A new world order is in the making — the recent positions of key global leaders, some of them outright controversial, are just confirming trends that have been gaining ground the last couple of years. Irrespective of what they would want us to believe, politicians are not at the forefront of this change; as usual and somehow normal, they seek to adapt and survive. We are at a time when the winners and the losers of these global transformations are being decided and there are good reasons to believe that big business has drawn the short straw. New partnerships, alliances and strategies are needed to counter a strong reaction against globalization: There is a need for an updated strategy — and tactics — for Japanese companies in the "New World Order." More than ever, the outward and export-oriented political blocs, countries and industries (such as Japan and the European Union) should mobilize and act.
Angela Merkel's recent statements (in a nutshell, "We have to fight for our own future ourselves") represent an acknowledgement of the reset of the post-World War II global order. Trans-Atlantic solidarity and cooperation, the fight against climate change, the attitude toward free trade — all these topics have found the United States and Europe on opposite sides of the argument and have informed the realist conclusion of the German chancellor. Simply said, it is all about protectionism and geopolitics again. Donald Trump is not an accident or a black swan. A premature end of his U.S. presidency would not end the causes of global realignment. His style is flashy and unpolished, but his gut feeling is well in place. What can be easily observed is that, with or without Trump, the tension between democracy and capitalism is growing.
Increased inequality in the West, coupled with a stagnation of real wages, has triggered a strong backlash against globalization. More and more people are joining what can be called the "losers of globalization" camp and they have become so influential in national politics that they can threaten not only the destinies of specific countries, but of the world in general (see the U.S. and French elections or the Brexit referendum). This evolution is an often-explicit critique of the way capitalism, as promoted mainly by multinational companies, has shaped the socio-economic realities of the past 30 years.