HomeFrom the Desk of George Friedman

From the Desk of George Friedman

Speculating on China and Cuba

George Friedman - February 16, 2021

From a military standpoint, China is in a difficult position. It is a trading power and needs access to the global oceans. Its significant...

The Crisis of the Medical Establishment

George Friedman - February 11, 2021

It has been about a year since the world entered a medical crisis for which there had been no cure. For much of the...

Biden’s First Middle East Moves

George Friedman - February 9, 2021

Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden took two steps in the Middle East. The first was that he notified Congress of his intention to...

The Importance of Key West

George Friedman - February 4, 2021

I am writing this from Key West in Florida because after a year my wife decided I needed to get out of the house...

The Institutionalization of Crises

George Friedman - February 2, 2021

About a year after the COVID-19 pandemic introduced its new rules of survival, my wife and I risked life and limb for the chance...

The Origins of the Public and Private

George Friedman - January 28, 2021

Last week, I wrote a piece about the virtues of private life and its centrality to the good life. I want to go deeper...

Biden’s ‘Reversals’

George Friedman - January 26, 2021

Just about every U.S. president promises a new era of U.S. foreign policy. George W. Bush promised to abolish nation building as a goal....

In Praise of Private Life

George Friedman - January 21, 2021

Joe Biden has been inaugurated as president of the United States, and Donald Trump has taken the traditional flight home. Many are incensed by...

Obama, Trump and Biden: Consistency in Foreign Policy

George Friedman - January 19, 2021

U.S. foreign policy comes in phases. From the end of World War II to 1972, its goal was to confront the Soviet Union and...

Understanding Trump

George Friedman - January 14, 2021

U.S. President Donald Trump’s supporters and detractors are both obsessed with him. They share the belief that everything that has happened is because of...

A Major Contraction in Jobs

George Friedman - January 12, 2021

Some 140,000 Americans lost their jobs last month, the largest decline in employment since last April. Yet, the unemployment rate stayed at roughly 6.7...