Every year, analysts forecast the forces that will shape the future — technology, geopolitics, markets, demographics. These forecasts highlight the pressures coming our way but overlook the systems that absorb and adapt to them. In essence, they focus on the weather rather than the terrain that influences it. To understand 2026, we need to focus on something calmer and more definitive than headline trends: bureaucracy. Bureaucracy is often described as a drag on progress, characterised by paperwork, delays, and inertia.