Synopses & Reviews
“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 Friedman
In 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.
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Synopsis
George Friedman has become a leading expert in geopolitical forecasting, sought out for his thoughtful assessment of current trends and explanation of near-future events. In THE NEXT HUNDRED YEARS, Friedman turns his keen analytic eye on the future. Drawing on a profound understanding of history—and consistent geopolitical patterns dating back to the Roman Empire—he shows that we are now, for the first time in half a millennium, experiencing the dawn of a new historical cycle.
For five hundred years, from 1492 to 1991, European power ruled the world. After World War II, however, a series of civil wars and power shifts deprived Europe of its empire and put an end to its dominance. With the fall of the Soviet Union, the European epoch came to an end. The United States has now assumed the mantle of global power, and Friedman spells out exactly what this will mean to America and to the world in the coming century:
·A specific series of apparent miscalculations by the United States will give it greater power in the global arena
·At least one major war, and several unexpected civil wars, will erupt in the next fifty years
·A crisis will develop between Pacific Ocean nations as Japan, now the world’s second largest economy, fights for its share of geopolitical power and China undergoes a major internal upheaval
·Space will play an important role in the twenty-first century, which will see the militarization of space, and eventually the exploitation of resources on the moon and other planets.
Grounded in Friedman’s unmatched grasp of both historical and contemporary trends, THE NEXT HUNDRED YEARS is a compelling, realistic, and eye-opening portrait of the future.
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About the Author
GEORGE FRIEDMAN is the founder and CEO of STRATFOR, the worlds leading private intelligence and forecasting company. He is frequently called upon as a media expert and is the author of four books, including most recently Americas Secret War, and numerous articles on national security, information warfare, computer security, and the intelligence business. He lives in Austin, Texas.