Uncover what Trump 2.0 means for your business’s strategy

With a growing need for executives to grasp the global backdrop to business, our newly updated online course, International relations: China, Russia, the US and the future of geopolitics, helps them understand and respond to disruption in world affairs. Over six weeks, individuals or teams of professionals enrolled in the programme will examine the consequences of Trump reclaiming power. This is part of a comprehensive overview, written by The Economist’s journalists, of global issues from diplomacy to demography; from the Ukraine war to climate change; and from trade protectionism to artificial intelligence. Developments are set within the context of the widening split between America and other democracies on the one hand, and the autocracies of China and Russia on the other.

Already, hundreds of professionals from business and government, many with responsibility for determining strategy, have benefited from the course. The programme boasts features including written briefings; discussions with fellow executives; and videos and podcasts with The Economist’s journalists as well as leading global figures such as Kevin Rudd, a former prime minister of Australia, and Eric Schmidt, a previous chief executive of Google. Participants receive a complimentary three-month subscription to The Economist, and are encouraged to read specific articles to deepen their understanding of geopolitical issues.

This is no academic exercise. Economist Education’s courses provide executives with useful, up-to-date information and analysis, together with exercises that enable them to apply what they learn at their organisation. Our international-relations programme guides leaders to home in on the geopolitical trends that matter most to their company, so they can make confident, well-informed decisions about strategy and mitigating risks. It equips them to assess how they will be affected by shifting power balances—especially the US-China competition in everything from technology to warfare—and fraying global economic ties. This gives decision-makers the frameworks they need to monitor and react to events long after the course has finished. 

For teams of executives, meanwhile, the course establishes a shared understanding of geopolitics, providing the basis for sophisticated discussions and decision-making. For organisations that wish to tie the course closely to their own corporate priorities, or interact directly with experts, customised programmes are available. And for subscribers to other products and services from The Economist Group that analyse geopolitics, such as Economist Intelligence Unit’s data and reports, the course supplies valuable context.

In the upcoming run of the course starting on February 26th, new information and analysis is presented on subjects critical for business, such as:

• The fracturing of the liberal geopolitical order, and the corresponding threat to globalisation.

• The growing separation of the world economy into two blocs, one democratic and the other autocratic.

• The effect on the world order of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the continuing war. 

• The remaking of the Middle East by war—especially the conflict in Gaza.

• Case studies explaining how China’s clout, and its rivalry with the US, affect companies and countries. 

• The contours and consequences of China’s military and commercial power, and the outlook for US-China relations in Trump’s second term.

• Scenarios for the future of the global order.

In sum, Economist Education’s international-relations course provides an up-to-date, thorough grounding for executives who need to understand the geopolitical backdrop against which strategy is forged and to decode what developments mean for their business.