ASCI Connect

The snow leopards that stalk the rocky mountains of Central Asia are so elusive and well-camouflaged that they’ve earned the nickname “ghost of the mountains.” They’re out there, but exceedingly hard to spot.

These solitary big cats are a useful analogy for the global phenomena that can seem to come out of nowhere and take even the most seasoned observer by surprise. In some cases, that’s because a high-profile threat has eclipsed others; we rightly worry about the proliferation of nuclear weapons, for instance, but missile proliferation receives relatively less attention. Some things are so woven into our daily lives that they become invisible, as in the case of the global shipping lanes that make it possible for us to tap “buy now” today and find a package on our doorstep tomorrow. Trends that gather momentum slowly but steadily, undetected developments, known but under-appreciated risks—all of these “snow leopards” have the power to reshape the world.

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/content-series/atlantic-council-strategy-paper-series/snow-leopards-2024/