After two years marked by global social unrest, there should be no expectation that 2021 will play out much differently. A combination of factors are likely to keep the world on this path in the near term. Hyper-local issues from tax policy to food prices will persist while governments are starved for revenue and broadly unable to meet the challenge. Likewise, political matters from government legitimacy to the ability and desire to respond to the existential threat of climate change will provide no shortage of issues for interest groups to focus on. These matters, coupled with the social pressures and varied regulations stemming from the global COVID-19 pandemic, indicate that conditions for unrest will continue into 2021 and beyond. As such, to maintain operational continuity and resiliency, now is the time for security leaders and enterprises to establish or rethink their corporate response plans for the heightened possibility of social unrest for years to come.
The following are five concrete steps that companies should take to prepare for social unrest wherever it may occur: