HomeFrom the Desk of George Friedman

From the Desk of George Friedman

The Crisis of the University and the Liberal Arts

George Friedman - August 27, 2020

In my book “The Storm Before the Calm,” I predicted that one of the main battles of the next cycle would be the future of the university. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the timetable dramatically, so the crisis is now, and its manifestation is financial. Only schools with significant endowments can do without tuition for […]

The Poisoning of Navalny

George Friedman - August 25, 2020

Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s highest-profile political opponent, remains alive in a German hospital after being poisoned in the Russian town of Tomsk....

Of Belarus, China and Watching a Perfect Game Pitched

George Friedman - August 19, 2020

There are moments in history when disparate global events combine to change the shape of the global system. People like me long for these...

Hiroshima and Moral Revisionism

George Friedman - August 13, 2020

Last week marked the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the first of two strikes on the Japanese mainland that forever changed...

The Geopolitics of the Belarusian Election

George Friedman - August 11, 2020

Belarus, whose recent elections are making waves throughout the media, has been a pending flashpoint in Europe for some time. The reasons for this...

Machiavelli, Adam Smith and the Limits of Power

George Friedman - August 6, 2020

Niccolo Machiavelli was deeply engaged in Florentine politics but, being forced into exile in 1513, was never as successful as he wished he were.

From a COVID-19 Recession to COVID-19 Depression?

George Friedman - August 4, 2020

It’s been roughly five months since COVID-19 lockdown measures were first put in place. That means that come September, we will have gone two...

Forecasting Russia: Strength and Weakness

George Friedman - July 30, 2020

Our forecast for Russia, dating back to my earliest books, was two-fold: first, that Russia would reassert itself and at least appear to be...

Racial Cycles

George Friedman - July 28, 2020

Slavery was the law of the land when the United States was founded, and it would take nearly a century, and a civil war,...

Dignity in Our Time

George Friedman - July 23, 2020

I went once to the funeral of a friend, a soldier. He had died an ordinary death, a car crash that left his parents...

The Queen Elizabeth and the Prince of Wales

George Friedman - July 22, 2020

The British recently finished building two new aircraft carriers, the Queen Elizabeth and the Prince of Wales. Last week, Britain announced that one of...