About
The Long Arc is an independent publication by Nazem Alkudsi, CFA — launched in February 2026 from Abu Dhabi.
Nazem spent nearly three decades in sovereign finance: eighteen years at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), six as CEO of Invest AD, and a tenure as Chief Investment Officer at one of the region’s largest banks. He has advised institutions and leaders across the Gulf, Asia, and the West on the forces that shape capital flows, geopolitical alignment, and civilizational strategy.
He did not leave with answers. He left with better questions.
What The Long Arc Covers
This publication sits at the intersection of civilizations — where belief, power, and capital shape what nations build and what they forget. It is written for anyone who reads the morning papers and senses that the real story is the one not being told.
The Long Arc explores six interconnected domains:
Sovereign Capital — How sovereign wealth funds, central banks, and state-backed capital shape the global order.
Geopolitics & Energy — The tectonic shifts in alliances, energy corridors, and power projection.
Emerging Corridors — The new trade routes, digital silk roads, and economic partnerships remaking the map.
Markets & Macro — Long-arc structural trends that conventional analysis overlooks.
Technology & AI — How artificial intelligence, digital sovereignty, and civilizational values intersect.
Human Development & Climate — Water, food, demographics, and the resources that will define the century.
The Wisdom Table
At the heart of The Long Arc is a conviction: the world’s great civilizations — their scriptures, their philosophies, their hard-won patterns of thought — hold insights that no algorithm has yet learned to value. The Wisdom Table is an initiative to bring these traditions into dialogue with the questions of our time.
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— Nazem Alkudsi, CFA
Abu Dhabi, 2026