Davos 2026: Power Politics Eclipse the Economy

By ATN News Team

DAVOS, Switzerland: This week, hundreds of top political leaders from around the world, including close to 65 heads of state and government, are gathering in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting 2026. This year WEF unfolded less like a corporate ideas' festival and more like a live stress test of the global order, as geopolitics, not growth forecasts, seized the agenda.

The dominant undercurrent across sessions, private meetings and hallway conversations was the escalating friction between the United States and Europe, driven by President Donald Trump’s renewed pressure campaign over Greenland and the use of tariffs as leverage. What is usually a week of carefully choreographed optimism instead carrying the tone of alliance management in crisis.

European leaders closed ranks publicly. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reaffirmed that Greenland’s sovereignty is “not negotiable” and said the EU is preparing a package to reinforce Arctic security in cooperation with partners. The message was pointed but diplomatic. Europe wants cooperation with Washington, not coercion.

Canada echoed that line. Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa opposes any use of trade measures linked to geopolitical disputes, warning that weaponizing tariffs risks damaging trust in the global trading system.

Business leaders, many of whom come to Davos seeking predictability, sounded uneasy. Several CEOs cautioned that emotional politics and abrupt policy shifts are unsettling markets and undermining long-term investment planning. One European executive described the atmosphere privately as “too political, too volatile, too uncertain.”

U.S. officials sought to tamp down the alarm. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed what he called exaggerated fears of a transatlantic rupture and urged allies to allow diplomacy to run its course. But markets were less convinced. Global equities slipped Tuesday as investors weighed the growing risk of trade disruption between major economies.

The geopolitical weight of the day was compounded by events beyond Davos. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky canceled his planned appearance to respond to renewed Russian missile strikes, a stark reminder that while leaders debate strategy in the Alps, war continues to dictate realities elsewhere.

If geopolitics dominated the political conversations, artificial intelligence dominated the economic ones, though with far less hype than in previous years.

In one of the most discussed sessions of the day, PwC Global Chairman Mohamed Kande said more than half of companies are failing to see meaningful returns on their AI investments. The problem, he argued, is not the technology itself but weak organizational readiness and unclear leadership around implementation.

That realism carried through multiple tech-focused panels. Executives warned that AI is quickly becoming a geopolitical asset, not just a commercial one, with competition over chips, data and infrastructure increasingly resembling strategic rivalry. Several speakers compared advanced AI capabilities to critical national infrastructure that is powerful, transformative and potentially destabilizing if mismanaged.

Behind closed doors, delegates described a noticeable shift in tone compared with recent years. There is less talk of disruption for disruption’s sake and more concern about control, governance and unintended consequences.

By early evening, it was clear where things were headed. Davos 2026 is not about climate promises, ESG buzzwords, or flashy innovation showcases anymore. Now it is about the hard power questions: who sets the rules, who enforces them, and what happens when the big players stop pretending those rules are shared.

Organizers continue to emphasize dialogue and cooperation, but the reality on the ground is more fragmented. The forum’s original purpose, providing neutral space for global consensus-building, is being tested by a world in which power is increasingly transactional and alliances increasingly conditional.

Attention now turns to Wednesday, when President Trump is expected to address the forum directly. Diplomats, executives and investors alike will be listening closely, not for rhetoric but for signals. How far does the administration intend to push on Greenland? How aggressively is it prepared to use trade as leverage? Is there still space for negotiated alignment with allies?

For now, Davos feels less like a summit of optimism and more like a roomful of decision-makers quietly recalibrating their assumptions.