6. Global risks & resilience 2
6.1 Geopolitical & economic risks 2
Threats to individuals and businesses 2
Hacking: 2
Identity theft: 2
Implications of surveillance for personal freedoms 2
Risks to the global supply chain: 3
New and emerging threats to the sovereignty of states 4
Profit repatriation and tax avoidance by TNCs and wealthy individuals 4
Disruptive technological innovations: Drones 4
Disruptive technological innovations: 3D printing 5
Increased globalisation and renewed nationalism 5
Geopolitical tension/conflict: Rising nationalism in Europe 5
Geopolitical tension/conflict: Economic nationalism in USA & China 6
6.2 Environmental risks 6
Transboundary pollution (TBP) 6
Acid rain: 6
Reducing the impacts of acid deposition 7
Environmental impacts of global flows 7
Shipping: 7
Carbon footprints for global flows of food and other goods: 8
Food: 8
Population flows: 8
Immigrants to the USA: 8
Other goods: 9
Environmental issues linked with the global shift of industry 9
Polluting manufacturing industries: 9
Maquiladora development in Mexico: 9
Is the relocation of pollution industries the main cause of pollution in Mexico? 10
Food production systems for global agribusiness: 10
6.3 Local & global resilience 11
International civil society organisations and risks related to global interactions 11
Case studies:Greenpeace – managing environmental issues 11
Case study: Amnesty International 12
Strategies to build resilience 12
Re-shoring of economic activity by TNCs 12
The use of crowd-sourcing technologies 13
New technologies for the management of global flows of data and people 15
Cybersecurity 15
e-passports 16
1
,6. Global risk & resilience
6.1 Geopolitical & economic risks
Threats to individuals and businesses
Hacking:
● WannaCry: major hacking event in UK, May 2017
○ number of NHS trusts were left vulnerable in a ransomware attack
○ more than 1/3 of trusts in UK were disrupted, resulting in nearly 7,000
appointments being cancelled
○ spread to more than 150 countries in a worldwide ransomware attack
● as digital technologies are increasingly embedded in everyday objects --> increased
potential for hackers to monitor & affect operations
○ may mean increased surveillance is required to maintain security
Identity theft:
Identity crime describes a range of crimes from
complete life theft to credit card theft and
subsequent fraud.
● acquisition of identity-related data through
“phishing”, data breach/theft, deception and
accidental loss.
Technology not only creates criminal opportunities,
it also creates ways of detecting them.
● E.g. Contactless payment schemes have
increased the potential for identity crime, as
payment can be made with a simple tap of
the card.
Implications of surveillance for personal
freedoms
● The Council of Europe stated that mass surveillance practices are a fundamental
threat to human rights and violate the right to privacy enshrined in the European
Convention on Human Rights.
● It also suggests that the British laws enabling the wide-ranging powers of GCHQ
(Government Communications Headquarters) are incompatible with the European
Convention on Human Rights.
● The internet and social media allow people to communicate more freely than ever
before.
2
, ○ But people are under more surveillance than ever before from governments
and commercial organisations.
Risks to the global supply chain:
Type Explanation
Economic risks
Asset price rises in a major Unsustainably overpriced assets such as commodities, housing & shares in
economy a major economy or region
Failure/shortfall of critical Failure to adequately invest in, upgrade/ secure infrastructure networks
infrastructure (e.g., energy, transportation & communications)
High structural A sustained high level of unemployment or underutilization of the
unemployment productive capacity of the employed population
Illicit trade Large-scale activities outside the legal framework that undermine social
interactions, regional/ international collaboration & global growth
Severe energy price shock Significant energy price increases or decreases that place further economic
(increase or decrease) pressures on highly energy-dependent industries & consumers
Environmental risks
Extreme weather events Cause major property, infrastructure and/or environmental damage as well
as loss of human life
Major biodiversity loss & Result in irreversible consequences for the environment and severely
ecosystem collapse depleted resources for humanity as well as industries
Major natural disasters Cause major property, infrastructure and/or environmental damage as well
as loss of human life (e.g., earthquake, tsunami, volcanic eruption,
geomagnetic storms)
Human-made Failure to prevent major human-made damage and disasters, including
environmental damage & environmental crime, causing harm to human lives and health,
disasters infrastructure, property, economic activity & the environment (e.g., oil spills
& radioactive contamination)
Political risks
Failure of national Inability to govern a nation of geopolitical importance as a result of weak
governance rule of law, corruption or political deadlock
Failure of regional or global Inability of regional or global institutions to resolve issues of economic,
governance geopolitical or environmental importance
Interstate conflict with A bilateral/multilateral dispute between states that escalates into economic
regional consequences (eg, trade/currency wars, resource nationalisation), military, cyber, societal
or other conflict
Large-scale terrorist attacks Individuals or non-state groups with political or religious goals that
successfully inflict large-scale human or material damage
3
6.1 Geopolitical & economic risks 2
Threats to individuals and businesses 2
Hacking: 2
Identity theft: 2
Implications of surveillance for personal freedoms 2
Risks to the global supply chain: 3
New and emerging threats to the sovereignty of states 4
Profit repatriation and tax avoidance by TNCs and wealthy individuals 4
Disruptive technological innovations: Drones 4
Disruptive technological innovations: 3D printing 5
Increased globalisation and renewed nationalism 5
Geopolitical tension/conflict: Rising nationalism in Europe 5
Geopolitical tension/conflict: Economic nationalism in USA & China 6
6.2 Environmental risks 6
Transboundary pollution (TBP) 6
Acid rain: 6
Reducing the impacts of acid deposition 7
Environmental impacts of global flows 7
Shipping: 7
Carbon footprints for global flows of food and other goods: 8
Food: 8
Population flows: 8
Immigrants to the USA: 8
Other goods: 9
Environmental issues linked with the global shift of industry 9
Polluting manufacturing industries: 9
Maquiladora development in Mexico: 9
Is the relocation of pollution industries the main cause of pollution in Mexico? 10
Food production systems for global agribusiness: 10
6.3 Local & global resilience 11
International civil society organisations and risks related to global interactions 11
Case studies:Greenpeace – managing environmental issues 11
Case study: Amnesty International 12
Strategies to build resilience 12
Re-shoring of economic activity by TNCs 12
The use of crowd-sourcing technologies 13
New technologies for the management of global flows of data and people 15
Cybersecurity 15
e-passports 16
1
,6. Global risk & resilience
6.1 Geopolitical & economic risks
Threats to individuals and businesses
Hacking:
● WannaCry: major hacking event in UK, May 2017
○ number of NHS trusts were left vulnerable in a ransomware attack
○ more than 1/3 of trusts in UK were disrupted, resulting in nearly 7,000
appointments being cancelled
○ spread to more than 150 countries in a worldwide ransomware attack
● as digital technologies are increasingly embedded in everyday objects --> increased
potential for hackers to monitor & affect operations
○ may mean increased surveillance is required to maintain security
Identity theft:
Identity crime describes a range of crimes from
complete life theft to credit card theft and
subsequent fraud.
● acquisition of identity-related data through
“phishing”, data breach/theft, deception and
accidental loss.
Technology not only creates criminal opportunities,
it also creates ways of detecting them.
● E.g. Contactless payment schemes have
increased the potential for identity crime, as
payment can be made with a simple tap of
the card.
Implications of surveillance for personal
freedoms
● The Council of Europe stated that mass surveillance practices are a fundamental
threat to human rights and violate the right to privacy enshrined in the European
Convention on Human Rights.
● It also suggests that the British laws enabling the wide-ranging powers of GCHQ
(Government Communications Headquarters) are incompatible with the European
Convention on Human Rights.
● The internet and social media allow people to communicate more freely than ever
before.
2
, ○ But people are under more surveillance than ever before from governments
and commercial organisations.
Risks to the global supply chain:
Type Explanation
Economic risks
Asset price rises in a major Unsustainably overpriced assets such as commodities, housing & shares in
economy a major economy or region
Failure/shortfall of critical Failure to adequately invest in, upgrade/ secure infrastructure networks
infrastructure (e.g., energy, transportation & communications)
High structural A sustained high level of unemployment or underutilization of the
unemployment productive capacity of the employed population
Illicit trade Large-scale activities outside the legal framework that undermine social
interactions, regional/ international collaboration & global growth
Severe energy price shock Significant energy price increases or decreases that place further economic
(increase or decrease) pressures on highly energy-dependent industries & consumers
Environmental risks
Extreme weather events Cause major property, infrastructure and/or environmental damage as well
as loss of human life
Major biodiversity loss & Result in irreversible consequences for the environment and severely
ecosystem collapse depleted resources for humanity as well as industries
Major natural disasters Cause major property, infrastructure and/or environmental damage as well
as loss of human life (e.g., earthquake, tsunami, volcanic eruption,
geomagnetic storms)
Human-made Failure to prevent major human-made damage and disasters, including
environmental damage & environmental crime, causing harm to human lives and health,
disasters infrastructure, property, economic activity & the environment (e.g., oil spills
& radioactive contamination)
Political risks
Failure of national Inability to govern a nation of geopolitical importance as a result of weak
governance rule of law, corruption or political deadlock
Failure of regional or global Inability of regional or global institutions to resolve issues of economic,
governance geopolitical or environmental importance
Interstate conflict with A bilateral/multilateral dispute between states that escalates into economic
regional consequences (eg, trade/currency wars, resource nationalisation), military, cyber, societal
or other conflict
Large-scale terrorist attacks Individuals or non-state groups with political or religious goals that
successfully inflict large-scale human or material damage
3
