Here is a stunning and provocative guide to the future of international relations—a system for managing global problems beyond the stalemates of business versus government, East versus West, rich versus poor, democracy versus authoritarianism, free markets versus state capitalism. Written by the most esteemed and innovative adventurer-scholar of his generation, Parag Khanna’s How to Run the World posits a chaotic modern era that resembles the Middle Ages, with Asian empires, Western militaries, Middle Eastern sheikhdoms, magnetic city-states, wealthy multinational corporations, elite clans, religious zealots, tribal hordes, and potent media seething in an ever more unpredictable and dangerous storm. But just as that initial “dark age” ended with the Renaissance, Khanna believes that our time can become a great and enlightened age as well—only, though, if we harness our technology and connectedness to forge new networks among governments, businesses, and civic interest groups to tackle the crises of today and avert those of tomorrow. With his trademark energy, intellect, and wit, Khanna reveals how a new “mega-diplomacy” consisting of coalitions among motivated technocrats, influential executives, super-philanthropists, cause-mopolitan activists, and everyday churchgoers can assemble the talent, pool the money, and deploy the resources to make the global economy fairer, rebuild failed states, combat terrorism, promote good governance, deliver food, water, health care, and education to those in need, and prevent environmental collapse. With examples taken from the smartest capital cities, most progressive boardrooms, and frontline NGOs, Khanna shows how mega-diplomacy is more than an ad hoc approach to running a world where no one is in charge—it is the playbook for creating a stable and self-correcting world for future generations. How to Run the World is the cutting-edge manifesto for diplomacy in a borderless world. If only the rest of this book were as lively and succinct as the title is. Instead, Khanna’s strong main point—that the problems of a decentralized, post–cold war world demand far more creative solutions than they’ve received—loses its way in the author’s discursive and, frankly, often boring text. Still, for readers willing to make the slog, they’ll find much value here: for example, a delineation of the new global political players, an explanation of failed states (those in name and on maps only), and an understanding of the interconnectivity needed to solve the world’s most pressing problems. As the author has appeared on CNN and in such publications as the New York Times, expect some author exposure in electronic and print media. --Alan Moores Praise for Parag Khanna’s How to Run the World “"The world has money, talent, technology, food, fuel, entrepreneurs, and do-gooders in spades, but we lack solidarity to bring it all together. Parag Khanna’s How to Run the World tackles our spiraling complexity head-on yet paints a hopeful picture of how our scary, turbulent, and unpredictable new Middle Ages can be turned into another Renaissance if we harness the power of today’s governments, multinational firms, NGOs, philanthropists, celebrities, entrepreneurs, innovators, and communities of the faithful to create new models of good governance. It is their solidarity that will secure our future. This book is a fresh, bold, provocative—and, most important, realistic—guide to getting us there."  --Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools “By exhorting leaders to make use of new, open technologies that encourage more diverse and dynamic marketplaces, Parag Khanna makes a powerful argument: the world can become smarter than the sum of its parts. We need to pay attention to his ideas.” —Eric Schmidt, CEO, Google   "Parag Khanna has vision."—Nassim Nicholas Taleb     "The term 'sweeping' hardly does justice to the ambition of Indian-born Parag Khanna... Makes the pulse race."       —The Economist "At a time when the lines between government and business are blurring and most pundits are quick to color them over with the promise of technology, Khanna has given us an important guide that will help us run the world into the future."—Forbes  "New America Foundation senior research fellow Khanna (The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order, 2008) calls for a new “mega-diplomacy” to solve problems in a period of global uncertainty. Diplomats have long negotiated how to run the world, writes the author. In ancient Sumerian city-states, they channeled the messages of deities among kings. In modern times, they have divvied up the globe after major wars. With no single power in control, today’s “fractured, fragmented, ungovernable” post–Cold War world demands a new kind of diplomacy based on coalitions of governments, corporations and civic actors. Empowered by the information revolution, writes Khanna, public and private partners can collaborate