Issue Joint action between governments seen as the most effective response

Summary

As in 2024, respondents in 2026 again judged action taken by many countries together to be the best answer to global risks. Across all 28 risks, joint action by several governments was cited as effective 2,970 times, well ahead of joint action by governments and civil society at 1,654 and by governments and the private sector at 1,525. Joint government action was judged especially decisive for political risks such as geopolitical tensions, large-scale war and weapons of mass destruction. Respondents saw cooperation between governments and civil society as necessary for societal and political risks like rising inequalities and rule of law collapse, and cooperation with the private sector as crucial for economic and technological risks like a financial crisis or cybersecurity breakdown. Overall, acting alone was viewed as far less effective than acting together.