Stephen Kotkin

FIS Stanford 2025

When states lose the ability to govern, populism rises

Stephen Kotkin, global geopolitical expert and Stanford academic, has warned that there is an “increasing governability challenge in high-income democracies” where government departments face declining capacity to perform core functions due to complex regulatory systems and bureaucratic tasks.

Darcy SongOctober 3, 2025

FIS Harvard 2025

US-China war the only real threat to portfolios: Kotkin

The second Trump administration has given investors plenty to worry about – tax changes, tariffs and diplomatic chaos among other concerns. But geopolitics expert Stephen Kotkin said the only real danger that will obliterate any portfolio is an US-China war.

Darcy SongJune 3, 2025

Podcasts

The world in flux and Trump’s role in a new equilibrium

The second Trump administration has so far brought a lot of things: market shocks, volatile trade policies, and turbulent foreign relationships. But beyond the chaos, renowned geopolitics expert Stephen Kotkin says Trump has an unwitting role to help the world rebalance and reach a “new equilibrium” in the global order.

STAFF WRITERApril 11, 2025

FIS Oxford 2024

Why the impact of technology is limited only by the laws of physics

The potential of technology is constrained only by the laws of physics, whether classical or, increasingly, quantum. As the power of technology increases it allows us to understand the world in a lot more detail – including why the current path to net-zero isn’t going to work.

Simon HoyleDecember 6, 2024

FIS Stanford 2024

Changing geopolitical risks are getting harder to manage – but here’s how

The changing nature of geopolitical risks has made them harder to manage, even though the adversaries to an American-led world order have remained nearly the same over the decades. The Fiduciary Investors Symposium heard a key difference is that everything that happens everywhere is now interconnected.

Prashant MehraSeptember 30, 2024

Featured Story

Emerging markets investors have long ‘mispriced’ risk: Kotkin

Escalating diplomatic “disillusionment” surrounding the US-China relationship has made investors think twice about exposure to the world’s second-largest economy. Geopolitics expert Stephen Kotkin said China may still be attractive to investors, if they understand the complexities of domestic Chinese politics – and ensure they are paid a hefty risk premium.

Aleks VickovichOctober 17, 2023