Ian Bremmer

  • Expert on Political Risk
  • Foreign Affairs Columnist and Editor-at-Large, TIME Magazine
  • New York Times Bestselling Author of 10 Books
  • President and Founder, Eurasia Group

Ian Bremmer is a political scientist who helps business leaders, policy makers, and the general public make sense of the world around them. He is president and founder of Eurasia Group, the world’s leading political risk research and consulting firm, and GZERO Media, a company dedicated to providing intelligent and engaging coverage of international affairs. Ian is an independent voice on critical issues around the globe, offering clearheaded insights through speeches, written commentary, and even satirical puppets (really!). He is the host of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, which airs weekly on US national public television. Ian is also a frequent guest on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, the BBC, Bloomberg, and many others globally.

A prolific writer, Ian is the author of 10 books, including the New York Times bestsellers Us vs Them: The Failure of Globalism and The Power of Crisis: How Three Threats – and Our Response – Will Change the World - which examines global health emergencies, transformative climate change, and the AI revolution and whether we can use these crises to innovate our way toward a better world. He also serves as the Foreign Affairs Columnist and Editor at Large for TIME magazine. He currently teaches at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and previously was a professor at New York University.

 



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Ian Bremmer headshot
Past Hosts Include:
  • The Asia Society
  • Foreign Policy Association
  • TEDx
  • Japan Society NYC
  • Concordia
  • World Economic Forum
  • KPMG
  • CRE Finance Council
Rave Reviews About Ian Bremmer as a Speaker
The event went great with almost 1,300 attendees it was the most successful one yet. Ian was just FANTASTIC! Everyone I asked was very thrilled to have been part of this conference and specially to have had the opportunity to listen to Ian speak. If people didn’t know who Ian Bremmer was, now they are certainly glad they do.

Ian Bremmer - The Next Global Superpower Isn't Who You Think | TED - Get Sharable Link
Talks & Conversations with Ian Bremmer
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Superpower: Three Choices for America's Role in the World

Global policy expert Ian Bremmer calls for a complete rethink of America’s role in tomorrow’s world. In an increasingly volatile international environment, the question has never been more important. Bremmer explores three choices, each with its own benefits and drawbacks: “Independent America” ar ...

Global policy expert Ian Bremmer calls for a complete rethink of America’s role in tomorrow’s world. In an increasingly volatile international environment, the question has never been more important. Bremmer explores three choices, each with its own benefits and drawbacks:
  • “Independent America” argues that it’s time for Washington to declare independence from the responsibility to solve everyone else’s problems. Instead, America should lead by example by investing in America’s enormous untapped potential;
  • “Moneyball America” acknowledges that we can’t manage every international challenge but asserts that we must defend U.S. interests wherever they’re threatened. It looks beyond phony arguments about American exceptionalism with a clear-eyed assessment of U.S. strengths and limitations; and,
  • “Indispensable America” insists that only Washington can promote the values on which global stability increasingly depends in our hyper-connected world. Turning inward would threaten America’s security and prosperity.

After the G-Zero: Overcoming Fragmentation

The global order that prevailed since the end of the Second World War has hit its limits. A breakdown in longstanding domestic, regional, and international political equilibria is making policymakers both less able and less willing to collaborate internationally. The result: a G-Zero world charact ...

The global order that prevailed since the end of the Second World War has hit its limits. A breakdown in longstanding domestic, regional, and international political equilibria is making policymakers both less able and less willing to collaborate internationally. The result: a G-Zero world characterized by a growing vacuum in global governance.
 
Ian Bremmer predicts a new world order that will succeed our G-Zero reality. The question, is whether citizens across the world will remain passive throughout this process, or take on a proactive role in determining what future they want to live in.  This new world order will be characterized by three important developments:

1. The end of a cycle
2. The end of politics as you knew it 
3. Saving global governance from the G-Zero
 
Mr. Bremmer will share his insights and views to help attendees understand the broader issues to consider as they formulate policy portfolios for the years ahead.

The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations?

A generation after communism’s collapse, the future of free market capitalism isn't what it used to be. Public wealth, public investment, and public ownership have made a stunning comeback. Certain that command economies are doomed to fail but afraid that truly free markets will spin beyond their ...

A generation after communism’s collapse, the future of free market capitalism isn't what it used to be. Public wealth, public investment, and public ownership have made a stunning comeback. Certain that command economies are doomed to fail but afraid that truly free markets will spin beyond their control, the political leadership in China, Russia, the Arab monarchies of the Persian Gulf and other authoritarian states have invented a new system: state capitalism. Each in their own way, they’re using markets to create wealth that can be directed toward the achievement of political goals. Governments now dominate key domestic economic sectors. The oil companies they own control three-quarters of the world’s crude oil reserves. They use state-owned companies to manipulate entire economic sectors and industries. They own enormous investment funds that have become vitally important sources of capital for Western governments and banks weakened by financial crisis. An expert on the impact of politics on market performance, Ian Bremmer illustrates the rise of state capitalism and details its long-term threat to relations among nations and the future of the global economy.

