The Second World by Parag Khanna
Posted by readingglobalization on April 20, 2009
Of all the books that I am considering for next fall’s seminar, one of the most fascinating and well researched is The Second World: Empires and Influence in The New Global Order by Parag Khanna (2008) www.paragkhanna.com
Khanna, who is the director of the Global Governance Initiative in the American Strategy Program of the New America Foundation, presents a compelling new thesis where he sees the emergence of a new tri-polar world where the United States, China, and the EU compete for dominance and resources. This contest plays out in the “second world” which he describes as Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and East Africa. Khanna has traveled extensively in each of these regions and he is a keen observer and a gifted writer. In this book he takes us on a remarkable tour of specific countries where he examines how globalization is changing the evolution of what used to be thought of as “the international community.” Khanna also explores the tension between geopolitics and globalization.
This is an important primer on the changing geo-political landscape and he ends the book with a provocative and timely challenge for the US, China, and the EU. Robert D. Kaplan, one of my favorite global observers/travel writers, describes The Second World as “A savvy, streetwise primer on dozens of individual countries that adds up to a coherent theory of global politics.”
