For Mikael Wigell, founder and CEO of the Economic Security Forum, the biggest challenge has been the rapid change in global economic practices. This paradigm change has taken root over the last ten years. This change—what I call strategic capitalism—places strategic advantage above criteria such as efficiency and comparative advantage. As Wigell details, recent global shocks – most notably driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as well as the COVID-19 pandemic – have expedited this shift.
Wigell’s perspectives paint a picture of the new normals, where private sector firms and national leaders are reconsidering their development paradigms. As the world continues to navigate the ripple effect of heightened geopolitical tensions and an unpredictable economy, the need for this transition couldn’t be clearer.
Understanding Strategic Capitalism
Strategic capitalism is a break from the traditional idea of efficiency being the most important impetus of all economic choices. As Mikael Wigell points out, this positive evolution began more than a decade ago. More recently, it has been picking up steam due to pressing international events.
Around the world, we’re seeing an exciting redefinition of what constitutes value in economic terms. In the past, a site’s comparative advantage—like access to inputs like natural resources or a skilled labor base—was key to attracting investment. According to Wigell, these considerations are becoming secondary if they ever existed at all to the strategic advantages a location can offer. This defines security to mean things like geopolitical stability, being in tune with international alliances such as NATO, and the robustness to withstand outside shocks.
Economic Security Forum, which Wigell leads, is a great example of a forum in which these trends can be explored. The consultancy, founded in 2021, specializes in geoeconomics — the intersection of economic policy and geopolitical competition. Together, these new strategies allow businesses and governments to better understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities of this faster-paced global economy.
Impact of Global Shocks
The COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine serve as the latest case studies of such external shocks. Second, they have sped up the turn toward strategic capitalism. These recent events have severely disrupted supply chains, dramatically changed trade routes, and introduced the idea of national security into economic decision-making.
As Mikael Wigell points out, these last two shocks have forced many countries to look more critically at their dependencies and vulnerabilities. In response to these challenges, businesses are increasingly seeking to invest in regions that offer not only economic benefits but political stability and security.
We are in the middle of a massive global investment paradigm shift. Countries that provide strategic reliability are rising to the top of firms’ priorities. As nations scramble to attract investment while safeguarding their interests, the implications for traditional economic theories become clear: efficiency alone cannot guarantee success in today’s volatile environment.
Insights on Global Investment Planning
Mikael Wigell’s expertise includes global investment planning, where he advises actors both private and public on the difficult art of navigating strategic capitalism. His recent U.S. economic policy dangerously confused with national security commentary on the Trump administration’s renewed tariff agenda illustrates the deep geopolitical implications of our current economic policy disconnect.
Wigell counters that these policies are symptomatic of a much larger wave of governments ramping up to protect their economies from malign external actors. This big-picture view conforms with his larger views on strategic capitalism, that short-term economic calculations are giving way to long-term geopolitical calculations.
The Economic Security Forum is critical in equipping the organizations with whom we work to better understand these dynamics. It rigorously researches and analyzes everything they do. This illuminates opportunities across their operations providing clients with the intelligence they need to act and prevail in today’s volatile world.