The end of the world is just the beginning Mapping the collapse of globalization

This provocatively pessimistic look at the future reads like a quirky mashup of works by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and journalist Robert Kaplan. Like Friedman, Zeihan, a geopolitical strategist and consultant, prognosticates that the unique and fragile globalization order fostered by the United States after World War II is now ebbing away. He focuses on the interplay of demographics and geopolitics in shaping the rise and fall of nation-states--also key themes in Kaplan's work. Zeihan argues that globalization, which exploded between 1980 and 2015 under the American military umbrella, has already started to break down into regionalization and localization due to the collapse of birth rates worldwide. In the bulk of the text, Zeihan draws out the implications for the transportation, finance, energy, industrial materials, manufacturing, and agricultural sectors. Zeihan's style is far from academic. He writes in a conversational tone with short, punchy sentences, leavened by snarky footnotes and witty asides. Although his analysis occasionally becomes too simplistic or pessimistic, it is always entertaining--and enlightening. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. --Scott Waalkes, Malone University

Geopolitical strategist Zeihan argues that we are heading toward a period of deglobalization, with ensuing chaos and disaster. The author believes that the period between 1980 and 2015 was an aberration in human history: an era of plenty, reliability, and relative stability. Going forward from 2022, he writes, everything is going to become more expensive and more difficult to obtain. He traces part of the problem to demographic struggles, as rapidly aging populations are leading to significant decreases in viable labor forces. Another issue is the withdrawal of American leadership on the global state, including the protection of the vital sea lanes that made globalization possible. The most recognizable element is climate change, undermining food production in key parts of the world. Zeihan predicts that nations will increasingly resort to aggressive tactics to ensure their own security, with the emergence of regional blocs dominated by the player with the biggest guns. Countries that depend on trade will find it tough going. The U.S. is in the best position due to its natural resources, agricultural capacity, industrial base, and inherent adaptability. However, notes the author, radical reform and increased costs are inevitable. Zeihan is enthusiastic in his writing, and he covers a great deal of territory, some of it in superficial or questionable fashion. Are countries really going to develop their own pirate fleets to seize supply ships? Will the U.S. establish a quasi-empire of the Americas, using food as a weapon of intimidation? Is China facing collapse within a decade? Predictions of world-ending resource depletion and geopolitical disaster have been made before--and often. The Club of Rome and Paul Ehrlich were saying it in the 1970s, and their fears turned out to be misplaced. Humans face significant obstacles, but that has been the case for centuries. The climate crisis, however, has never been more urgent. Zeihan captures that sense, at least, but his cynicism was more palatable in Disunited Nations. The book has entertainment value, but some of the material should be taken with many grains of salt. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.