Flashpoints: the emerging crisis in Europe

This major new book from the bestselling author and geopolitical forecaster George Friedman presents a bold and provocative thesis about the likeliest locations for the coming eruptions.

George Friedman forecasted coming global trends in The Next 100 Years and The Next Decade. Now, in Flashpoints, he zooms in on Europe and examines the dry tinder of the region: culture. Walking the faultlines that have existed here for centuries, Friedman inspects all the dormant social and political fissures still smouldering just beneath the continent’s surface, and identifies those likely to erupt first.

The book begins with a fascinating history of the events leading up to the horrific wars that nearly tore apart Western civilisation, and shows how modern efforts to overcome Europe’s geopolitical tensions — including the formation of the European Union — have largely failed. Homing in on half a dozen pivotal locations, George Friedman gauges what the future holds, both in terms of conflict and also opportunity. Flashpoints details how events in Europe will affect the rest of the world — from USA to Russia, from China to Latin America — and reveals a new yet familiar political landscape in what is at once a gripping history lesson and a terrifying forecast of the potential devastation ahead.

PRAISE FOR GEORGE FRIEDMAN

‘This nonacademic but erudite view of European history shows that the 20th century’s trauma of war and violence is not quite behind us … A thoughtful, uncluttered treatise considering Europe's intractable patterns of unemployment, immigration and racism.’ Kirkus

‘In this insightful examination of contemporary Europe, political scientist Friedman (Next Decade) challenges the view that the European Union and its neighbors have transcended the threat of violent conflict among nations … By dispassionately anatomizing the fears, aspirations, and interests of the key players, particularly a resurgent and resentful Russia, Friedman vividly describes a region where memories are long, perceived vulnerabilities are everywhere, and major threats have emerged rapidly and unexpectedly many times before.’ Publishers Weekly