An invaluable primer from the president of the Council on Foreign Relations that will help anyone navigate our fast-changing worldToday's headlines generate more questions than answers. Should the United States attack North Korea and Iran or negotiate with them? What are the implications of climate change and what should be done about it? Are tariffs a good idea? What do we owe refugees and others who want to enter our country? Should democratic countries promote democracy and human rights elsewhere? What can be done to stop terrorism? Are the United States and China heading for a second cold war-and, if so, what can be done to head it off?The World provides readers with the essential background needed to answer these and other critical questions. Readers will become more informed, discerning citizens, better able to arrive at sound, independent judgments and to hold elected representatives to account. In short, this book will make readers more globally literate. Although the United States is bordered by two oceans, those oceans are not moats. And the so-called Vegas rule-what happens there stays there-does not apply in today's globalized world to anyone anywhere. U.S. foreign policy is uniquely American, but the world Americans seek to shape is not.Explaining complex ideas with wisdom and clarity, Richard Haass's The World is an evergreen book that will remain relevant and useful even as history continues to unfold.

WHAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE WORLD: This is the ASTROPHYSICS FOR PEOPLE IN A HURRY of world affairs.MAJOR AUTHOR PLATFORM: Dr. Haass leads the prestigious and influential Council on Foreign Relations and is a frequent guest on MSNBC's Morning Joe. HBO and VICE collaborated to make a documentary of his last book.GREAT SALES TRACK: A WORLD IN DISARRAY sold over 36k hardcovers and was treated as an event by media.A FUTURE COURSE STAPLE: There's virtually no comparable text for high school and college students on the basics of foreign policy from a diplomat of Haass's stature targeting a general audience.

CONTENTS PREFACE xv PART I: THE ESSENTIAL HISTORY 1 From the Thirty Years' War to the Outbreak of World War I (1618-1914) 5 From World War I Through World War II (1914-1945) 14 The Cold War (1945-1989) 29 The Post- Cold War Era (1989-Present) 43 PART II: REGIONS OF THE WORLD 59 Europe 67 East Asia and the Pacific 82 South Asia 97 The Middle East 111 Africa 131 The Americas 143 PART III: THE GLOBAL ERA 155 Globalization 159 Terrorism and Counterterrorism 166 Nuclear Proliferation 173 Climate Change 183 Migration 193 The Internet, Cyberspace, and Cybersecurity 201 Global Health 208 Trade and Investment 215 Currency and Monetary Policy 230 Development 240 PART IV: ORDER AND DISORDER 251 Sovereignty, Self-Determination, and Balance of Power 257 Alliances and Coalitions 264 International Society 270 War Between Countries 280 Internal Instability and War Within Countries 288 The Liberal World Order 296 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 305 WHERE TO GO FOR MORE 309 NOTES 315 INDEX 371