The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting runs from 19 to 23 January in Davos Klosters under the theme A Spirit of Dialogue, with the Forum framing discussion around five questions: cooperation in a more contested world, unlocking new sources of growth, investing in people, deploying innovation at scale and responsibly, and building prosperity within planetary boundaries. That is the official map. The real terrain is shaped by security, tariffs, sanctions, technology controls, and the hardening of blocs. For the global public affairs and diplomatic community, the key driver at Davos is not a single panel topic but a single operational reality: governments are now using economic instruments as statecraft at speed, and corporates are being asked to pick a posture, not just a position. The World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2026 describes an age of competition, with the short term risk ranking led by geoeconomic confrontation, misinformation and disinformation, and societal polarisati...