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America's New Map

Restoring Our Global Leadership in an Era of Climate Change and Demographic Collapse

By Thomas P.M. Barnett
Published by BenBella Books
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book
Three tectonic and inevitable shifts have left the world at a crossroads. North America is poised to either re-emerge as a global leader, or turn back in time, ceding power and influence to competitors.

The 21st century unleashed unprecedented changes across the globe—to its climate, to the demographic makeup of its nations, and to the very nature of allegiance in the digital age. With its global influence waning, America must reevaluate its approach to globalization if it wishes to remain a leader.

In America’s New Map: Restoring Global Leadership in an Era of Climate Change and Demographic Collapse, Thomas P.M. Barnett, bestselling author of The Pentagon’s New Map: War and Peace in the Twenty-First Century and acclaimed geo-strategist, offers seven throughlines to frame and redefine the ambitions and posture of these United States, setting our Union on a bold-but-entirely-familiar national trajectory.

In these pages, Barnett offers a deep, yet accessible dive into the three shifts that have lead us to this point:

  • As climate change ravages countries closest to the equator, global dynamics are shifting from an East-West emphasis to North-South in the greatest geopolitical transformation our world has yet experienced—and the Western Hemisphere is far better positioned to exploit this radical reorientation than the East.

  • Aging demographics worldwide favor more slowly aging nations, including the US, while challenging rapidly aging nations like China, incentivizing countries best to delay that transition by integrating younger, faster-growing populations into their ranks.

  • In combination, these two tectonic forces collide with a third: the exploding consumption of an expanding—and now majority—global middle class, the bulk of whom reside along the increasingly unstable North-South frontier.

    Taking every variable of these unique circumstances into account, America’s New Map charts a path toward a bigger and better United States. We will all be living in somebody’s world come mid-century—this book tells Americans how to make sure it is one we can recognize as our own.

    • About The Author
    Thomas P.M. Barnett

    Thomas P. M. Barnett has worked in U.S. national security circles since the end of the Cold War, starting first with the Department of Navy’s premier think tank, the Center for Naval Analyses. He then served as a professor at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, RI, where he became a top assistant to Vice Admiral Arthur Cebrowksi—the father of “network-centric warfare.” After 9/11, Barnett served in Cebrowski's Office of Force Transformation in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as the Assistant for Strategic Futures. He developed a famous PowerPoint brief on globalization and international security (see his 2005 TED Talk), which later morphed into a New York Times bestselling book, The Pentagon’s New Map (2004). Barnett extended his “New Map” series with the volumes Blueprint for Action (2005) and Great Powers (2009). Since leaving government service in 2005, Dr. Barnett has worked for a series of technology-driven start-ups. He currently serves as Throughline’s Senior Strategist in the firm’s enterprise design and strategy work throughout the U.S. Federal Government and the private sector. Dr. Barnett holds a PhD in political science from Harvard University.

    Product Details
    • Publisher: BenBella Books (September 26, 2023)
    • Length: 400 pages
    • ISBN13: 9781637744307

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    Raves and Reviews

    """America's New Map offers a dazzling collection of ideas and arguments united by compelling storytelling and Barnett's thoughtful approach to the impact of past upon future.""
    —Ian Bremmer, founder and president of Eurasia Group

    ""Looking at the great currents shaping our world, Barnett provides unique insights. At once wise and provocative, America's New Map forces us to open our eyes and think.""
    —Honorable William ""Mac"" Thornberry, former Chair of the House Armed Services Committee

    ""Barnett is a strategic thinker who sees around corners. Here he draws on his interdisciplinary strengths to paint a convincing picture of the world to come -- and how America remains a pivotal superpower.""
    —Dr. Parag Khanna, author of Connectography and MOVE

    ""Barnett has done it again. America's New Map is a creative and thought-provoking exploration of a world in accelerating transition—but with a clear strategic vision. Like a graphic novel for futurists, it will make you think of things you hadn't thought about before.""
    —Allison Stanger, Leng Professor of International Politics and Economics at Middlebury College

    ""America's New Map is a remarkable piece of work—an inspirational and grounded manifesto for the next American Century . . . Barnett describes the pathways to a future where our nation can both heal and prosper.""
    —Chris Bellavita, academic programs director of the Center for Homeland Defense and Security

    ""Barnett's analysis of our geopolitical present and future is startling, innovative, and persuasive.""
    —Carmi Zlotnik, president of television at Legendary Entertainment

    ""A brilliant, highly readable, and timely guide to what makes America great. Barnett presents a compelling path to healing our nation with a challenge bigger than ourselves.The best way to predict the future is to create it, and America's New Map does both.""
    —Bruce McIndoe, founder and CEO of McIndoe Risk Advisory

