Under pressure: governance futures in the Global South

How will emerging global trends reshape the role, capacity and legitimacy of Global South governments?

Date: 2025-10-01

Time: 15:00 to 16:30

Venue: Online via Zoom

Global South states face mounting pressure as climate change, demographic shifts, technology and geopolitical tensions reshape their legitimacy, capacity and democracy. Governments are forced to do more with less and their authority is increasingly shared with non-state actors, which could strengthen resilience or deepen fragility.

This event launches the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) African Futures & Innovation programme’s State Futures in the Global South analysis. Speakers will explore how systemic pressures could redefine governance in the decades ahead, and how institutions might respond to complexity.

Click here for the State Futures in the Global South report.

Moderator: Priyal Singh, Senior Researcher, Africa in the World, ISS

Presentation: Michelle van Rooyen, Researcher, African Futures & Innovation, ISS

Panelists:

• Ronak Gopaldas, Director, Signal Risk
• Dr Seema Shah, Head, Democracy Assessment Unit, International IDEA
• Gustavo de Carvalho, Senior Researcher, African Governance and Diplomacy, South African Institute of International Affairs
• Dr Philani Mthembu, Executive Director, Institute for Global Dialogue