Registration for this event has closed, but please email jconnell@ccwa.org if you’d like to attend.

The Cleveland Council on World Affairs is honored to host Michael Weidokal for the John A. Hellman Foreign Policy Forum. Please note that this will be held at the Parma-Snow Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library!

The global economy has been battered by a series of crises in recent years, and 2026 appears likely to be another year of economic and geopolitical instability. The frequency of major world events and the ever-increasing pace of technological change has made it difficult to accurately assess the global economic situation. This uncertainty creates challenges for individuals and businesses around the globe, including here in Cleveland. To help make sense of the evolving economic environment, CCWA is joined by Michael Weidokal, Founder and Executive Director of International Strategic Analysis (ISA).

Mr. Weidokal will provide his thoughts on how the global economy is shaping up for 2026, risk factors to be aware of, and how you can prepare for the changes that lie in store for the coming year. He will outline some of the near- and long-term opportunities for economic growth, as well as the leading threats to this growth. He will take a close look at how demographic changes will impact the labor force and the role technology may play in solving or deepening that issue. Crucially, all of his analysis is filtered through the lens of geopolitics. As Mr. Weidokal will demonstrate, it is impossible to separate the global economy from broader world affairs.

Michael Weidokal’s ability to combine international economics, geopolitics, and history allows him to have a unique perspective on global developments. His areas of expertise include the fields of international economic competitiveness, global market selection, and geopolitical risk assessment. Over the course of his career, Mr. Weidokal has worked with a number of major professional services firms and multinational organizations, helping them to develop models of maximizing the benefits while minimizing the risks of doing business in international markets. In 2003, he founded International Strategic Analysis (ISA), and his firm quickly became the leading provider of country intelligence, economic forecasting, and international market studies for a range of clients around the world, including Amazon, Lockheed Martin, Ford, Siemens, and FedEx.