THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD: Geopolitics, Civilizational Competition, and the Coming World Order

Abstract

What will the future of the world look like in an age of geopolitical rivalry, artificial intelligence, civilizational competition, and shifting global power?The Future of the World: Geopolitics, Civilizational Competition, and the Coming World Order offers a profound and accessible analysis of the forces reshaping the twenty-first century. Written from a non-Western intellectual perspective, this book examines the rise of China, the strategic response of the United States, the enduring tension between the West and Islam, the transformation of global technology, and the uncertain future of Indonesia within a changing world order.At a time when the old global order is under pressure, this book asks urgent questions: Will the United States remain the dominant power? Can China build an alternative model of global leadership? What role will Islam play in the future of civilization? How will artificial intelligence, digital technology, climate change, and economic disruption transform human society? And where does Indonesia stand in the coming age of civilizational realignment?Drawing on geopolitics, international relations, political thought, religious studies, and civilizational analysis, Kamaruzzaman Bustamam Ahmad provides a wide-ranging interpretation of the world’s most important transformations. This is not merely a book about power politics. It is a book about civilization, knowledge, faith, technology, and the human search for order in a time of uncertainty.Readers interested in global politics, the future of international relations, US-China competition, Islamic civilization, Indonesia’s strategic future, and the future of humanity will find this book both intellectually rich and deeply relevant.Inside this book, readers will explore:The rise of China and the transformation of the global balance of powerThe future of American dominance and the crisis of the Western-led orderThe relationship between Islam, the West, and modern civilizationThe role of artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and digital technology in geopoliticsThe impact of climate change, nuclear risk, cyber power, and global economic transformationThe strategic position of Indonesia in the Indo-Pacific and the Muslim worldThe future of work, knowledge, religion, and human civilizationEight major theses on the future history of the worldElegant, ambitious, and timely, The Future of the World is a powerful contribution to contemporary debates on global order, civilizational futures, and the challenges facing humanity in the twenty-first century.For readers of Samuel P. Huntington, Henry Kissinger, Francis Fukuyama, George Friedman, Kishore Mahbubani, Yuval Noah Harari, and scholars of geopolitics, international affairs, and civilizational studies, this book offers a distinctive perspective from Indonesia and the Muslim world.The future is not only being decided in Washington, Beijing, Moscow, Brussels, or the Middle East. It is also being interpreted from Banda Aceh, from Southeast Asia, and from the intellectual margins of the global order. This book is one such interpretation.