It has been almost 30 years since Francis Fukuyama proposed that we were entering into an era of triumph for Western liberalism he called “the end of history.” Today this notion seems absurd. Political and military “strong men” once again hold sway over large portions of the globe; emerging world superpowers revive “Great Game”–style geopolitics; and worldwide catastrophes destabilize what were once thought stable borders. The essays in this volume give the reader purchase on the seemingly quickening pace of history by considering specific areas of geopolitics today, as well as historical moments when the global situation seemed to shift decisively.

Contributors include: Jeremy Black, Philip Bobbitt, Michael Broers, Roger Crowley, Gregory Feifer, Noah Feldman, Jonathan Fenby, David Frum, Gabriel Gorodetsky, Peter Heather, Josef Joffe, Anna-Lena Laurén, John H. Maurer, Sean McMeekin, Walter Russell Mead, Richard Miles, Fraser Nelson, Richard Overy, Lincoln Paine, Andrew Preston, Morris Rossabi, Charly Salonius-Pasternak, Norman Stone, Barry Strauss and Mikael Wigell.