When Politics Became Way Too Personal

Why life feels different than it ten years ago | My life mapped in geopolitical shock

Dear Friends,

I wrote in last week’s postcard about the crossover of geopolitics and my life. A few thoughtful comments on that piece, inspired me to write more.

Because there are certain doors that used to be open that have closed and I suspect that others notice similar patterns playing out in their own lives.

To me, this gets me thinking about:

• what this means for global power and privilege?

• who is benefiting from these shifts and how?

This is a topic I want to explore over several posts, but to get started, I am sharing the lowdown on what I see shifting geopolitically over the past 10 years.

I am focusing on the changes that have had significant impact on my own life and livelihood. This is not a whole world analysis, more: what I see through my lens that can be a bridge to the bigger picture.

I am aware there will be other geopolitical changes not mentioned here that are impacting your life. I would love to know what you see changing in your world.

The Shifts and Shocks

The EU and Brexit (31 January 2020)

Growing up in Scotland, the EU was my portal to the rest of the world, as well as my long-term plan and safety net. I never wanted to live in London or Edinburgh. I wanted to live in Paris, Geneva and Rome.

It was ERASMUS study in France that opened my mind to international work. My first proper job aged 22 was at the European Court in Luxembourg. It was the Luxembourg government, not the UK government, that opened the door into the world of International Development for me at the age of 24. It was an Irish Agency that gave me the opportunity to work in Myanmar in 2012 and much of my 7 years of consultancy work in Myanmar was funded by the Swiss Development Agency.

Personally I think the impact of Brexit should be discussed weekly in Parliament and I especially would love to see more research on changes to economic opportunity in the UK since 2020.

The EU was a key enabler in my career and for me, the UK Brexit vote closed too many doors to count.

Myanmar’s Coup d’Etat (01 February 2021)

I am clearly not the primary group impacted by this coup - millions of people have been affected in ways that make my own claim feels marginal and minor. Still, as that is what I am focused on today, my minor claim is that this political event hugely impacted my life.

I spent nearly 10 years working in Myanmar, during which time I learnt Burmese and had specific sought-after expertise around women farmers land rights. I wrote over 25 papers on this topic, designed Myanmar’s First Women Farmer Forum and shaped countless other land and gender programmes, built pathways for farmer’s voices to be heard by decision-makers and formed lasting relationships with 100s of institutions and individuals.

With the coup, this all vanished overnight.

I was, of course, always a visitor to Myanmar, but I still find it interesting that political change both invited me into the country (I started work there in 2012 just at the start of the transition towards democracy) and closed the day of the coup the 01 February 2021.

This was during the Covid pandemic and I had a remote interview for a new project that very morning. I logged onto my computer in dark Edinburgh to find no one else on the Zoom link. While I was waiting for the team to join, it was a glance at the morning headlines, the images of tanks driving towards the Myanmar Parliament, that explained why that team would never log onto that call.

Trump Froze Funding to USAID (24 January 2025)

I had been made redundant from a long term contract but felt confident that my 20 years in the aid industry brought experience that would make it easy to find a new role.

At the same time, the US administration signalled that global aid was no longer a priority. The market was instantly saturated with thousands of senior professionals displaced by funding cuts. Not only did this show the influence of the USA on global aid, but in a sector where my primary expertise - Myanmar - had lost funding due to the coup, that old career path vanished.

Instead of Iooking for a job, I was a first-hand witness to an industry-wide crisis, the implications of which I don’t think have been fully understood, not just for professionals, but for all the ways this decision will increase global inequality.

Trump Ordered An Attack on Iran (28 February 2026)

Seeing a common theme here beginning with T?

Another factor in global instability, another issue where I am definitely not the most affected party.

Beyond the daily impacts on costs, GDP and supply chains, for me, Iran’s counterattack affected a stable region where I had found career opportunities after the Myanmar coup. A region that is also a new home for many Myanmar young people looking to flee obligatory active military service aged 18.

A region that was stable now also navigating an unexpected geopolitical shock.

Outlier: Scotland’s Global Status (16 January 1706 and 18 September 2014)

More historic than the rest of this list, but something I think about a lot since being back home.

While Scotland has some effective soft diplomacy (see the recent World Cup) and some world class institutions, a lot of our conversations with the world still go through the UK government, housed in WestMinster. The surrounding institutional environment seems to equally live there, pushing these job opportunities South. I know there are exceptions to this, but this pattern persists.

As a Scot with an international career, making the bridge from home to abroad, I feel very aware of this gap. I think especially this absence removes the broader national thinking, funding, dialogue that connects Scotland’s modern story to the world.

Top Line Reflections

When I look back 2 years, my world looked different. When I look back 10 years, its like it has been completely transformed.

There are other factors I see too, around climate, AI, social media, institutional conformity, age, gender, which I will explore in future pieces.

Writing this particular piece, I notice one interesting pattern which I had not thought about before.

These shifts were almost all advocated for or promoted by influential male leaders. Many of whom share wealthy backgrounds, many of whom share a disregard for legality and all whom represent an accumulation of power which has allowed them to create a significant distance between themselves and the impact of their own decisions.

When I started thinking about that, a whole new essay evolved.

That will involve a fair amount of fact checking, so, subscribe to read on, friends,

I know I am not the only person affected by these shifts. And I know there are other shifts I didn’t highlight here.

As I start to write about what is next, I think its interesting to see the lay of the land. To think about who we put into positions of power and how their narratives, preferences and decisions trickle into our everyday lives, without much affecting them.

Because what for leaders may be ‘just’ politics, for someone like you and me, can end up becoming incredibly personal.

For now, over to you….

• Do you agree with my analysis, or am I prematurely shutting doors that might still be open?

• Are any of these geopolitical issues playing out in your own life? Are there others political influences that have changed in your life over the past 5 or 10 years?

• Are these changes a result of a certain sort of leadership or are there other factors at play?

• Are there people who benefit from these changes? Who are they and how do they benefit?

• Do any of these shifts actually benefit broader economic and social interests?

I know this piece is a bit of a change from my postcards, but it is a glimpse of what’s been going on in my thoughts as I reflect from this quiet corner on Scotland.

It might take two boats and a bike ride to get anywhere from here, but the rest of the world still feels close.

Till next time friends,

Catriona

---

If this piece provided a new insight, here is how you can support this work:

• Take Action: Like, share, or contribute in the comments. Your engagement tells the App that human-powered narrative still matters.

• Behind the Scenes: Join the paid circle. Your support protects the research required to produce these pieces, you can also support me through a one-off donation.

• The Referral: Forward this piece to a senior leader navigating conflict, change or uncertainty. I am currently looking for my next dialogue, research or programme work.

• The Story: If you are looking for the formal history behind this piece, you can find my career history on LinkedIn or review my Offers for Organisations.