Sadly, the world after Bush will still be Bush’s world - plagued by the Iraq War, faltered alliances, terrorism unabated, and anti-American violence. Many of these phenomena began to crest in the 1990s, but over eight years Bush has done little but inflame them – the proverbial arsonist in the firehouse. The next U.S. president will not be able to hit the ground running, for he (or she) must first [...]

Robert D Kaplan has been enchanting and distressing armchair policy wonks and foreign policy makers in about equal measure since his long essay "The Coming Anarchy" was featured on the cover of the Atlantic Monthly in 1994. The article concentrated primarily on the demise of civic institutions and rampant banditry in West Africa, but Kaplan's broader message was a warning of inherent and increasing instability in a world of rapid [...]