Reviews

How to Run the World: Charting a Course to the Next Renaissance by Parag Khanna

jabarkas's review

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2.0

This book was silly. Some fun ideas, but absolutely no factual back up, and an almost pathological willingness to ignore the realities of corporate malfeasance. Also, his message got pretty monotonous by about page 75 - it really doesn't change much after that.

mobilisinmobili's review

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5.0

Inspiring, essential, an exciting blueprint for improving life on our planet.

tstark2000's review

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3.0

It is a good book, a detailed analysis of the public/private partnership that is occurring throughout the world. While I appreciate the research I felt the book read more as puff piece for corporate America who gets away without a scratch despite public trust in banks and MNC at a record low. The public/private combination is host a number of problems in the domestic situation, while according to this book in the rest of the world they are almost performing miracles.

Love the author thought his previous work was fantastic, clashed ideologically with this one.

jeanmercini's review

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2.0

It brings an interesting perspective to global governance, but there are many faults in it. First of all, Khanna underestimates the roles of States, while overestimates the virtues of the market and the efficiency of NGOs. Because of that, he highlights too often a lack of "political will" and forgets to point out structural constraints. Besides, the book is repetitive, presenting few real arguments and a flood of random information, indicating no verifiable source to it.

sirchutney's review

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3.0

About the book: How to Run the World (2011) is a guide to diplomacy in today’s chaotic world. This book paint a picture of how a new kind of diplomacy can make the world a better place, exploring the potential for new and meaningful partnerships across borders and sectors.

About the author: Parag Khanna is a global strategist, theorist and the best-selling author of Connectography (2016) and Technocracy in America (2017). He’s an expert on future geopolitics, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.

My highlights:
The world is a chaotic whirlwind and changing this requires rethinking diplomacy. a Mega-Diplomacy that makes every influential force negotiate and work together with every other.
Being a diplomat means being influential, proactive and collaborative. Greenpeace
Diplomacy isn’t just about representing nation-states; instead, the new diplomats are entrepreneurs, activists, academics and even celebrities.
Synergy they can achieve through collaboration
Team up with people who are experts in these fields. By combining their skills with those of others, diplomats can produce better policies and more favorable outcomes.
Global stability depends on regional stability and new approaches to diplomacy. Instead of aiming for a system of global security, then, we should first set our sights on the construction of such systems regionally.
Diplomacy of the independent, crowdsourcing variety.
Staff work directly with clients, thereby staying continuously abreast of new developments. As a result, information doesn’t get stuck behind official walls or bureaucracy.
Colonialism has left weak, fractured states in its wake, but a new kind of colonialist can fix that. states need to be helped to help themselves. In other words, instead of acting as a different type of occupying force, new colonialists should provide resources that help states resolve their issues on their own.
Poor countries should aim for realistic goals, focus their energy and invest in public-private cooperation. poorer nations should endeavor to forge public-private partnerships
Helping impoverished countries implies focusing on their immediate needs and building their independence. instead of giving aid, people should focus on the immediate needs of such countries, which is a much more manageable task than tackling poverty itself. Simply put, helping poor nations means going out and learning what they need to progress.This is a crucial step. Their needs extend far beyond money; they also include things like access to clean water, food, education and shelter. These are all needs that can be met by mobilizing people in the field – not in their New York City offices.
Final summary: a new diplomatic system that fosters communication among all actors involved
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