Books › The Next 100 Years
The Next 100 Years
A Forecast for the 21st Century
First published 2008 · 288 pages
A sweeping, provocative thought experiment that treats the future of global power as a grand, predictable chessboard.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like standing on a mountaintop looking down at a centuries-long game of global strategy. It is a sweeping, cerebral experience that strips away the noise of daily news cycles to focus on the deep, tectonic plates of geography, demographics, and power. The prose is remarkably lucid and unapologetically assertive, trading academic caution for bold, provocative declarations about the future. There is a detached, almost clinical fascination in how it maps out hypothetical conflicts and shifting empires, creating a mood that is both grand and slightly ominous. It will deeply satisfy armchair historians, policy wonks, and anyone who loves zooming out to view human history not as a series of random events, but as a predictable, cyclical machine.
- Mood
- sweeping
- cerebral
- ominous
- grand
- Tone
- authoritative
- provocative
- analytical
- confident
- detached
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- geopolitical determinism · the illusion of permanence · cyclical history · grand strategy · shifting global power
- The writing
- Lucid, assertive, and highly structured, favoring bold declarations over cautious academic hedging.
- The arc
- Moves from a destabilizing deconstruction of present-day assumptions to a dizzying, god-like vantage point over a radically altered future.
- Who it's for
- Armchair historians and policy wonks who love grand, sweeping theories about global power dynamics.
Content notes
- hypothetical global warfare
- geopolitical instability
About the book
"Conventional analysis suffers from a profound failure of imagination. It imagines passing clouds to be permanent and is blind to powerful, long-term shifts taking place in full view of the world." --George FriedmanIn his long-awaited and provocative new book, George Friedman turns his eye on the future--offering a lucid, highly readable forecast of the changes we can expect around the world during the twenty-first century. He explains where and why future wars will erupt (and how they will be fought), which nations will gain and lose economic and political power, and how new technologies and cultural trends will alter the way we live in the new century.The Next 100 Years draws on a fascinating exploration of history and geopolitical patterns dating back hundreds of years. Friedman shows that we are now, for the first time in half a millennium, at the dawn of a new era--with changes in store, including:- The U.S.-Jihadist war will conclude--replaced by a second full-blown cold war with Russia.- China will undergo a major extended internal crisis, and Mexico will emerge as an important world power.- A new global war will unfold toward the middle of the century between the United States and an unexpected coalition from Eastern Europe, Eurasia, and the Far East; but armies will be much smaller and wars will be less deadly.- Technology will focus on space--both for major military uses and for a dramatic new energy resource that will have radical environmental implications.- The United States will experience a Golden Age in the second half of the century.Written with the keen insight and thoughtful analysis that has made George Friedman a renowned expert in geopolitics and forecasting, The Next 100 Years presents a fascinating picture of what lies ahead.For continual, updated analysis and supplemental material, go to www.Stratfor.com
Description from Open Library.
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