    ""America's New Map is another tour de force by Barnett.This wide-ranging and provocative book analyzes the myriad challenges facing the U.S. with breathtaking originality and insight.His strategic prescriptions are brilliantly pragmatic and promising.""
    —Minxin Pei, professor at Claremont McKenna College and opinion columnist for Bloomberg

    ""America's New Map is an essential book for our world's young leaders. Barnett offers fresh and provocative course-changes for America so it might steer the 21st century toward prosperity and peace.""
    —Jerry MacArthur Hultin, chair of New York Academy of Sciences and former under secretary of the Navy

    ""In boldly arguing for North-South integration, America's New Map upends decades of conventional thinking on West-vs-East power struggles. Barnett makes a compelling case for how America can prevail against rising great-power autocracies in a world experiencing rapid climate change.""
    —Laurence C. Smith, professor at Brown University and author of The World in 2050

    ""A wholly original diagnosis of globalization, an unsparing prognosis of where we're headed, and a challenging prescription for a new American grand strategy worthy of its superpower brand . . . Barnett reveals a hopeful perspective on the seemingly intractable problems of the 21st century.""
    —Steven Grundman, program manager of National Security Studies at Syracuse University

    ""America's New Map offers the first coherent, post-Cold War US grand strategy for the global commons.Barnett masterfully knits together themes that appear disparate but are in fact inexorably interconnected.This book compels younger Americans to imagine a world worth creating.""
    —Capt. Rich Suttie, USN (ret.) and former assistant dean at the US Naval War College

    ""Barnett dissects history like very few analysts can. In a world rapidly reaching a painful turning point, his responsible analysis paves the way for intelligent solutions. America's New Map should be obligatory reading for any US policymaker.""
    —Gennaro Buonocore, chair of Maitland Primrose Group and US Navy Reserve foreign area officer

    ""A geostrategic cartographer of uncommon skill, Barnett eviscerates conventional wisdom on globalization's past, present, and future. America's New Map is a roadmap all Americans would be smart to follow.""
    —Mark Thompson, national security analyst for the Project on Government Oversight

    ""Dr. Barnett's geopolitical analysis is always spot-on and drives tremendous clarity in strategic thinking . . . I recommend America's New Map to anyone who cares about humanity and our planet.""
    —Sandeep Kar, chief strategy officer at Noregon Systems

    ""Barnett clearly lays out the interwoven threads of globalization's DNA across provocative essays that culminate in a decidedly hopeful view of our shared future. America's New Map details our Union's vital—yet evolving—leadership role in driving peace, prosperity, and stability in an era of heightened superpower competition.""
    —Stephen F. DeAngelis, president and CEO of Enterra Solutions, LLC and Massive Dynamics, LLC

    ""A remarkable feat of clear, easy-to-read writing and striking imagery that spans the globe. Barnett illuminates a north-south pathway to a bright future for America within globalization. Forward-thinking policymakers and business leaders will relish this book, as it showcases how America can lead in the decades ahead.""
    —Daniel P. Forrester, founder of THRUUE, Inc. and author of Consider

    ""There is no more important book you can read to understand how America should confront climate change amidst great-power competition.Far from doom and gloom, Barnett's grand strategy plots a more prosperous future for America and the world.""
    —Mark Sharpe, president of Hogback Ventures, Inc.

    ""America's New Map offers a new set of tools for visualizing the challenges US policymakers face over the next several decades. Rising above the fray of today's culture wars, Barnett alerts us to the long-term challenges to US global leadership.""
    —Robert Farley, senior lecturer at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at University of Kentucky

    ""Barnett analyzes the throughlines of an inevitable future already bearing down on us. This lucid and nuanced book empowers Americans to craft their own desired storylines for this century. Every US policymaker should be paying attention to America's New Map.""
    —Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, founder & CEO of Valens Global and author of Enemies Near and Far

    ""Barnett's ability to provide critical insight into America's pacing security threats, as affected by demographics, climate change, political polarization, and more is superb.""
    —Brigadier General Mark Kalin, land component commander of the Massachusetts Army National Guard

    ""Barnett convincingly urges America to burnish its brand and manifest its destiny.""
    —Jeffrey Itell, former senior analyst for Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction

    ""Far more than an academic discussion, America's New Map packs a realism and practicality that security practitioners in the field will immediately recognize and put to good use.""
    —Scott Massey, organizational operations executive"

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    America's New Map

    Restoring Our Global Leadership in an Era of Climate Change and Demographic Collapse

    By Thomas P.M. Barnett
    Published by BenBella Books
    Distributed by Simon & Schuster