...Two new books – The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria and The Second World by Parag Khanna – argue that the new global economy power will be more dispersed and multipolar.

"Mr. Zakaria believes we are experiencing modern history's third great power shift, after the rise of the West from the 15th century on, and the rise of the U.S. in the 19th century. But he argues that this latest transition is not so much about the decline of America as it is about “the rise of the rest,” and by that he means much more than simply China or India. The end result will be a “landscape that is quite different from the one we have lived in until now – one defined and directed from many places and by many peoples.” Mr. Khanna similarly predicts that we are headed toward a “global, multi-civilizational, multipolar” world with three superpowers: the U.S., China and the European Union.

"Each of the Big Three powers will assert its influence differently, but the intense demand for energy and resources means that the underlying goal will be the same. And the main battlefield for this geopolitical competition, Mr. Khanna argues, is the “second world” – about 40 strategically important “transition” states whose relationships with the superpowers have the capacity to tip the balance...LINK