At this presentation audiences will learn about:

  • The rise of state capitalism
  • Why it exists and how it works
  • The threat to free market capitalism

Managing Risk in an Unstable World

  To navigate globalization's choppy waters, every business leader analyzes economic risk when considering overseas investments or looking at market exposure. But do you look beyond reassuring data about per-capita income or economic growth--to assess the political risk of doing business in specifi ...

 

To navigate globalization's choppy waters, every business leader analyzes economic risk when considering overseas investments or looking at market exposure. But do you look beyond reassuring data about per-capita income or economic growth--to assess the political risk of doing business in specific countries? If not, you may get blindsided when political forces shape markets in unexpected ways--from European accession in Turkey, social unrest in India, or protectionist legislation on China. Acclaimed political analyst and entrepreneur Ian Bremmer explains that by blending political and economic risk analysis, you make savvier investment decisions--seizing valuable opportunities around the globe while avoiding danger zones.

At this presentation audiences will learn:

  • How to spot political risk on the horizon and balance it against economic opportunities—and what it means for your global investments
  • How to understand the opportunities, and dangers, of dramatic Chinese growth
  • What are the trends around global terror, proliferation, and shifting geopolitics, and how it impacts the global markets
  • What growing political risk means for the global economy, and where opportunities are

The Fat Tail: The Power of Political Knowledge for Strategic Investing

The fallout from the still-unfolding global financial crisis provides several perfect examples of "fat tail" risk, those that flow from the low-probability, high-impact events that generate upheaval more often than we think. Bremmer shares with audiences how an understanding of the political dynamic ...

The fallout from the still-unfolding global financial crisis provides several perfect examples of "fat tail" risk, those that flow from the low-probability, high-impact events that generate upheaval more often than we think. Bremmer shares with audiences how an understanding of the political dynamics generated by the financial crisis helps us forecast market risks, why politics matter more than ever for market performance, why the world's wealthiest countries have begun to behave like emerging market states, and what all this means for investors and companies.

At this presentation audiences will learn:

  • The risks that flow from low-probability, high-impact events...like the global financial crisis
  • Why politics matter more for the performance of markets and for issues ranging from defaults to nationalization to regulatory reforms
  • Why developed states are behaving more like emerging markets
  • The shift from New York, Shanghai, and Mumbai to Washington, Beijing, and Delhi—and the risks that this trend creates

China, India and Beyond: The Opportunities and Pitfalls of Asian Growth

China bestrides the world as a colossus, and business leaders can't get enough from the promised riches of Asia. But does unprecedented growth mean that your company will benefit from it? Ian Bremmer, intellectual entrepreneur and President of Eurasia Group, explains the dangers of Asian growth for ...

China bestrides the world as a colossus, and business leaders can't get enough from the promised riches of Asia. But does unprecedented growth mean that your company will benefit from it? Ian Bremmer, intellectual entrepreneur and President of Eurasia Group, explains the dangers of Asian growth for global investors seeking to build a presence in international markets; for companies seeking to sell their products there; and for the global markets more broadly.

At this speech audiences will learn:

  • How to read the political and economic landscape in China, India, and beyond
  • How geopolitics is creating greater risks—and opportunities—for investors in Asia

The Rise of the Different: Why the Global Order Doesn’t Work- and What We Can Do About It

Today, the American-led global order faces a fundamental challenge. It is not, however, the rise of the "rest." It’s the rise of the "different." As the dust settled after World War II, the United States emerged as arguably the most powerful state in history, and it set out to create a world order i ...

Today, the American-led global order faces a fundamental challenge. It is not, however, the rise of the "rest." It’s the rise of the "different." As the dust settled after World War II, the United States emerged as arguably the most powerful state in history, and it set out to create a world order in its own image. The US shaped a multilateral system underpinned by globalization, serving U.S. interests but also those of anyone who accepted American preferences. The ‘rest’ who rose were like-minded, advanced industrialized democracies that bought into and buttressed the liberal international order. Today, the world has fundamentally changed. Rising emerging market nations are much poorer, they are less diplomatically experienced, and they have different priorities and political systems. Perhaps most importantly, they are inherently less stable.

What does this mean for the global order? It’s difficult enough to come to an agreement on complicated questions among five negotiators (as meetings of the United Nations Security Council have always demonstrated). But with the rise of so many other players who cannot be ignored—and aren’t ready to agree—conflict and a lack of leadership will increasingly be the norm.

At this presentation, audiences will learn about:

  • The causes and consequences of a broken global order
  • Geopolitical conflict at large, from Euro-crisis and US elections to Arab Spring and Asian power politics
  • The best bets for US-led initiatives going forward
  • The future of US-China relations
  • The shifting balance between security and economics
  • New investment strategies and the power of resilience
  • Winners and losers in a leaderless world and what the future will hold

The Politics of Global Energy

Oil prices are increasingly susceptible to international politics--for both the world's supply and demand. Ian Bremmer, founder and president of the world's largest political risk consultancy, shares his views on what's in store for the politics of global energy--from spiralling Chinese and Indian g ...

