(H/B) THE END OF POWER

Παρουσίαση

We know that power is shifting: From West to East and North to South, from presidential palaces to public squares, from once formidable corporate behemoths to nimble startups and, slowly but surely, from men to women. But power is not merely shifting and dispersing. It is also decaying. Those in power today are more constrained in what they can do with it and more at risk of losing it than ever before. In The End of Power, award-winning columnist and former Foreign Policy editor Moises Naim illuminates the struggle between once-dominant megaplayers and the new micropowers challenging them in every field of human endeavor. Drawing on provocative, original research, Naim shows how the antiestablishment drive of micropowers can topple tyrants, dislodge monopolies, and open remarkable new opportunities, but it can also lead to chaos and paralysis. Naim deftly covers the seismic changes underway in business, religion, education, within families, and in all matters of war and peace. Examples abound in all walks of life: In 1977, eighty-nine countries were ruled by autocrats while today more than half the world's population lives in democracies. CEO's are more constrained and have shorter tenures than their predecessors. Modern tools of war, cheaper and more accessible, make it possible for groups like Hezbollah to afford their own drones. In the second half of 2010, the top ten hedge funds earned more than the world's largest six banks combined. Those in power retain it by erecting powerful barriers to keep challengers at bay. Today, insurgent forces dismantle those barriers more quickly and easily than ever, only to find that they themselves become vulnerable in the process. Accessible and captivating, Naim offers a revolutionary look at the inevitable end of power-and how it will change your world. (From the publisher)

Περιεχόμενα

Preface: How This Book Came About
CHAPTER ONE
THE DECAY OF POWER
Have You Heard of James Black Jr.?
From the Chess Board ... to Everything Around Us
What Changed?
The Decay of Power: Is It New? Is It True? So What?
But What Is Power?
The Decay of Power: What's at Stake?
CHAPTER TWO
MAKING SENSE OF POWER: HOW IT WORKS AND HOW TO KEEP IT
How to Talk About Power
How Power Works
Why Power Shifts-or Stays Steady
The Importance of Barriers to Power
The Blueprint: Explaining Market Power
Barriers to Entry: A Key to Market Power
From Barriers to Entry to Barriers to Power
CHAPTER THREE
How POWER GOT BIG: AN ASSUMPTION'S UNQUESTIONED RISE
Max Weber, or Why Size Made Sense
How the World Went Weberian
The Myth of the Power Elite?
CHAPTER FOUR
How POWER LOST ITS EDGE:
THE MORE, MOBILITY, AND MENTALITY REVOLUTIONS
So What Has Changed?
The More Revolution: Overwhelming the Means of Control
The Mobility Revolution: The End of Captive Audiences
The Mentality Revolution: Taking Nothing for Granted Anymore
How Does It Work? Revolutionary Consequences:
Undermining the Barriers to Power
Barriers Down: The Opportunity for Micropowers
CHAPTER FIVE
WHY ARE LANDSLIDES, MAJORITIES, AND MANDATES ENDANGERED SPECIES? THE DECAY OF POWER IN NATIONAL POLITICS
From Empires to States: The More Revolution and the Proliferation of Countries
From Despots to Democrats
From Majorities to Minorities
From Parties to Factions
From Capitals to Regions
From Governors to Lawyers
From Leaders to Laymen
Hedge Funds and Hacktivists
The Political Centrifuge
CHAPTER SIX
PENTAGONS VERSUS PIRATES: THE DECAYING POWER OF LARGE ARMIES
The Big Rise of Small Forces
The End of the Ultimate Monopoly: The Use of Violence
A Tsunami of Weapons
The Decay of Power and the New Rules of War
CHAPTER SEVEN
WHOSE WORLD WILL IT BE? VETOES, RESISTANCE, AND LEAKS-OR WHY GEOPOLITICS IS TURNING UPSIDE DOWN
The Stakes of Hegemony
The New Ingredients
If Not Hegemony, Then What?
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? Traditional Power at Bay
Soft Power for All
The New Rules of Geopolitics
Just Say No
From Ambassadors to Gongos: The New Emissaries
Alliances of the Few
Anyone in Charge Here?
CHAPTER EIGHT
BUSINESS AS UNUSUAL: CORPORATE DOMINANCE UNDER SIEGE
In the Land of Bosses, Authority, and Hierarchy
What Is Globalization Doing to Business Concentration?
The Power and Peril of Brands
Market Power: The Antidote to Business Insecurity
Barriers Are Down, Competition Is Up
New Entrants and New Opportunities
What Does All This Mean?
CHAPTER NINE
HYPER-COMPETITION FOR YOUR SOUL, HEART, AND BRAIN
Religion: The Nine Billion Names of God
Labor: New Unions and Nonunions
Philanthropy: Putting the Bono in Pro Bono
Media: Everyone Reports, Everyone Decides
CHAPTER TEN
THE DECAY OF POWER:
Is THE GLASS HALF-FULL OR HALF-EMPTY?
Celebrating the Decay of Power
What's Not to Like? The Dangers of Decay
Political Paralysis as Collateral Damage of the Decay of Power
Ruinous Competition
Be Careful What You Wish For:
Overdosing on Checks and Balances
Five Risks
CHAPTER ELEVEN
POWER IS DECAYING: SO WHAT? WHAT TO DO?
Get Off the Elevator
Make Life Harder for the "Terrible Simplifiers"
Bring Trust Back
Strengthen Political Parties: The Lessons from Occupy Wall Street and Al Qaeda
Increase Political Participation
The Coming Surge of Political Innovations
Appendix: Democracy and Political Power
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index