HomeFrom the Desk of George Friedman

From the Desk of George Friedman

The First and Second Oldest Professions

It’s been reported that Russian operatives penetrated the files of several U.S. companies and government agencies, potentially compromising vital American secrets. I use the word “operatives” because what used to be called spies are now called operatives, and an operative working as a spy in the digital world is increasingly referred to as a hacker. […]

Arab Recognition of Israel Redefines the Middle East

Last week, Morocco established diplomatic relations with Israel, joining three other Arab countries – the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan – that normalized...

On to the Next Presidency

It’s now clear that Joe Biden will become the 46th president of the United States. There are many who believe he stole the election,...

The Institutional Crisis and COVID-19

In “The Storm Before the Calm,” I wrote of two crises coming to a head in the 2020s: a socio-economic crisis and an institutional...

Happy Birthday to Geopolitical Futures

On Dec. 2, 2015, Geopolitical Futures issued its first publication. That was its birth. Its conception took place months before, in September 2015, in...

The Utility and Morality of Assassination

The head of the Iranian nuclear weapons program was killed Friday near Tehran. The assumption is that he was killed by the Israelis, whose...

China Stares Down a Financial Reckoning

One has to wonder what Jack Ma was thinking when, in a speech in Shanghai in late October, the Alibaba and Ant Group founder...

The Event that Triggered US Maritime Supremacy

On Nov. 11, 1940, the British Royal Navy set the stage for the United States becoming the dominant naval power in the world. It...

Russia’s Search for Strategic Depth

In 2005, in a speech delivered in front of Russia’s Federal Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the fall of the Soviet Union...

The Strangeness of an Analytic Life

I have spent a good part of my life as an analyst, and for the past quarter-century as an analyst of geopolitics – the...

Biden’s Dilemma

The election is over, and barring major fraud or error, Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States. He begins as...

The War of the Norm

The primary reason about half the country voted for Joe Biden was that he wasn’t Donald Trump. Trump was seen by many as violating...

Latest Posts