From the Inside Flap
In the new millennium, it is nearly impossible for us to talk about basic concerns like food or gas prices, without examining global intersections in trade, energy, immigration, the environment, and defense. Many countries once described as "developing" nations now wield greater economic and political influence than some of the so-called "major" powers. Former debtor nations have become creditors of the United States and other developed countries that run budget deficits. Without recognizing and understanding these connections, we cannot even begin to discuss how the United States and other countries can craft and harness effective policies amid this breathtaking progress. In Seeing the Elephant, Peter Marber describes how increasing economic integration and the rise of new actors is drastically altering the geopolitical landscape, and offers insights on how the U.S. can make policy to maintain a leading role in the years to come.
The twenty-first century, Marber explains, demands a very different lens for viewing the world. In the era of globalization, America's success hinges on the success of its neighbors, too. Rising economic powerhouses—China, Russia, India, Brazil, and others—bring a diverse set of interests to the table that the U.S. cannot afford to ignore. Moreover, globalization has created thousands of non-state actors—corporations, banks, hedge funds, activists, and even terrorists—who bring their own concerns to bear. Marber underscores the importance of forging strong relationships with pivotal developing nations and America's need to reaffirm the centricity of global protocols, rules, and institutions after an unfortunate period of neglect. It's not too late. By focusing on seven key cross-border, interlinking issues—trade and finance, energy, security, immigration, health, the environment, and poverty—Marber recommends key adjustments in policies that aim to strengthen and modernize our current institutional infrastructure, including NATO, the WHO, the WTO, the World Bank, and the UN, among others. While his strategies do not guarantee that the United States will remain on top economically, they ensure that the global system America helped to create triumphs in the end, protecting against the factionalism that led to two World Wars and destroyed decades of economic progress.
In this timely book, Marber demystifies globalization and analyzes new international megatrends and interconnections. With bold suggestions on how America can reassert its historic leadership in the new global arena, Seeing the Elephant will show readers how the U.S. still remains the planet's best chance at building enduring peace and prosperity.
From the Back Cover
Praise for Seeing the Elephant"Creative and accessible . . . Peter Marber has earned his insights into globalization as a practitioner who studied emerging markets long before they became fashionable in the West. An inspiring, terrific book about the most important subject of our era."—Steve Coll, Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author of Ghost Wars and The Bin Ladens
"On the money . . . . If you want to understand globalization's future, as well as some of the reasons we got into our current financial mess, reading Marber's Seeing the Elephant is a great place to start."—Craig Karmin, Wall Street Journal reporter and author of Biography of the Dollar: How the Mighty Buck Conquered the World and Why It's Under Siege
"Peter Marber is an original thinker who has managed to write a genuinely original book about globalization—a subject that has been exhausted by far too many more conventional analyses. His 'macro quantum' perspective on the world spotlights the critical, unavoidable fact of infinite connections among states and people. Those connections, and the uncertainty and unpredictability they bring, also open up a world of infinite possibility."—Anne-Marie Slaughter, Dean, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
"At a time when we are witnessing the collapse of just about everything, Seeing the Elephant should be required reading for any American looking for a way forward. Peter Marber unpacks the intricately connected, fast-evolving world we live in with crystal-clear prose, apt metaphors, and hard data.
Seeing the Elephant provides a prototype of the new flight apparatus America needs to navigate our way successfully through the buffeting winds of the twenty-first century."—Mira Kamdar, author of Planet India: The Turbulent Rise of the Largest Democracy and the Future of Our World
"Great timing . . . . Seeing the Elephant captures global reality as it is today and where it is heading far more deeply than any framework offered so far. This is the book government and business leaders must read. By cleverly investigating the connections between finance, the environment, security, and poverty, Marber makes all previous writing on globalization redundant."—Parag Khanna, author of The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order
