This book forecasts the world of 2030, which predictions estimate, will be radically transformed from our world today. By 2030, no country, whether the U.S., China, or any other large country, will be a hegemonic power. The empowerment of individuals and diffusion of power among states and from states to informal networks will have a dramatic impact, largely reversing the historic rise of the West since 1750, restoring Asia's weight in the global economy, and ushering in a new era of "democratisation" at the international and domestic level. In addition to individual empowerment and the diffusion of state power, two other megatrends will shape our world out to 2030: demographic patterns, especially rapid ageing; and growing resource demands which, in the cases of food and water, might lead to scarcities. These trends, which are virtually certain, exist today, but during the next 1520 years will gain much greater momentum. Underpinning the megatrends are tectonic shifts (ie: critical changes to key features of our global environment that will affect how the world "works").