Disunited Nations: The Scramble for Power in an Ungoverned World

The world is entering its greatest period of change in nearly a century. America’s allies depend on her commitments for their economic and physical security, and they hope the Trump administration’s positions are an aberration. This hope is misplaced.

The world has gotten so used to the “normal” of an American-dominated Order that we all have forgotten the historical norm: several smaller, competing powers and economic systems throughout Europe and Asia. The period of American hyper-involvement in global affairs is ending. The impacts on global energy and agricultural markets, finance and technology will be transformative, but the heirs to the dying Order are not who you think. Russia, India, China and Brazil will not be the superpowers and wunderkind of the future. Rather, names familiar and new will be taking charge of the emerging global Disorder.

Germany will decline as the most powerful country in Europe, with France taking its place. Every country should prepare for the collapse of China, not the rise of North Korea. We are already seeing, as he predicts, a shift in outlook on the Middle East: it is no longer Iran that is the region’s most dangerous threat, but Saudi Arabia.

Smart, gripping, and essential reading, Disunited Nations is a sure-to-be-provocative guidebook that analyzes the emerging shifts and resulting problems and issues that will arise in the next two decades. We are entering a period of profound upheaval; no political or corporate leader can ignore Zeihan’s insights or his message if they want to survive and thrive in this uncertain new time.