Overview

An urgent exploration of a world in constant crisis, where every regional disaster threatens to become a global conflict, with lessons from history that can stop the spiral—from the New York Times bestselling author of The Revenge of Geography “Compelling and helpful . . . Kaplan’s analysis has enormous implications for U.S. strategy abroad. . . . His conclusion is the only right one.”—John Bolton, The Wall Street Journal One of Financial Times’ Most Important Books to Read This Year • One of Foreign Policy’s Most Anticipated Books of the Year We are entering a new era of global cataclysm in which the world faces a deadly mix of war, climate change, great power rivalry, rapid technological advancement, the end of both monarchy and empire, and countless other dangers. In Waste Land, Robert D. Kaplan, geopolitical expert and author of more than twenty books on world affairs, incisively explains how we got here and where we are going. Kaplan makes a novel argument that the current geopolitical landscape must be considered alongside contemporary social phenomena such as urbanization and digital news media, grounding his ideas in foundational modern works of philosophy, politics, and literature, including the poem from which the title is borrowed, and celebrating a canon of traditionally conservative thinkers, including Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Jeane Kirkpatrick, and many others. As in many of his books, Kaplan looks to history and literature to inform the present, drawing particular comparisons between today's challenges and the Weimar Republic, the post-World War I democratic German government that fell to Nazism in the 1930s. Just as in Weimar, which faced myriad crises inextricably bound up with global systems, the singular dilemmas of the twenty-first century—pandemic disease, recession, mass migration, the destabilizing effects of large-scale democracy and great power conflicts, and the intimate bonds created by technology—mean that every disaster in one country has the potential to become a global crisis, too. According to Kaplan, the solutions lie in prioritizing order in governing systems, arguing that stability and historic liberalism rather than mass democracy per se will save global populations from an anarchic future. Waste Land is a bracing glimpse into a future defined by the connections afforded by technology but with remarkable parallels to the past. Just as it did in Weimar, Kaplan fears the situation may be spiraling out of our control—unless our leaders act first.

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Reviews

“A compelling, stark, critically important book that conveys the urgency of the present moment and the unprecedented challenges that face mankind . . . Once again, Robert D. Kaplan has brilliantly distilled an exceedingly complex set of issues that have to be resolved. And once again he has impressively consulted history to provide prescriptions to help us navigate the ongoing conflicts, security dilemmas, great power rivalries, health crises, environmental issues, and other looming difficulties. Waste Land solidifies Kaplan’s reputation as one of the truly masterful observers and thinkers of our time!”—General David Petraeus, US Army (Ret), former Commander of the Surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, and former Director of the CIA “One of the great geopolitical thinkers of our time has produced yet another compelling, scholarly, and eminently readable book of thoughtful global analysis. Weaving together everything from the gorgeous poetry of T. S. Eliot to the neo-realistic thinking of Jeane Kirkpatrick to the tragic history of the Weimar Republic, Robert D. Kaplan provides a dark mirror held to a dangerous world that commands our attention page after page. . . . A cautionary tale of absolute brilliance!”—Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret), 16th Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, 12th Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and author of Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World’s Oceans “Robert D. Kaplan’s Waste Land is a provocative but penetrating diagnosis of the anomie that marks the evolving international order. The deconcentration of power, the fraying of authority, and the weakening of institutions, which are occurring against the backdrop of revolutions in technology that are producing a simulacrum of social intimacy, threaten to engender persistent economic fragility, a resurgence of illiberal ideologies, and the legitimation of new autocratic despots.”—Ashley J. Tellis, Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace   “In this deeply erudite literary, cultural, and historical narrative, Kaplan offers both warning and hope that America amid such confusion and danger will be alright—if it remembers to reestablish and cherish its traditions of order, the rule of law, moderation, humility, unity, borders, and its unique commitment to economic, individual, and constitutional freedom and tolerance.”—Victor Davis Hanson, the Hoover Institution, Stanford University and New York Times bestselling author of The End of Everything   “Robert D. Kaplan is one of the most sophisticated and incisive geopolitical analysts of today’s world. His latest work is typically elegant, grounded in a vast range of philosophy, travel, and literature. The book is a tribute to the role that history can play in illuminating a path for policymakers in an ever more uncertain and chaotic world.”—John Bew, Professor in History and Foreign Policy at King’s College London, and author of Clement Attlee: The Man Who Made Modern Britain

