Democracy seemed to have won the day. Yet, recent global events raise questions about the future of democracy under the threat of populism, caudillism, and dynastic rule as well as authoritarianism

In Monica Bhatia's interview, she discusses the changes in the global financial sector in the wake of the Panama papers and the HSBC files, mainly the increase in transparency between banks and governments. She highlights her belief in the Automatic Global Tax Information Sharing Network in countering tax evasion and the success of the methods that governments have already undertaken to enable voluntary disclosures. Lastly, she illustrates the measures under the BEPS system on tax compliance.

In Alexis Dalem's interview he discusses areas on which Thales and India have collaborated in the past and can collaborate in the future, in the defense, security and aerospace spheres, and under the Make in India policy. He laid emphasis on Thales's policy of willingness for technology transfer and production in India and their ambition to co-develop products and export from India, since they have a strong belief in India's industrial competitiveness and skilled workforce. He further applauds Modi's recent FDI changes in India as it allows for this technology transfer, enables Thales to retain a certain level of control in their subsidiaries in India and creates an investment positive business environment.

In Dr. Stormy Mildner's interview she highlights the high levels of benefits accrued to countries due to trade. She mentions methods that can further increase these advantages. Her perception of trade is that it involves not just the mobility of goods but also of services. She describes measures taken by the B20 such as the Business Mobility Card that will facilitate labour mobility. She ends with the founding principles, objectives and goals of the B20 and the legacy the German Presidency would like to leave behind when its term ends, namely, sustainability, inclusiveness and a future oriented approach to growth.

In his interview, Dr. Peter Wolff discusses the pillars and objectives of Germany's Marshall Plan for Africa and the need to integrate it into the global value chain. In the sphere of renewable energy, he argues that the most effective way of establishing a solid renewable sector is through market based strategies rather than government based ones. Although in some industries public private partnerships are the best measure, in others a more corporate lead approach is better.

In this interview Anastasia Likhacheva discusses the impact and a few of the positive externalities of the oil price drop, sanctions and counter sanctions on the Russian economy. Despite Trump’s obvious warmth towards Russia, she doesn’t foresee any major agreements signed between the two countries due to the roadblocks that can be placed by the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Senate. She further describes the role she sees Russia undertaking in Asian financial institutions like the NDB and the AIIB in the future.

2016 has been marked by unprecedented geopolitical dislocations and dispersals. In January 2016, Gateway House, identified the major emerging global trends. As the year comes to an end, several developments have confirmed these forecasted trends

A lesser publicised aspect of the American Presidential Race is the adoption of the Party Platform during the Convention. During the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention, the two parties put down and adopted their platforms. Ambassador Neelam Deo analyses the foreign policy aspects of the platforms and their implications.