Here's what we think is going to happen in 2017

As 2016 comes to an end, the tumult of the past year shows the truly unpredictable state of world affairs.

Brexit in the UK and the election of Donald Trump in the US showed the inherent failures of relying too heavily on public polling, while the scope and ability of ISIS attacks worldwide served as a crude wake-up call to the group's deadly reach, even as it loses ground in the Middle East.

But even as 2016 proved to be a year full of surprises, several of the predictions from Business Insider's Military & Defense team for what the year held proved to be accurate: The South China Sea has only become more militarized, the leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo has extended his rule beyond constitutional limits, and the Kurdish insurgency in Turkey has gone off the rails.

Here are 11 big geopolitical events that we think will come to pass in 2017.