war.”
Sundeep is a leading thinker for the future and author of the much-read book "A World Without War". He is also Chairman of the Strategic Foresight Group, an India-based think tank that has worked with or on 65 countries since its founding in 2002. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for the Resolution of Intractable Conflicts in Oxford.
Sundeep says a world without war is not starry-eyed thinking
There have been a number of attempts over past years. (details on podcast). Sundeep says we must now adapt the strategy to the new context of the 21st century.
The four biggest risks we have
the arms race in the nuclear weapons.
the integration of nuclear weapons, biological weapons and chemical weapons with artificial intelligence
the growing militarization, including in conventional weapons.
the absence of any conflict resolution mechanism where either party could go to and have a mandatory resolution of the conflict
What are scientists doing about this?
“They are only talking with each other because people don’t want to think about the risk. People only want to think about benefits. So we have to develop a framework, a global framework, which balances mitigation of risk with maximization of benefits. And that’s the effort I’m involved in in 2025.”
An actionable framework for a new global contract: maximum benefits and minimum risks
In the month of May, Sundeep and Stefan Löfven, a Swedish former Prime Minister, will meet with the European Parliament.
They will propose an actionable framework based on this
We need to all stay up to date on what comes of session. Will there be new actions?
What are your thoughts?
Check out his podcast and video short on my YouTube channel: New — A Sundeep Waslekar
Follow Sundeep on LinkedIn.
Read more about him on my Imaginize World website: https://imaginize.world/a-world-without-war-in-our-global-future-with-sundeep-waslekar/