From December 27, 2020, to January 10, 2021, TRENDS Research & Advisory conducted a public opinion poll outlining the international geopolitical and security landscape in 2021. This was one of a series of polls being conducted by TRENDS. A large number of experts and researchers from many think-tanks, universities, and academic institutions participated in the poll. It tried to foresee the political, strategic, security, and economic transformations expected in 2021, besides defining the threats and challenges posed by these transformations. The poll included many questions seeking to foresee global transformations and the gravest threats facing their countries. The experts participating in the survey also shared the main determinants of the future of global security and the nature of geopolitical risks facing the world in the ongoing decade. They also shared their views on the nature of the global economy’s challenges following the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, trade war between the US and China, Brexit, and the nature of the threat facing the oil and gas industry. The poll also explores its respondents’ views on the threats to nations’ public health, with the emergence of a new strain of Covid-19, which may be more dangerous than the first one. The poll also explored views on the environmental risks due to the persistent global discord about climate policies. The poll also included many questions aiming to analyze the growing role of technology. It sought to recognize the measures that can enhance e-security amid a rise in cyber-attacks and technology on social aspects, extremism, and terrorism. This poll also sought to analyze the perception of experts, researchers, and academics about political Islam movements, especially the Muslim Brotherhood, and the nature of the threat they pose. This group is infamous for its hostile attitude toward the nation-state and has built its economic influence through unlawful activities. The group also threatens the values of coexistence and tolerance and fuels the rhetoric of hatred in the countries it operates in. A total of 318 experts and researchers from various think-tanks, universities, and academic institutions participated in the survey.
