India, Feb. 3 -- The world seems to be going through a period of stasis despite facing an unfathomable polycrisis. Key surveys on people's perception of the world in 2026 reveal uncerta-inty about the future and near collapse of trust in governance structures. A few years ago these risk assessment reports showed environmental meltdowns as the biggest risk; not this year. People seem to be in shock from the geoecono-mical developments and the world splitting into multiple poles with strong isolationism.

The World Economic Forum's "Global Risks Report 2026" puts "uncertainty" as its defining theme. Its "Global Risks Perception Survey", synthesising views of over 1,300 global leaders and experts, says that 50 per cent of them anticipate a t...