Trend · rank 8 of 250

Regulatory capture & lobbying power

Concentrated industries and organised interests are gaining resources to shape the rules and regulators that govern them, entrenching incumbents and delaying public-interest regulation where supervisors rely on those they oversee.

Governance & IntegrityState capacity & governanceinstitutionspolitics

Second pass: Carried forward from the first pass unchanged. Held by all three panel models.

Sensitivity and network position

Rank
8of 250
Sensitivity
25.0rank 11
Breadth
0of 20 scenarios High or above
PageRank
87.8rank 4
Eigenvector
86.8
Betweenness
27.2
Links
28trends at Moderate similarity or above
Composite
59.5

Attention over three years

How much this trend is read about on Wikipedia and searched for on Google, week by week, set against the typical trend in the list so that what moves every trend at once is taken out. 100 is this trend's own three-year average. The score measures public attention, which is not the same as the strength of the force: a trend can deepen unnoticed, and a news event can lift attention for a fortnight.

Now
103
Over a year
+24%Rising
Over three years
−13%
Peak
17713 Sept 2026
Sources
Bothagreement 0.03
Coverage
11languages · 58 nations

Trailing 4-week average. 100 is this trend’s three-year average.

By language

Wikipedia reading in each language edition where the trend’s pages are read enough to measure (11 of 28). Share is of all the readers counted.

LanguageShareNowOver a yearThree years
English59%134+50%
German11%147+90%
Russian10%96+13%
Japanese7%104+31%
Chinese4%123+38%
French4%119+58%
Polish2%87+13%
Spanish2%182+76%
Portuguese1%148+25%
Italian1%132+21%
Korean1%97+5%

By country

Google search interest over the three years, as a share of each country’s searching. 100 is the nation where interest is highest. The search terms are English, which favours countries that search in English.

United States

Kenya

Canada

Tanzania

Singapore

Ireland

China

Ghana

United Kingdom

South Africa

France

Nigeria

100

77

70

68

67

60

58

53

53

49

48

48

The 12 highest of 58 nations with a reading.

By region and G20 member

Attention to this trend inside each place, from Google searches made in its countries and Wikipedia reading in the languages mostly read there, averaged where both exist. Each line compares the trend with its own past in that place; the lines do not compare places.

Regions

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
North AmericaGoogle in 2 countries + Wikipedia in English112+33%+30%+5%
EuropeGoogle in 7 countries + Wikipedia in German, French, Italian, Polish105+6%+38%−8%
Indo-PacificGoogle in 6 countries + Wikipedia in Japanese, Chinese, Korean104+19%+16%−1%
South AsiaGoogle in 1 country92+7%−15%−12%
Gulf and Middle EastGoogle in 1 country68−51%+14%−47%
AfricaGoogle in 1 country27−70%+39%−70%
Latin America and CaribbeanGoogle in 2 countries + Wikipedia in Spanish, Portuguese138+24%+38%+45%
Russia and EurasiaWikipedia in Russian96+8%+13%−14%

G20 members

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
AustraliaGoogle106+29%−6%+36%
BrazilGoogle + Wikipedia in Portuguese130+24%+20%+25%
CanadaGoogle115+51%+23%+9%
FranceGoogle + Wikipedia in French102+15%+22%−16%
GermanyGoogle + Wikipedia in German109+12%+45%−6%
IndiaGoogle92+7%−15%−12%
IndonesiaGoogle88−2%−1%−32%
ItalyGoogle + Wikipedia in Italian106+31%−2%+2%
JapanGoogle + Wikipedia in Japanese99+14%+14%−6%
South KoreaWikipedia in Korean97+19%+5%+5%
MexicoGoogle107−18%+43%+38%
RussiaWikipedia in Russian96+8%+13%−14%
South AfricaGoogle27−70%+39%−70%
TürkiyeGoogle68−51%+14%−47%
United KingdomGoogle70−22%−20%−40%
United StatesGoogle + Wikipedia in English108+31%+27%−1%

Relation to each scenario

A trend relates to a scenario when it changes how likely the scenario is, how hard it lands, or is itself sharply changed by it. Each score is the median of three scores given separately by the members of the model panel.

