Countries clashing with each other. Unknown diseases infecting entire populations. Extremist groups perpetually threatening to take power away from governments.
Sounds like signs of the Apocalypse? The National Intelligence Council (NIC), the United States' midterm and long-term strategic think tank, listed these developments as possible scenarios in the near future, the next 20 years to be exact.
In its Global Trends Report compiled every four years to guide both policymakers and intelligence officials, the council warned that the ongoing competition among major international powers, such as the U.S., China and Russia, will "sharpen" in the coming years.
To be able to claim supremacy, countries may resort to using more and more destructive forms of warfare, including nuclear ones, according to the think tank.
"Countries become battlegrounds for proxy wars between world powers, nuclear weapons achieve renewed relevancy and cyberattacks, for instance, blur traditional distinctions between war and peace," the NIC said in its report, as quoted by The Associated Press.
To further complicate the situation, the council thinks nations will be confronted with threats of "criminal syndicates, extremists, business elites and religious groups," who will abuse technology in their efforts to undermine governments.
"They use messaging to gain support. Technology enables people to communicate outside their own borders and traditional government structures. Some authoritarian leaders clamp down on citizens to maintain control, but some are taken down by popular movements," the NIC report stated.
As if these threats were not enough, the American intelligence body also said that climate change may bring destructive weather patterns and outbreaks of previously unheard-of diseases.
"Infectious disease epidemics prompt a dramatic drop in travel to large parts of the world. While climate issues might lead to international cooperation, it could also cause discord. A few countries invest in projects such as seawalls or desalination, but most take few, if any, steps," the council said.
The NIC also forecasts economic slowdown in most countries, mainly because of problems in the Chinese economy, prompting them to "turn inward, take on a defensive posture and shore up borders."
