Leadership is the ability to guide, motivate, and influence people towards a common goal or vision. It involves setting direction, inspiring and empowering others to take action, and making difficult decisions. Effective leaders have a clear vision of where they want to take their people and are able to communicate it effectively. They also have strong communication and interpersonal skills, the ability to build trust and credibility, and the ability to inspire and motivate others to achieve success.
The decisions made by leaders of countries can have significant impacts, sometimes even beyond their own borders. Let's examine some recent decisions made by world leaders and see how they affected the global community.
UK's decision on Brexit - Brexit is the term used to refer to the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union (EU) and is a shortened version of British Exit. On June 23, 2016, the UK decided to officially sever ties with the EU. This monumental decision came as the result of a referendum—or public vote of nearly all citizens of voting age—in which more than 30 million people voted.
As one of the EU’s primary initiatives is free movement within the region so the Brexiter's main arguments centered around regaining border control and reclaiming business rights. In addition, supporters of Brexit cited the high EU membership fees as a negative aspect of participation in the EU. It was argued that if the UK separates itself from the EU, these fees can be used to benefit the UK.
Let's look at the impacts of Brexit.
The UK economy is currently facing challenges due to Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has caused an increase in energy prices. Inflation is rising, and Brexit is contributing to these difficulties in various ways.
The UK’s manufacturing base is smaller than countries such as Germany and Italy. However, companies in Britain face additional costs from Brexit, with reams of paperwork and border delays adding to the pressure.
The EU accounts for about half of total imports. Though just under half of food consumed in Britain is produced domestically, including the majority of grains, meat, dairy, and eggs, much comes from the EU. The think-tank UK in a Changing Europe estimated post-Brexit trade barriers pushed up food prices by 6% between December 2019 and September 2021.
Fewer foreign workers are seeking jobs in the UK after Brexit, while many older people left the workforce during the pandemic. Labour shortages are leading companies to increase pay, adding to their wage bills, and leading them to raise the prices they charge for goods and services.
Russia's decision to invade Ukraine - Ukraine was a cornerstone of the Soviet Union, the arch-rival of the United States during the Cold War. Behind only Russia, it was the second-most-populous and -powerful of the fifteen Soviet republics, home to much of the union’s agricultural production, defence industries, and military, including the Black Sea Fleet and some of the nuclear arsenal.
In its three decades of independence, Ukraine has sought to forge its own path as a sovereign state while looking to align more closely with Western institutions, including the EU and NATO. However, Kyiv struggled to balance its foreign relations and to bridge deep internal divisions. A more nationalist, Ukrainian-speaking population in western parts of the country generally supported greater integration with Europe, while a mostly Russian-speaking community in the east favoured closer ties with Russia.
Russia has deep cultural, economic, and political bonds with Ukraine, and in many ways Ukraine is central to Russia’s identity and vision for itself in the world.
Relations between the two countries became hostile after the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, which was followed by Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, and the war in Donbas, in which Russia backed the separatist fighters of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic.
Some Western analysts see Russia’s 2022 invasion as the culmination of the Kremlin’s growing resentment toward NATO’s post–Cold War expansion into the former Soviet sphere of influence. Russian leaders, including Putin, have alleged that the United States and NATO repeatedly violated pledges they made in the early 1990s to not expand the alliance into the former Soviet bloc. They view NATO’s enlargement during this tumultuous period for Russia as a humiliating imposition about which they could do little but watch.
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014.
Let's look at the impacts of this War.
Millions of civilians are unable to return home. Many still in the country are forced to live without access to food, water, health care, and other essential supplies.
Biggest worry is fighting near the Ukrainian nuclear plant, which is currently controlled by Russian forces. This is Europe’s biggest nuclear facility and recent attacks on the nearby city of Nikopol have raised concerns over the potential for the war to damage the nuclear power plant. A malfunction could lead to the release of radiation, affecting large portions of Europe.
Both major producers of staple food items, Russia and Ukraine provide 90 per cent of the wheat supply in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Eritrea, Georgia, Mongolia and Somalia. Ukraine is also a major source of wheat for the World Food Programme, which provides food assistance to 115.5 million people in more than 120 countries. And Russia is one of the world’s top three crude oil producers, as well as the second largest producer and largest exporter of natural gas. These shortages are driving record price hikes. The cost of food has risen by 50 per cent since the start of 2022. Crude oil prices—currently up 33 per cent—are projected to rise above 50 per cent by the end of the year. Fuel transport costs, one of the major causes of inflation in Africa in 2021, have further increased since the start of the war.
Soaring prices are contributing to a global cost-of-living crisis, the impacts of which are falling disproportionately on developing countries. Communities across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have been hit hard, with already vulnerable households paying the highest price.
China's Zero covid policy - Zero-COVID, also known as COVID-Zero and "Find, Test, Trace, Isolate, and Support" (FTTIS), is a public health policy that has been implemented by some countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast to the living with COVID-19 strategy, the zero-COVID strategy is one "of control and maximum suppression". It involves using public health measures such as contact tracing, mass testing, border quarantine, lockdowns, and mitigation software in order to stop community transmission of COVID-19 as soon as it is detected. The goal of the strategy is to get the area back to zero new infections and resume normal economic and social activities.
China invented covid-19 lockdowns. During the first weeks of the pandemic, the government corralled tens of millions of people to stop the disease spreading out of Wuhan. Almost three years later, lockdowns have become China’s undoing. Sporadic local pickets are common in China. But demonstrations erupted across the country after at least ten people died in a fire in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, where residents were allegedly sealed in a building because of covid.
Let's look at the impacts of this policy.
The consequences on China's own economic growth have already been felt, especially in the service sector, but increasingly also in manufacturing, as some companies decided to close their doors temporarily.
People are frustrated with the lockdowns and their mental health is greatly impacted by the lockdowns. As the numbers of daily cases hit an all-time high, many began to question the heavy price they have paid for a goal that is impossible to achieve.
As the world begins to move on from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the recent backlash against China's "zero covid" policy could potentially bring us back to the days of widespread contagion.
I hope that we can all work together as a team to overcome these challenges.
References : https://www.dummies.com/article/academics-the-arts/political-science/british-government/what-is-brexit-220858/
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