What 2026 may hold: A fracturing America, a rising Europe and an unsettled world
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Year 1926 saw remarkable change around the world. Fidel Castro and Queen Elizabeth II were born that year.
With the benefit of hindsight, the world was between two large-scale wars. British India held its third general election following the 1919 Montagu Chelmsford reforms enshrined in an Act. A hundred years on, things have changed a bit, but some things are distressingly the same.
Before we get to 2026, here is a quick report card on my trend predictions last year for 2025. Donald Trump and Elon Musk did fall out, proving yet again that uber egos will dominate logic every time. As expected, the US market did less well than Europe and emerging markets, marking an end to the age of US exceptionalism.
In cricket, the Indian men’s team had a mixed year, with coaching and selection looking rather mercurial, while the women’s team shone. ‘Agentic’ is a lead candidate among businesses for word of the year, but ‘vibe coding’ and ‘slop’ are more popular with consumers. And now for 2026, categorized as usual in terms of probability.
High probability (above 70%): One year into his presidency, we are witnessing ‘peak Trump.’ The exact angle of descent is unknowable, but the power and influence of this administration looks set to decline. Extreme systems usually collapse from within and signs of it are evident in internal fissures. The Trump coalition is made up of six main factions: one, MAGA populists with strong ‘America First’ views; two, the US religious right, motivated by social issues like abortion and school books; three, fiscal hawks inherited from the Tea Party; four, the multi-racial right motivated by economic and cost-of-living issues; five, tech bros motivated by deregulation
. Read on livemint.com