The Post-American World - Fareed Zakaria [127]
Tina Bennett, my agent, was so enthusiastic about this project at every stage that I didn’t quite believe her, and yet it kept me going. Drake McFeely, my editor, is a class act. His comments were well-chosen and apposite. Drake’s assistant, Kyle Frisina, had to turn a manuscript into a book a good bit faster than is the norm and did it without ever complaining. Cullen Stanley has been wonderful at handling the book’s foreign rights. When people talk about the old days when agents and publishers were deeply interested in quality and substance, I feel they have not been lucky enough to know the people at Janklow and Nesbit and W. W. Norton.
I have dedicated this book to my brother Arshad, who came to America a year before I did. I suppose if he hadn’t enjoyed his first year in the States, I wouldn’t be here. Since then we have been friends and companions, through ups and downs. He and I have discussed many of the ideas in this book and I’ve gained much from his insights. I’ve benefited from a lifetime of wisdom, encouragement, support, and love from my mother, Fatma Zakaria. My father, Rafiq Zakaria, died five years ago. I wish I had had the chance to talk over the themes of this book with him.
At one point, I gave my wife, Paula, a draft of some chapters and asked for her comments. She read some of it, made comments, and then said to me, “I think my best contribution to this book can be to keep the family life running and the kids out of your hair.” In fact she has always been an excellent editor—because she is herself a gifted writer—but in the circumstances she was right. Without her help, I would not have had the peace of mind and mental stamina to write this book. I thank her for her love and friendship.
My daughter, Lila, who turned five as the original edition was going to the press, informed me that she was delighted that I was done with it because now she could use my computer to get onto YouTube and listen to songs from High School Musical. She has moved on to Justin Bieber. My son, Omar, who was eight at the time, was more concerned about the project itself. When I explained to him for the first time what the book was about, he said in a somewhat distressed tone, “Why do you want to write a book about the future? If you’re wrong, people won’t buy the book anymore.” At least at this point, three years later, I don’t think I’ve embarrassed him.
Index
Abrahamic religions, 122, 171, 172
Abu Sayyaf, 11
Abyssinia, 195
Academy of Science, 211
Acheson, Dean, 255, 256
Acquaviva, Claudio, 124
Adams, James Truslow, 237
affirmative action, 109
Afghanistan, 13, 15, 54, 101, 172, 185, 199, 235–36, 241, 247, 260, 277, 284
Afghan War, 13, 241, 247, 260
Africa:
agriculture in, 70
Chinese influence in, 129–32, 270
Christian population of, 98
colonization of, 65, 79, 80, 129, 156
corruption in, 130–32
economies of, 21n, 40, 68, 129, 130, 242–43
geography of, 77
instability of, 12–13, 20, 29, 40, 65, 68
national debts of, 130
natural resources of, 129
North, 12–13, 20, 80
slaves from, 79
sub-Saharan, 80
U.S. influence in, 270–71, 273
see also specific countries
AFRICOM, 270–71
Aggarwal, Anil, 155
aging populations, 214–15
agriculture, 21, 30, 31, 32–33, 65–67, 70, 71–72, 100, 106, 112, 136, 151, 160
Agtmael, Antoine van, 2
Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud, 16, 55
AIDS, 149, 161
AIG, 43–44
air conditioners, 102
air pollution, 111
airport security, 280
Akbar, 75
Al-Azhar University, 15
Albright, Madeleine, 246
Alembert, Jean Le Rond d’, 123
alerts, terrorist, 277
algebra, 67
Algeria, 13
algorithm, 67
Al-Jabr wa-al-Muqabilah, 67
Al Jazeera, 96
al-Khwarizmi, 67
Al Qaeda, 5, 10–18, 172, 248n, 270, 277
Ambrose, Stephen, 37
American dream, 237
American Enterprise Institute, 213
Amery, Leo, 193
Amsterdam, 67
Anglo-Chinese Wars, 81
Angola,