Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization

Parag Khanna’s Connectography follows the rise of global supply chains and argues economic links between cities are supplanting national and subnational borders as the most relevant way to organize the global economy. He traces supply chains’ impact on development, culture, and ideas. The premise is persuasive, but Khanna is the Tom Friedman of our generation, writing with an entertaining urgency where absolutely everything is new, emerging, and without precedent. Like Friedman’s writing, this book is a vomit of self-important stories (“at a breakfast in Davos with the President of Mongolia…”) and anecdotes of a changing world that sometimes conflict and sometimes defy further scrutiny (a rail link under the Bering Sea is “planned”? Really?), each of which makes you wonder how much of the rest of the book is similarly over-hyped. I did appreciate the diversity of anecdotes such that almost every country in the world at least gets a mention along with a number of local economic issues rarely covered in the US. The urgency of the writing does make the reading fun and fly by without too much thought. It’s good for a geopolitical/economic beach read but don’t expect too much else besides punditry.

I need to confess to my individual kinks that may have affected my reading of this book.My ancient Bachelors’ is in Geography.I am a Political junkie and a Military History hobbyistI am a map enthusiast. Therefore, I am making a point of the 38 maps and exercises in the cartographic discipline that exist in the insert. (Observation: They are best viewed on a device that has both high resolution and color accuracy)Given those caveats I agree with the enthusiastic reviews that you will find here. The first half of the book sets the obvious case that there are continuing changes proceeding that are irresistible. The idea that our current intense concerns about nationality & borders are outdated, along with the nation states that were frozen into place in 1919 will soon disappear, may be uncomfortable for some. Me? - I both envy and sympathize with today’s teenagers who will ride this transition. That said if you have, or know, a teenager close by, I believe you will be doing them a favor by gifting them this book.The interview of Parag Khanna, by Fareed Zakaria on his 2 May 2016 GPS show, is a good exposure to the book’s main points. It can be found by this Google search. [ Connectography "Fareed Zakaria GPS" ]

Informed by extensive travel and an amazing network of colleagues around the world (see “Acknowledgments”), Khanna describes a hopeful future where military superiority and wars will cease to be a threat, replaced by supply chain and trade agreements that world leaders dare not violate if they want to survive. Khanna, by contrast to many who deplore the mass urbanization unfolding around the world, sees cities as the way to deal with environmental degradation and income inequality.“As the lines that connect us supersede the borders that divide us, functional geography is becoming more important than political geography.” (7% through digital text) Khanna predicts that nations will have little power in comparison to cities that broker supply chains and trade at will, carefully managing the flow (resources, goods, capital, technology, people, data, and ideas) and friction (borders, conflict, sanctions, distance, and regulation) within their purview. This world of evolving and permeable boundaries, is more effectively leveraged through engagement than containment.According to Khanna’s predictions, “Connectivity is destiny” and those individuals, businesses, and countries that do not embrace this reality are at risk. In his concluding paragraph, Khanna advocates, “We need a more borderless world because we can’t afford destructive territorial conflict, because correcting the mismatch of people and resources can unlock incredible human and economic potential, because so few states provide sufficient welfare for their citizens, and because so many billions have yet to fully benefit from globalization.”

Connectography may well emerge as the most important book since 9/11. It brushes through terror, Islam, the rise of China, the banking collapse and the crises of the news cycle headlines to illustrate the world as it actually is and not as seen by the vested interests of nation states. "We are moving into an era where cities will matter more than states and supply chains will be a more important source of power than militaries," writes Parag Khanna unfolding before us a global picture led by infrastructure building, trade and technology that will drive forward to break down borders and create winners out of those who are the most connected to others. "As the lines that connect us supersede the borders that divide us, functional geography is becoming more important than political geography." With the rise of China and re-emergence of Russia, Francis Fukuyama has now been proved lacking in his post Cold War prediction that liberal democracy is the end of the social evolution of humanity. Since then, we have all been looking around for something else, away from the nihilistic bloodshed of the Middle East and looming threats of Russia and China. Khanna may have given us one. It is not politics but infrastructure. "Connectivity has become the foundation for global society", he says. "We should strive toward such a Pax Urbanica." This is an uplifting and inspirational read, particularly set against the backdrop of the past decade.

I was looking forward to reading this book as it sounded interesting - how wrong I was ! The author's central thesis - about increasing global connectivity - is valid enough and he is clearly very well travelled and an intellectual. However, this is not an accessible read because of how it is written, both in terms of the language used and the book's disjointed structure. One feels like a great book could have been written as some small parts of it are actually really interesting (so it merits two stars). It's all like wading through treacle - one for the imsomniacs out there !

great book

Honestly, I should have listened to the other reviews. The maps are tiny.

Parag is on the button, though I disagree with some of his points and find his wavering theses on Asia to be confusing and a mark of weak philosophy. But he's one of the most important writers on world affairs, and this book says it all. (Side note: this book says Connectivity is the future; his new book literally says The Future is Asian. Which one is it Parag? Make up your mind! You can't have it both ways! (Maybe he was recently commissioned by the Communist Party of China)).