World System Transformation
Strategic Foresight, Megatrends & the Deep Structure of Change.

Course Overview

We are living through a period of transformation more profound and multidimensional than any seen in decades—a shift that is not only accelerating but increasingly marked by disruptive shocks that overwhelm the absorptive capacities of political, economic, and institutional systems. As the resilience of established orders erodes, volatility grows, and strategic environments across diplomacy, business, development, security, and governance are being reshaped in fundamental ways.

In the face of this accelerating pace, structural depth, and growing unpredictability, leaders are called upon not merely to react but to anticipate, interpret, and strategically navigate the tectonic shifts underway.

This high-intensity course equips senior professionals with the conceptual tools, analytical clarity, and strategic foresight needed to engage with the profound and overlapping transformations reshaping today’s global landscape. Built on years of high-level advisory experience and grounded in a cross-sectoral analytical framework—refined through real-world application and continuous dialogue with leaders in policy, academia, and practice—the course distills a tested, future-ready approach to world-system analysis.

At its core, the program integrates insights from systems theory, game theory, strategic studies, and geopolitical forecasting. Participants engage with a distinctive model that links defining megatrends with emerging global risks and key theaters of transformation. Special emphasis is placed on the interplay between deep structural shifts and their implications for leadership, foresight, and resilience in complex and uncertain environments.

Tailored for senior decision-makers operating in high-stakes, cross-border contexts, the course delivers conceptual clarity and operational relevance. Through a curated synthesis of high-level insight, advanced analytical instruments, and scenario-based reflection, participants are equipped to decode complexity and translate foresight into action. The program offers a confidential space for strategic exchange, perspective-building, and forward-looking analysis.

Combining conceptual input, analytical rigor, and interactive scenario work, the course is designed to fit the pace and priorities of executive-level professionals. All content is tailored to participants’ professional contexts and supports high-impact decision-making under uncertainty. Participants leave with a systematized understanding of the deep transformations shaping the global order—and a sharpened capacity to assess strategic environments, identify multi-risk constellations, and anticipate trajectories of change with confidence and clarity.

Course Outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

  • Understand the structural logic behind contemporary global transformations;
  • Identify the most influential megatrends and analyze their interconnections;
  • Evaluate systemic vulnerabilities and resilience across key global domains;
  • Analyze the changing distribution of global power and strategic alignments;
  • Anticipate potential trajectories for international order and global governance;
  • Apply scenario thinking and foresight techniques to high-stakes decision-making;
  • Design strategic responses under conditions of complexity, disruption, and uncertainty; and
  • Communicate foresight-based insights to internal and external stakeholders.
Course Content

Module 1: Orientation & Foundations

  • Participant welcome, introductions, and expectation-setting
  • Course roadmap: structure and objectives
  • Foundational concepts and analytical framework: understanding overlapping megatrends as defining features of structural change; models of meaning and core theoretical assumptions

Module 2: Global Distribution of Power

  • Current global power configurations and analytical tools
  • Great power dynamics: strategic positions, patterns of interaction, and emerging trajectories
  • The rise of the Global South: actors, narratives, and geopolitical realignments

Debriefing

Module 3: Geopolitics

  • Spatial logic of power and core geopolitical theory
  • Emerging geopolitical trends and shifts
  • Critical theaters of geopolitical contestation
  • Strategic implications for state and non-state actors

Module 4: Global Order

  • Global shocks and structural shifts
  • Competing visions of international order and alternatives to existing governance models

Module 5: Globalization

  • Nature and evolution of globalization
  • Fragmentation, resilience, and emerging configurations

Module 6: Global Risk Dimensions

  • Systemic and existential risks in the world-system
  • Focus areas:
    • Environmental degradation
    • Disruptive technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, bioengineering)
    • Societal fragility and political instability (polarization, erosion of public order, declining civic cohesion, endemic volatility)

Debriefing

Module 7: World-System Trajectories, Critical Theaters & Scenario Work

  • Key theaters of transformation: Eastern Europe, Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Arctic, Sahel, Latin America
  • Scenario building (baseline, disruption, transition, breakdown)
  • Understanding multi-risk constellations, cascading effects, and the limits of traditional risk frameworks

Debriefing

Target Group / Audience

This course is tailored for senior decision-makers, strategists, analysts, and advisors working across public and private sectors, including:

  • Executive leadership in multinational firms and financial institutions;
  • Government and diplomatic professionals;
  • Think tank and international organization analysts;
  • Crisis management, development, and humanitarian leaders; and
  • ESG, compliance, and global risk officers.

Format & Delivery

The course is delivered across five consecutive weeks, with one live session per week, beginning on the announced course start date. Each session takes place on the same weekday each week, from 1:30 – 7:45 PM ICT (UCT+7).

Each session includes:

  • 5 hours of high-intensity teaching, organized into structured thematic blocks
  • A 1-hour lunch/dinner break
  • A 15-minute coffee break

Delivery Mode: Online (live webinar format)

Group Size / Participant Limit: 7–13 participants

Language of Instruction: English

Customization Options

The course is offered as a pre-designed executive training format. However, upon request, it can also be delivered as a fully customized in-house training tailored to your organization’s specific strategic needs, audience profile, or operational context.

In its customized in-house format, the course can be adapted and delivered:

  • As an internal executive training, either online or onsite in Bangkok (delivery in other locations may be arranged upon request);
  • With thematic emphasis on selected strategic domains such as digital governance, energy transition, or regional security;
  • With geographic focus on specific theaters of transformation relevant to your operations;
  • With integrated foresight labs or scenario workshops, supporting strategic implementation and leadership development; and
  • In German, if preferred by the client or participant group.

For institutional clients or in-house formats, a separate pricing agreement is made to reflect the specific scope, structure, and customization of the program.

Pricing Structure

The course is offered at the following standard rates:

  • Full price: EUR 2,499.00
  • Early bird price: EUR 1,999.00 (for registrations completed at least four weeks before the course start date)

Reduced rates may be granted to non-commercial clients (including public institutions, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, international organizations) upon request.

All prices are subject to applicable VAT.

About the Series

Other Courses in the Same Series

Questions? Get in touch with our team at:

Venus Phuangkom

Event & HR Manager, Project Coordinator

executive.education@cpg-online.de

Lucas Meier

Project Manager

lucas.meier@cpg-online.de