To compete and thrive in the 21st century, democracies, and the United States in particular, must develop new national security and economic strategies that address the geopolitics of information. In the 20th century, market capitalist democracies geared infrastructure, energy, trade, and even social policy to protect and advance that era’s key source of power—manufacturing. In this century, democracies must better account for information geopolitics across all dimensions of domestic policy and national strategy.
President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson is Iceland’s 6th President since the country declared independence in 1944. Before taking office in 2016, President Jóhannesson was a Professor of history at the University of Iceland and a lecturer at universities in Iceland and abroad. He has written numerous books and articles on modern Icelandic history – including Iceland’s Cod Wars with the United Kingdom, the Icelandic presidency and Icelandic politics, Iceland’s security issues during the Cold War, and the 2008 Iceland financial crisis. President Jóhannesson holds a bachelor degree in history and political science from Warwick University in England, masters’ degrees in history from University of Iceland and Oxford University, and a Ph.D. in history from Queen Mary University of London.