Newsweek

Davos in the Time of Disorder

This year’s World Economic Forum meeting would do well to seek inspiration from individuals rather than institutions.
Klaus Schwab, executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), arrives in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York on December 13, 2016. Schwab was invited to a meeting with Trump.
Klaus Schwab and Trump

There will be two rather different gatherings of the world’s most powerful people on January 20. In the luxury ski resort of Davos, Switzerland, the 2017 meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF)—the annual four-day coming together of political and business leaders—will be wrapping up. If there is a global clubhouse for establishment figures, Davos is it.

Meanwhile, as WEF in Washington, D.C. Attendees at Davos will know that Trump’s presidency threatens to uproot the norms of diplomacy and trade and sweep away the ethos of international cooperation at the heart of the WEF. This year, the global elite won’t just be exchanging business cards; they’ll be seeking reassurance.

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