“Robert D. Kaplan is one of the most sophisticated and incisive geopolitical analysts of today’s world. His latest work is typically elegant, a tribute to the role that history can play in illuminating a path for policymakers in an ever-more-uncertain and chaotic world.”—John Bew, professor of history, King’s College London; author of Castlereagh and Clement Attlee; foreign policy adviser to three British prime ministers “Darkly brilliant . . . In this deeply erudite literary, cultural, and historical narrative, Kaplan offers a warning but also a hope that America amid such confusion and danger will be all right.”—Victor Davis Hanson, New York Times bestselling author of The End of Everything “A compelling, stark, critically important book that conveys the urgency of the present moment and the unprecedented challenges that face mankind, Waste Land solidifies Kaplan’s reputation as one of the truly masterful observers and thinkers of our time.”—General David Petraeus, U.S. Army (Ret.), former commander of the surge in Iraq “Kaplan is one of my favorite Neo-Malthusian pessimists. He has an incredible bandwidth—prodigious reader, inveterate traveler, journalist, thinker, writer. Waste Land’s relevance manifests itself immediately.”—Joe Klein, New York Times bestselling author of Primary Colors, writer of the Sanity Clause newsletter “One of the great geopolitical thinkers of our time has produced yet another compelling, scholarly, and eminently readable book of thoughtful global analysis—a cautionary tale of absolute brilliance.”—Admiral James Stavridis, U.S. Navy (Ret.), 16th Supreme Allied Commander of NATO “A provocative but penetrating diagnosis of the anomie that marks the evolving international order. The deconcentration of power, the fraying of authority, and the weakening of institutions. . . . All this together foreshadows a world crisis that looks uncomfortably like Weimar redux, but with even deadlier consequences this time around. . . . The reader will not find a better guide toward that end than Kaplan’s Waste Land.”—Ashley J. Tellis, Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

“Kaplan is one of my favorite Neo-Malthusian pessimists. He has an incredible bandwidth—prodigious reader, inveterate traveler, journalist, thinker, writer. Waste Land’s relevance manifests itself immediately.”—Joe Klein, political commentator “A compelling, stark, critically important book that conveys the urgency of the present moment and the unprecedented challenges that face mankind . . . Once again, Robert D. Kaplan has brilliantly distilled an exceedingly complex set of issues that have to be resolved. And once again he has impressively consulted history to provide prescriptions to help us navigate the ongoing conflicts, security dilemmas, great power rivalries, health crises, environmental issues, and other looming difficulties. Waste Land solidifies Kaplan’s reputation as one of the truly masterful observers and thinkers of our time!”—General David Petraeus, US Army (Ret), former Commander of the Surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, and former Director of the CIA “One of the great geopolitical thinkers of our time has produced yet another compelling, scholarly, and eminently readable book of thoughtful global analysis. Weaving together everything from the gorgeous poetry of T. S. Eliot to the neo-realistic thinking of Jeane Kirkpatrick to the tragic history of the Weimar Republic, Robert D. Kaplan provides a dark mirror held to a dangerous world that commands our attention page after page. . . . A cautionary tale of absolute brilliance!”—Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret), 16th Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, 12th Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and author of Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World’s Oceans “A provocative but penetrating diagnosis of the anomie that marks the evolving international order. The deconcentration of power, the fraying of authority, and the weakening of institutions. . . . All this together foreshadows a world crisis that looks uncomfortably like Weimar redux, but with even deadlier consequences this time around. . . . The reader will not find a better guide toward that end than Kaplan’s Waste Land.”—Ashley J. Tellis, Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace   “Darkly brilliant . . . In this deeply erudite literary, cultural, and historical narrative, Kaplan offers both warning and hope that America amid such confusion and danger will be alright—if it remembers to reestablish and cherish its traditions of order, the rule of law, moderation, humility, unity, borders, and its unique commitment to economic, individual, and constitutional freedom and tolerance.”—Victor Davis Hanson, The Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and author of The End of Everything   “Robert D. Kaplan is one of the most sophisticated and incisive geopolitical analysts of today’s world. His latest work is typically elegant, grounded in a vast range of philosophy, travel, and literature. The book is a tribute to the role that history can play in illuminating a path for policymakers in an ever more uncertain and chaotic world.”—John Bew, Professor in History and Foreign Policy at King’s College London, and author of Clement Attlee: The Man Who Made Modern Britain

“A compelling, stark, critically important book that conveys the urgency of the present moment and the unprecedented challenges that face mankind. Once again, Robert D. Kaplan has brilliantly distilled an exceedingly complex set of issues that have to be resolved. And once again he has impressively consulted history to provide prescriptions to help us navigate the ongoing conflicts, security dilemmas, great power rivalries, health crises, environmental issues, and other looming difficulties. Waste Land solidifies Kaplan’s reputation as one of the truly masterful observers and thinkers of our time!”—General David Petraeus, US Army (Ret.), former Commander of the Surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, and former Director of the CIA “One of the great geopolitical thinkers of our time has produced yet another compelling, scholarly, and eminently readable book of thoughtful global analysis. Weaving everything from the gorgeous poetry of T.S. Eliot to the neo-realistic thinking of Jeane Kirkpatrick to the tragic history of the Weimar Republic, Robert D. Kaplan provides a dark mirror held to a dangerous world that commands our attention page after page. A cautionary tale of absolute brilliance!”—Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret), 16th Supreme Allied Commander of NATO and 12th Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University, and author of Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World’s Oceans “Robert D. Kaplan is one of the most sophisticated and incisive geopolitical analysts of today’s world. His latest work is typically elegant, grounded in a vast range of philosophy, travel and literature. The book is a tribute to the role that history can play in illuminating a path for policymakers in an ever-more uncertain and chaotic world.”—John Bew, Professor in History and Foreign Policy at King’s College London, and author of Clement Attlee: The Man Who Made Modern Britain

“A compelling, stark, critically important book that conveys the urgency of the present moment and the unprecedented challenges that face mankind . . . Once again, Robert D. Kaplan has brilliantly distilled an exceedingly complex set of issues that have to be resolved. And once again he has impressively consulted history to provide prescriptions to help us navigate the ongoing conflicts, security dilemmas, great power rivalries, health crises, environmental issues, and other looming difficulties. Waste Land solidifies Kaplan’s reputation as one of the truly masterful observers and thinkers of our time!”—General David Petraeus, US Army (Ret), former Commander of the Surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, and former Director of the CIA “One of the great geopolitical thinkers of our time has produced yet another compelling, scholarly, and eminently readable book of thoughtful global analysis. Weaving together everything from the gorgeous poetry of T. S. Eliot to the neo-realistic thinking of Jeane Kirkpatrick to the tragic history of the Weimar Republic, Robert D. Kaplan provides a dark mirror held to a dangerous world that commands our attention page after page. . . . A cautionary tale of absolute brilliance!”—Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret), 16th Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, 12th Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and author of Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World’s Oceans “Robert D. Kaplan’s Waste Land is a provocative but penetrating diagnosis of the anomie that marks the evolving international order. The deconcentration of power, the fraying of authority, and the weakening of institutions, which are occurring against the backdrop of revolutions in technology that are producing a simulacrum of social intimacy, threaten to engender persistent economic fragility, a resurgence of illiberal ideologies, and the legitimation of new autocratic leaders. All this together foreshadows a world crisis that looks uncomfortably like Weimar redux but with even deadlier consequences. Obviously, nothing is inevitable in history, but perspicaciously understanding its rhythms is essential to help avert the looming catastrophe. The reader will not find a better guide toward that end.”—Ashley J. Tellis, Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace   “Robert D. Kaplan’s Waste Land is a darkly brilliant and engaging survey of our world in chaos—globalization simultaneously uniting and destabilizing nations and tribes, greater wealth and with it envy and anger, the postwar powers in decline with a China confident to fill their void, and an America without borders, fraught with internal dissension and debt, and blinkered by ossified strategies and ideologies. And yet in this deeply erudite literary, cultural, and historical narrative, Kaplan offers both warning and hope that America amid such confusion and danger will be all right—if it remembers to reestablish and cherish its traditions of order, the rule of law, moderation, humility, unity, borders, and its unique commitment to economic, individual, and constitutional freedom and tolerance.”—Victor Davis Hanson, the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and New York Times bestselling author of The End of Everything   “Robert D. Kaplan is one of the most sophisticated and incisive geopolitical analysts of today’s world. His latest work is typically elegant, grounded in a vast range of philosophy, travel, and literature. The book is a tribute to the role that history can play in illuminating a path for policymakers in an ever more uncertain and chaotic world.”—John Bew, Professor in History and Foreign Policy at King’s College London, and author of Clement Attlee: The Man Who Made Modern Britain

Author Information

Robert D. Kaplan is the bestselling author of twenty-three books on foreign affairs and travel translated into many languages, including The Loom of Time, Adriatic, The Good American, The Revenge of Geography, Asia's Cauldron, Monsoon, The Coming Anarchy, and Balkan Ghosts. He holds the Robert Strausz-Hupé Chair in Geopolitics at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. For three decades he reported on foreign affairs for The Atlantic. He was a member of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board and the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel. Foreign Policy twice named him one of the world's Top 100 Global Thinkers.

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