There is a race, essentially between China, the US and Europe, to acquire new technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI). It will determine economic (and military) dominion in the not too-distant future.
Nuclear weapons cannot be uninvented, but they can be reinvented. And it seems that this is what we face: not the prospect of a quantitative race this time, but rather a qualitative race.
The G20 has different priorities: the future of work in the digital age, sustainable infrastructure and food security, with the possible addition of the fight against corruption. They are issues that concern Argentina especially, and virtually all the others, if not all.
Shop window, megaphone and venue for discreet meetings: Davos is all these things. The main participants at the most recent World Economic Forum were the major states.
An antagonism dominates the Middle East: the rivalry that pits Riyadh against Teheran. Their destinies are intertwined, not by a quantum relationship but one that is very real and ideological.
The causes underlying Donald Trump's arrival in the White House exactly one year ago are still subject to debate.
The EU is proving to have a capacity for global influence on normative issues. Its internal regulations are in some cases being adopted beyond its borders.
The sexual harassment of women has made its way onto the global agenda. What has started in the US could start to have geopolitical ramifications.
Perhaps the lack of vision regarding the future will end up generating more doubts among Britain's citizens about Brexit.
The debate about post-truth, disinformation, fake news and manipulation favours the manipulators. Mistrust cannot simply be offset by more information.
Regulating and controlling the editing of the human genome (CRISPR-Cas9 system) must also form part of global governance.
The historic step that has just been taken in defence suggests that the EU prefers to close ranks when advancing onto new ground.