About
About Mark Brolin
Geostrategist, economist, author and speaker—and a realist in the fullest sense: one who weighs counterforces, adaptation and opportunity as seriously as danger.
In a culture that often mistakes pessimism for intelligence, Mark challenges the assumption that the darkest scenario is automatically the most credible. His work examines how headlines, herd instinct and institutional incentives distort judgement—and where clearer thinking can turn uncertainty into strategic advantage.
Mark holds a degree from the Stockholm School of Economics and has worked at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Nasdaq/OMX and Cantor Fitzgerald. His move into geopolitics was shaped by the September 11 attacks, when Cantor Fitzgerald lost 658 colleagues.
A different kind of realism
Proportion is not optimism. It is better accounting.
Mark does not minimise genuine danger. Nor does he treat the most alarming interpretation as inherently the most sophisticated.
His work tests threats against counterforces, institutional adaptation, technological change and human ingenuity. It also examines where confidence is misplaced and significant risks remain underestimated.
The result is fuller strategic accounting: not optimism for its own sake, but a more proportionate understanding of risk, opportunity and timing.
Experience
Diplomacy, financial markets, geopolitical analysis and international media.
Mark’s career spans diplomacy, financial markets, geopolitical analysis and international media. He has worked with business leaders, investors, policy specialists, research institutes and think tanks across Europe, North America and Asia.
He advises and speaks for boards, leadership teams, professional networks and public-sector organisations, connecting global shifts to the strategic questions that remain after the headlines move on.
Selected media
His analysis has appeared in international outlets including The Telegraph, The Spectator, Politico, City AM, Fokus, Berlingske, WION, Firstpost and BBC Radio 5 Live.
Books & ideas
From broken democracies to the Consensus Trap.
Mark is the author of Healing Broken Democracies: All You Need to Know About Populism and creator of The Consensus Trap, a new book project examining why intelligent people and institutions repeatedly misread risk, opportunity and historical change.
His work has been endorsed by Steven Pinker and Matt Ridley.
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