Peter Zeihan


Peter Zeihan is a geopolitical analyst, author, and speaker. He analyzes data from geography, populations, and global politics to understand economic trends and make predictions.

Early life and education

Zeihan was born in 1973 and grew up in Iowa. He attended the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky.. He is a former analyst for the Austin-based geopolitical intelligence firm Stratfor.

Publications

Zeihan frames the current geopolitical situation as the drawdown of the global economic system that the United States imposed upon the free world at Bretton Woods after its victory in World War II. Zeihan argues that the United States used its overwhelming naval superiority to build a global trade network as a means towards the end of soviet containment, but is belatedly realizing that the Soviets are gone, that the rest of the world’s markets don’t have much to offer because they are entering dire economic straits due to aging demographies, and that America is insulated both geographically and, thanks to shale oil, energy independent.
With that in mind Zeihan predicts an American disengagement from the world, which in turn would leave the other nations of the globe to fend for themselves in securing access to food and energy commodities. Zeihan predicts an immanent period of international disorder:
American disinterest in the world means that American security guarantees are unlikely to be honored. Competitions held in check for the better part of a century will return. Wars of opportunism will come back into fashion. History will restart. Areas that we have come to think of as calm will seethe as countries struggle for resources, capital, and markets. For countries unable to secure supplies, there is a more than minor possibility that they will simply fall out of the modern world altogether.

The Accidental Superpower was reviewed by the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal. It received a starred review by Kirkus Reviews as well as recognition as one of the "Best Economic Development Books of All Time" and "Best Politics Books of All Time" by Bookauthority. The book is also included on the reading list for the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation.