The SAIS Europe Student Government Association (SGA) organized a seminar with Ian Bremmer, the president and founder of The Eurasia Group and professor at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). After a brief introduction by SAIS student Filipe Carvalho, Dr. Bremmer began his seminar with an overview of the international system. He said that we are currently in a "G Zero" world, meaning that the global balance of power has changed, but the international institutions that help stabilize the international system have not. The United States in particular has been unable to adapt due to political dysfunction, and strained bilateral relations between the US and China make global leadership from either unlikely.

Given the lack of leadership on the international stage, Bremmer said that leadership is coming from other places. Non-state actors like financial institutions and youth organizations have pressed for greater action on climate change, and technology companies are increasingly exercising more power in international affairs. Bremmer said that it is important for political scientists to better understand how these private actors exercise sovereign authority, particularly as they are insulated from democratic control. He proposed a typology for understanding and differentiating these companies based on how they approach the division of power between the physical and virtual worlds.

The seminar concluded with a Q&A session, with questions from SGA members and students on a range of topics including the regulation of the tech industry and how the US can adapt to the "splintering" of the internet.



Full Audio:

Organized by the Johns Hopkins University SAIS Europe Student Government Association

The event will be held in hybrid mode. SAIS Europe students, faculty, and staff are allowed to attend in person in the Auditorium. External guests are welcome to participate by registering for the online webinar using the link below.

Ian Bremmer is the president and founder of Eurasia Group, the world's leading political risk research and consulting firm, and GZERO Media, a company dedicated to providing intelligent and engaging coverage of international affairs. Bremmer is an independent voice on critical issues around the globe, offering clearheaded insights through speeches, written commentary, and even satirical puppets. He is a political scientist who helps business leaders, policy makers, and the general public make sense of the world around them.

Bremmer is the host of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, which airs weekly on US national public television. He is also a frequent guest on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, the BBC, Bloomberg, and many others globally. A prolific writer, Bremmer is the author of eleven books, including the New York Times bestseller Us vs Them: The Failure of Globalism which examines the rise of populism across the world. His forthcoming book The Power of Crisis: How Three Threats—and Our Response—Will Change the World comes out on 17 May and is available for preorder now. Bremmer also serves as the foreign affairs columnist and editor at large for Time magazine. He currently teaches at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and previously was a professor at New York University.

Find him on Facebook, LinkedIn, and regularly tweeting from @IanBremmer, and stay up to date by subscribing to GZERO Media's Signal newsletter subscribing to GZERO Media's Signal newsletter.

Pre-reads:
• Eurasia Group Top Risks 2022 Report (link).
• Bremmer, Ian. Foreign Affairs. "The Technopolar Moment" November/December 2021 (link).