25-8-20
Dear Partners in thought,
As you have noticed I have not been posting much during the pandemic era partly because the range of topics to be addressed were single-focused and amply covered by the media and the writing community. I took this opportunity to finish a book I had started before the Covid-19 era, which is now published on Amazon and Kindle.
“2027”, which describes a potential geopolitical near future, is an extension of the Desperate Measures blog which was started in 2018 as a reaction to the rise of populism and nationalism around the world, notably in the democratic West, with its easy answers to complex issues. It was also driven by a reaction to the two key historical events that were Brexit and the Trump ascent, both I felt were setbacks for the Western world and the whole world in general, which is now also dealing with a once in a century pandemic and its deep-rooted impacts on society at large.
The book, which provides views on the past from a vantage point of the year 2027, shows what could be and hopefully will not. It shows that electoral and policy decisions do have consequences and that the world order is fragile, all the more after a great pandemic. Major actors and blocs, together with detailed key developments and the shiftings of alliances will be covered creating a highly differentiated world. A detailed Case Study or indeed “book within the book” will also over key themes of the pandemic. Lessons to be learned and thoughts on key features that matter will be drawn, all chapters mixing an analysis of the past with future historical fiction as seen in the eyes of a strong-minded Western liberal observer.
The book is also a scream for a return to an “old normal” which many of us had taken for granted. We live in an imperfect world but one that was held together by many actors that often, if not always, pursued national agendas with a focus on working together, a feature that may no longer be obvious for some leading nations. Lastly and importantly, a strong dose of crazy humour will be found in all chapters as we should always keep smiling and thriving for the best, calling on the better angels of our nature.
Without giving up the full story, I would like to give you a glimpse at the table of contents so you get a feel for the way the book (350 pages) is structured.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
1. New America
2. Strange Britain
3. Unlikely France
4. Resurgent Germany
5. Newfound Russia
6. Resilient European Union
7. Withdrawing China
8. Other rising and declining powers
9. Global challenges and narrow world
10. Brave New Monde
11. Old duel revisited
12. Manifest Destiny redux
13. Early backyard clashes
14. The forgotten region
15. The long overdue crisis
16. Going MAD and to the brink
17. Asian pivot sliding
18. Crossing the line in the sand
19. The final roll of the dice
20. Lessons to be learned
Case Study: The great pandemic shock of the century
This was a fun piece of work where I was able to bring to bear years of professional and actual and quasi-academic experiences in a way that created a piece of unusual geopolitical fiction. As I wrote and noticed the developments in the real world, I could not help but notice that reality at times was stronger than fiction, however outlandish my scenario.
At a time when US federal forces are sent to places like Portland and a new warming war is developing between the two world leading countries set on a collision course, the only hope we have is a return to an “old normal”, the first step being with Joe Biden in the White House. Joe may not be the youngest of leaders or the most in tune with our times but he knows the value of decent American leadership and, as we see, the cost of its absence to both the US and the world.
If you wanted to read the book, I think the timing could not be better. You will find it on Amazon in your respective geographic locations. For completeness, the full references for Amazon US (amazon.com) are shown below:
ISBN – 13:8674933724
In paperback or Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GFPM71Y
However if not in the US, please order through your own Amazon, like amazon.de in Germany, amazon.co.uk in Britain, amazon.fr in France, etc. as Amazon US may not ship to certain countries and the shipping costs could be higher if they did.
Needless to say, self-publishing that I chose as agents were expectedly cautious in our pandemic times (not to mention the first writer syndrome), is an arduous process in terms of marketing, so I am very grateful for your network-targeted word of mouth and social media which could help greatly the dissemination of “2027”.
Trevor Marshall, my trusted fellow Western liberal warrior and copy-editor, and I would like to thank you very much for your reading and support should you wish to take a wild and crazy ride, all the more before “November”.
Warmest regards,
Serge
Desperate Measures 
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