The critical need to understand the rapidly approaching future relies upon our understanding of various domains that are Converging. It is difficult enough to stay abreast of rapid advancements in science and technology, but Introduce societal factors, geopolitical, economic, and environmental considerations, and the task gets harder. Yet a high-level appreciation for these domains is necessary if we hope to understand the future and steer it in constructive directions.
It is a full-time job staying abreast of current events in each of these areas. Great sources of information are the books that emerge for each domain. One of those domains, geopolitics, is an area with great impact and complexity. Understanding its influence on the future requires an understanding of the past. In my quest to use the past to understand the future, I finished another book and added it to my Book Library.
Has China Won was written by Kishore Mahbubani. A veteran diplomat, student of philosophy, and celebrated author, Kishore Mahbubani is currently a Distinguished Fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Asia Research Institute. Mahbubani is also a former President of the UN Security Council (Jan 2001, May 2002) and the Founding Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (2004-2017). Mahbubani writes and speaks prolifically on the rise of Asia, geopolitics and global governance. His eight books and articles in the New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times and Foreign Affairs have earned him global recognition as “the muse of the Asian century.” He was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in October 2019.
The geopolitical landscape of the next several years is dominated by the dynamics of a current world power (America) grappling with the rise of an emerging power (China). Here again history is instructive. The book titled Destined for War traces similar scenarios and their outcomes throughout history. Any look into the future that does not consider geopolitics is destined to fail. As it converges with other domains, our lens must broaden. Staying on top of it all is easier said than done. To that end, here are other books on geopolitics in my library:
Belt and Road: A Chinese World Order
Capitalism in America: A History
AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order
Reimagining the Future 
Only if we let them (“Has China Won?”). Both China and Russia have their own large demographic, geographic and political challenges that are often not fully considered when we ask questions like “Has China [or Russia] Won?” Understanding what winning in their eyes consists of is also something that must be considered. They do not have the same idea of what “winning” means as we do and we shouldn’t assume that they do. So perhaps the better question is, “Have We Lost?”
Frank, thanks for the great recommendation. I’m a historian by training and degree who makes his living in tech (learned to program at 14 and worked with computers ever since) as strange as that may seem. Geopolitics and history are my second loves and I recommend following these two sites and people:
Zeihan on Geopolitics – Peter Zeihan, as a map geek, has given me a greater appreciation for the roles of geography and demographics in geopolitics. His latest book, “Disunited Nations”, is one of my favorites – https://zeihan.com/disunited-nations/
Zeihan also describes the post WWII “New World Order” in a very enlightening way that helps to understand the transitional period we are in post Cold War. I think this is one of the most important things to learn from a study of geopolitics.
Stratfor and George Friedman – An American geopolitical intelligence platform and publisher founded in 1996 in Austin, Texas, by George Friedman, who was the company’s chairman. https://www.stratfor.com/
Of course, reading deeply in history over the last 55 years and traveling, training and consulting on five continents also helps me understand what is going on in today’s world, particularly in terms of geopolitics as well.
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