Only borders based on connectivity will actually matter, argues leading global strategist Parag Khanna

Dubai-UAE: 14 February, 2017:  The 21st century could witness a defining chapter in world history when the world acts to phase out political borders in favor of economic integration even as connectivity replaces sovereignty as the organizing principle of a new world order, said Parag Khanna, Managing Partner, Hybrid Reality Senior Fellow, Lee Kuan Yew School.

Khanna’s comments came on the second day of the fifth World Government Summit during his talk on what it means to live in a world with ‘Liquid Borders’, what are the key trends shifting current physical borders and how a world of liquid borders will shape the future of citizenship.  Khanna stressed the importance of governments in developing policies that will both maintain economic growth and protect individual sovereignty.

Speaking about how technology is reshaping the world and the incredible, astounding level of connectivity we have today, he said: “What we’re finding more and more is that the voice of the people in cities, their professional businesses and social interests are setting the national agenda. The psychology of cities around the world is showing us that they favor and intrinsically depend on connectivity between them.”

The futurist pointed out that globalization is still a very robust phenomenon, benefiting almost everyone. Stating that there are more expatriates and more people living outside of their country of origin than ever before, he said the majority of migration in the world is across emerging and developing markets.
“In the last one year alone, two billion people, represented by their governments have said they want to bring down walls, have more ease of mobility for workers, for students and for travelers, not to put up walls and barriers and restrictions. So, while it is happening in some places and walls are being built, policies around immigration are changing and in many parts of the world things are opening-up more,” he observed.

“We’re standing here in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, what country in the world, and what city has benefitted more from this mobility of labor? This is in fact one of the fastest growing cities ever and its infrastructural connectivity and openness to the mobility of people has been a crucial factor in the success of why we are standing here today.”

Parag Khanna is a leading global strategist, world traveler, and best-selling author. He is a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre on Asia and Globalization at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. He is also the Managing Partner of Hybrid Reality, a boutique geostrategic advisory firm, and Co-founder and CEO of Factotum, a leading content branding agency.

Khanna’s latest book is Technocracy in America: Rise of the Info-State (2017). He is author of a trilogy of books on the future of world order beginning with The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order (2008), followed by How to Run the World: Charting a Course to the Next Renaissance (2011), and concluding with Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization (2016). He is also co-author of Hybrid Reality: Thriving in the Emerging Human-Technology Civilization (2012).

In 2008, Parag Khanna was named one of Esquire’s ‘75 Most Influential People of the 21stCentury’, and featured in WIRED magazine’s ‘Smart List’. 

The World Government Summit (WGS) 2017 has drawn the participation of more than 4,000 personalities from 139 countries around the world, reflecting the leading stature of the summit on regional and international levels and the high interest from governments, global organizations, private and public sector entities, decision makers, entrepreneurs, academics and university students as well as scientists and innovators. WGS 2017 features 150 speakers across 114 sessions that highlight the world’s most pressing challenges and showcase best practices and cutting-edge solutions to deal with them.