Oil prices are increasingly susceptible to international politics--for both the world's supply and demand. Ian Bremmer, founder and president of the world's largest political risk consultancy, shares his views on what's in store for the politics of global energy--from spiralling Chinese and Indian growth in consumption to the dangers of future oil export from the Middle East, Russia and the Caspian, and West Africa.

At this speech audiences will learn:

  • Why international politics matters to oil investors, financial institutions, and consumers alike
  • How to assess the real threats to oil production, and discount the headlines that don't matter
  • How a shift in global relations between the US and China will affect the global energy market

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Speaker News
<p><strong>Expert in political risk Ian Bremmer gave a new TED Talk on how the reorg of global power is shaped within the new era of AI</strong></p>

Expert in political risk Ian Bremmer gave a new TED Talk on how the reorg of global power is shaped within the new era of AI

Political scientist and New York Times bestselling author IAN BREMMER is a political scientist who helps business leaders, policy makers, and the general public make sense of the world around them. In his TED Talk “The next global superpower isn't who you think,” Ian discusses how the re-organization of global power is shaped within the new era of AI, and what this combination of digital power means for society, technology innovation, markets, and democracy.

Today, it’s not governments, but the big tech companies that set the rules in the digital world. And in today’s digital order, ‘questioning authority’ – challenging the world order – means questioning the algorithm. Ian examines how technology companies will use their power, and how the digital world order will soon be most impactful for how we live, what we believe, what we want, and what we’re wiling to do to get it.

Watch Ian Bremmer’s TED Talk “The next global superpower isn’t who you think” >>

<p><strong>In his book <em>The Power of Crisis</em> Ian Bremmer provides a roadmap for thriving in the 21<sup>st</sup> century</strong></p>

In his book The Power of Crisis Ian Bremmer provides a roadmap for thriving in the 21st century

In his newest book The Power of Crisis: How Three Threats – and Our Response – Will Change the World, renowned political scientist IAN BREMMER draws lessons from global challenges of the past 100 years—including the pandemic—to show how we can respond to three great crises unfolding over the next decade. In this revelatory, unnerving, and ultimately hopeful book, Bremmer details how domestic and international conflicts leave us unprepared for a trio of looming crises—global health emergencies, transformative climate change, and the AI revolution. In coming years, new technologies will reshape the geopolitical order, disrupting our livelihoods and destabilizing our societies faster than we can grasp and address their implications.

The good news? Some farsighted political leaders, business decision-makers, and individual citizens are already collaborating to tackle all these crises. The question that should keep us awake is whether they will work well and quickly enough to limit the fallout—and, most importantly, whether we can use these crises to innovate our way toward a better world. Drawing on strategies both time-honored and cutting-edge, from the Marshall Plan to the Green New Deal, The Power of Crisis provides a roadmap for surviving—even thriving in—the 21st century. Bremmer shows governments, corporations, and every concerned citizen how we can use these coming crises to create the worldwide prosperity and opportunity that 20th-century globalism promised but failed to deliver.

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Biography

Ian Bremmer is a political scientist who helps business leaders, policy makers, and the general public make sense of the world around them. He is president and founder of Eurasia Group, the world's leading political risk research and consulting firm, and GZERO Media, a company dedicated to providing intelligent and engaging coverage of international affairs. Ian is an independent voice on critical issues around the globe, offering clearheaded insights through speeches, written commentary, and even satirical puppets (really!).

He is the host of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, which airs weekly on US national public television. Ian is also a frequent guest on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, the BBC, Bloomberg, and many other television stations around the world. 
 
Ian is credited with bringing the craft of political risk to financial markets, creating Wall Street's first global political risk index (GPRI), and for establishing political risk as an academic discipline. His definition of emerging markets—"those countries where politics matters at least as much as economics for market outcomes"—has become an industry standard. "G-Zero," his term for a global power vacuum in which no country is willing and able to set the international agenda, is widely accepted by policymakers and thought leaders.
 
A prolific writer, Ian is the author of ten books, including the New York Times bestseller Us vs Them: The Failure of Globalism which examines the rise of populism across the world. He also serves as the foreign affairs columnist and editor at large for Time magazine. He currently teaches at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and previously was a professor at New York University.

Ian earned a master's degree and a doctorate in political science from Stanford University, where he went on to become the youngest-ever national fellow at the Hoover Institution. He received his bachelor's degree in international relations from Tulane University.

Ian established Eurasia Group with just $25,000 in 1998. Today, the company has offices in New York, Washington, San Francisco, London, Brasilia, Sao Paulo, Singapore, and Tokyo, as well as a network of experts and resources in 90 countries.