RelationScenarioFamily
3 · ModerateAn AI deployment step causes abrupt labour displacement S08Technology and infrastructure
3 · ModerateA cross-regional market access compact redirects investment S12 ↗Economic and trade
3 · ModerateCheap firm clean power becomes available at scale S15 ↗Energy, climate and resources
3 · ModerateAI-directed research produces a reproducible discovery step S17 ↗Technology and infrastructure
3 · ModerateA public service platform reaches inclusive operation S18 ↗Technology and infrastructure
3 · ModerateAffordable preventive treatments reduce chronic illness S19 ↗Health
2 · LowA global funding seizure reaches sovereign balance sheets S02Economic and trade
1 · Very lowCritical trade divides into rival blocs S01Economic and trade
1 · Very lowHybrid coercion ends in an infrastructure blackout S04Geopolitical and security
1 · Very lowTwo breadbasket failures trigger a food availability crisis S06Energy, climate and resources
1 · Very lowA major disaster disables the national economic core S07Energy, climate and resources
1 · Very lowA novel respiratory pathogen exceeds health surge capacity S10Health
1 · Very lowA creditor agreement releases fiscal capacity S11 ↗Economic and trade
1 · Very lowA great-power agreement lowers economic security barriers S13 ↗Geopolitical and security
1 · Very lowA verified Middle East settlement restores access S14 ↗Geopolitical and security
1 · Very lowA validated farming package raises water-efficient output S16 ↗Energy, climate and resources
1 · Very lowA live outbreak proves rapid distributed pandemic defence S20 ↗Health
0 · Not relatedA regional war closes a globally important sea route S03Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedA disputed transfer of power breaks effective government S05Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedA cryptographic breakthrough invalidates digital trust S09Technology and infrastructure

Similarity = 0.3 × shared tags (Jaccard) + 0.3 × likeness of scenario profiles (cosine) + 0.3 × likeness of names and descriptions (TF-IDF cosine) + 0.1 if in the same capability domain, cut into seven levels at 0.12, 0.22, 0.33, 0.45, 0.58, 0.72. Shown at Moderate and above.

SimilarityTrendThemeRank
5 · Very highRule of law & judicial independenceState capacity & governance3
5 · Very highCorruption & state captureState capacity & governance5
4 · HighState capacity & deliveryState capacity & governance1
4 · HighExecutive overreach & emergency powersState capacity & governance4
4 · HighPolarisation & populismState capacity & governance15
4 · HighFiscal rules & budget credibilityState capacity & governance17
4 · HighAdaptive regulationState capacity & governance33
4 · HighCitizen participation & deliberative democracyState capacity & governance60
3 · ModerateCivil service capability & payState capacity & governance2
3 · ModeratePublic procurement capabilityState capacity & governance6
3 · ModerateDeclining institutional trustInformation & trust7
3 · ModerateSovereign debt & interest burdenMoney & debt12
3 · ModerateSocial protection coverage gapsState capacity & governance13
3 · ModerateErosion of rights & civic freedomsState capacity & governance14
3 · ModerateDiplomatic capacity under strainDiplomacy & influence16
3 · ModerateIllicit finance & beneficial ownershipState capacity & governance20
3 · ModerateOfficial statistics & data capacityState capacity & governance21
3 · ModerateCivil unrest & protest mobilisationState capacity & governance25
3 · ModerateOutsourcing & public-private deliveryState capacity & governance27
3 · ModerateMiddle-power diplomatic leverageDiplomacy & influence36
3 · ModerateData protection & digital rightsState capacity & governance44
3 · ModerateCentral bank independence under pressureState capacity & governance64
3 · ModerateAI safety & governanceState capacity & governance69
3 · ModerateGlobal South coalitionsDiplomacy & influence72
3 · ModeratePublic-sector AI adoptionState capacity & governance75
3 · ModerateWeakening multilateral institutionsDiplomacy & influence77
3 · ModerateAsylum & migration system strainState capacity & governance115
3 · ModerateAlgorithmic accountability & biasState capacity & governance135