The Coming Anarchy: Shattering the Dreams of the Post Cold War | Study Guide

In this collection of articles and essays, Robert D. Kaplan gives readers deep insight into both the past and future of geopolitics. From the Roman Empire to the Soviet Union and from World War I (1914–18) to the history of the Balkans, he draws from his many years of experience as a foreign correspondent and world traveler to analyze and redefine the pervasive effects of issues such as population growth, new democracies, African tribalism, wars in the Middle East, and widespread famine and disease. He also identifies the growing chasm between the wealthy and the poor as the income gap widens worldwide. He discusses historian Edward Gibbon's (1737–94) The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776–88) and statesman Henry Kissinger's (b. 1923) influence on international affairs. Using personal stories as well as a range of literature, Kaplan presents readers with a framework for understanding the wide-ranging, overarching connections and schisms that will profoundly affect the world in the 21st century.