For well over a century, sovereign nations and their governments have decided and driven policies, especially in the arena of international relations. Friends and enemies, allies and rivals have been chosen based on the interest of the nation as perceived by the government. This paradigm is now going through a rapid change, especially in some parts of the world.
The most striking manifestation of this is in the US. For some decades, the power of private enterprise in policymaking has been visible. No less than a President (Eisenhower) himself, while in office, called this out, pointing to the “military-industrial complex” as a source of (undue) influence and interference. In US domestic policies, the gun lobby garnered strong support by allying with those who saw guns as protection for — and an extension of — individual freedom. The powerful gun lobby is able to forestall serious gun-control laws, despite hundreds of deaths due to shootings: 507 killed in mass shootings (involving at least four people being shot) in 2024, and a massive total of 47,000 deaths due to gun-related injuries in 2023.
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