This provocative book instantly entered The New York Times bestseller list. Its author, American political scientist George Friedman, director of the private intelligence and analytical organization STRATFOR, offers readers a forecast of changes that can be expected in the world in the 21st century. The current apparent weakening of the United States, according to Friedman, is an illusion. American power is so great that it cannot be undermined. The peak of US power will occur at the end of the 21st century. Europe, weak-willed and having lost its taste for battle, will lose its importance. Chinese growth is a bubble that will burst soon. New stars will rise in turn on the geopolitical horizon: Japan, Türkiye, Poland, Mexico. Russia will achieve its goal and regain control over the post-Soviet space in the 2020s, but after that it will collapse and fall apart completely, unable to withstand competition with stronger states. Shocking forecasts of world development caused heated controversy on the Runet long before the publication of this book in Russian. The future scenario outlined by Friedman is undoubtedly subjective. However, a deep analysis of modern trends, noted very accurately, makes us think seriously about the challenges that the world and Russia will face.

George Friedman is an American political scientist, founder and executive director of the private intelligence and analytical organization STRATFOR. He taught political science at Dickinson College for nearly 20 years and regularly briefed military and government officials on security and national defense issues. Comprehensive Assessment, the Allied Headquarters Europe Technical Center, the Army War College, the National Defense University, and the RAND Corporation. In 1994, he founded the Center for Geopolitical Research at Louisiana State University. This center was engaged in integrated economic, political and military modeling and forecasts. Friedman studied political philosophy, initially focusing on Marxism and international conflict, including the study of the military aspect of Soviet-American relations. After the collapse of the USSR, Friedman switched to studying the possibilities of conflict between the United States and Japan. He is the author or co-author of four books, including Future of War, The Intelligence Edge, and America's Secret War (“America’s Secret War”). Friedman lives in Austin, Texas. For continuously updated analysis and additional materials from STRATFOR, visit www.stratfor.com.

Changes Ahead: The end of America's war with jihadists and the subsequent second full-scale Cold War with Russia; a deep, protracted internal crisis in China and the rise of Mexico, which will become a world power; a third world war in which the United States will fight a coalition of countries in Eastern Europe, Eurasia and the Far East (though the opposing armies will be smaller and the fighting will be less bloody) ;the latest technologies will focus on space, dominance of which will provide enormous military advantages and will enable the discovery of an important new source of energy that will have serious consequences for the environment; the golden age that the United States will experience in the second half of the 21st century.