Megachange : economic disruption, political upheaval, and social strife in the 21st century / Darrell M. West

SIP1610

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Chapter 1. Overcoming presentism : Big moves abroad. Disruptions at home. Extremism begets extremism. Plan of the book -- Chapter 2. Shocks in foreign affairs : Globalization. 9/11 terrorism. The Arab Spring uprising. Russia's Crimean invasion. Charlie Hebdo murders and Paris attacks. Brexit. Dramatic consequences -- Chapter 3. Shifts in domestic politics : Religious revival. The Reagan Revolution. Marijuana legislation. Same-sex marriage. Obamacare. Income inequality. Trumpism and border security. The rapid pace of domestic change -- Chapter 4. Thermidorian reactions : How 1960s protests spawned conservative reactions. Antismoking attitudes and policies. HIV and AIDS. Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis. Recognizing Cuba. Thesis and antithesis -- Chapter 5. The complications of zealotry : The clashes between and within civilizations. A visit to Lebanon. The trip to Bahrain. Jewish fundamentalists. Islamic fundamentalists. Christian fundamentalists. Apocalyptic thinking -- Chapter 6. The challenge of megachange : The challenge for individuals. The challenge for society. The challenge for governance. Weakening political extremism. The reversibility of progress -- Chapter 7. Navigating the future : Broadening horizons. Finding anchors. Understanding that small shifts can have great impact. Ending winner-take-all. Deradicalizing civil society -- Chapter 8. Future possibilities: Iran gets a nuclear bomb. Robots take the jobs. Global warming and rising seas. Europe turns right and undermines democracy. What if we are not alone in the universe? Addressing nightfall.

"Big, unexpected changes are here to stay. Slow, incremental change has become a relic of the past. Today's shifts come fast and big, what Darrell West calls megachanges, in which dramatic disruptions in trends and policies occur on a regular basis. Domestically, we see megachange at work in the new attitudes and policies toward same-sex marriage, health care, smoking, and the widespread legalization of marijuana use. Globally, we have seen the extraordinary rise and then collapse of the Arab Spring, the emergence of religious zealotry, the growing influence of nonstate actors, the spread of ISIS-fomented terrorism, the rise of new economic and political powers in Asia, and the fracturing of once-stable international alliances. Long-held assumptions have been shattered, and the proliferation of unexpected events is confounding experts in the United States and around the globe. Many of the social and political institutions that used to anchor domestic and international politics have grown weak or are in need of dramatic reform. What to do? West says that we should alter our expectations about the speed and magnitude of political and social change. We also need to recognize that many of our current governing processes are geared to slow deliberation and promote incremental change, not large-scale transformation. With megachange becoming the new normal, our domestic and global institutions must develop the ability to tackle the massive economic, political, and social shifts that we face"--