Strategic Foresight in Ministries of Foreign Affairs
The Context
Strategic foresight can help governments to make better sense of the future in view of making more effective decisions in an uncertain and rapidly changing world. Anticipatory governance and foresight are becoming more prominent in a number of countries around the globe. Strategic foresight can be applied to and can be used as a tool for a broad variety of issues, including peace and security-related topics. In order to better anticipate emerging issues and geopolitical developments, ministries of foreign affairs are building institutional capacities in this area. This can relate specifically to strategic foresight or more generally to political contingency planning or horizon scanning activities.
The Aim of the Project
This research project explores how ministries of foreign affairs use strategic foresight and other anticipatory practices. It notably investigates what methods and tools are being employed to conduct long-term planning in ministries of foreign affairs around the world. Good practices are identified by analysing several countries and their ministries of foreign affairs in terms of institutional foresight capacities and their integration into decision-making. These findings are then compiled to better understand current trends in long-term planning, including the use of strategic foresight, in ministries of foreign affairs.
Experts
The research project reached its conclusion in December 2023. As part of this project, the GCSP published a comprehensive Strategic Security Analysis titled ‘Developing Anticipatory Governance Capacities in Ministries of Foreign Affairs’.