Every Nation for Itself: Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World

Forget the G-7 and the G-20; we are entering a leaderless G- Zero era- with profound implications for every country and corporation. The world power structure is facing a vacuum at the top. With the unifying urgency of the financial crisis behind us, the diverse political and economic values of the G-20 are curtailing the world's most powerful governments' ability to mediate growing global challenges. There is no viable alternative group to take its place. The United States lacks the resources and the political will to continue as the primary provider of global public goods. China has no interest in accepting the burdens of international leadership. Europe is occupied with saving the eurozone, and Japan is tied down with its own problems. Emerging powers such as Brazil, India, and Russia are too focused on domestic development to welcome new responsibilities abroad. The result is a G-Zero world in which no single country or bloc has the political or economic leverage-or the desire-to drive a truly international agenda. Ian Bremmer explains how this will lead to extended and intensified conflict over vitally important issues, such as international economic coordination, financial regulatory reform, trade policy, and climate change. We are facing a time of profound uncertainty. Bremmer shows who will benefit, who will suffer, and why this increased state of conflict is both inevitable and unsustainable.

About the Author :
Ian Bremmer is president of Eurasia Group, the world's leading global political risk research and consulting firm. He has written for the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Newsweek, Foreign Affairs, and other publi-cations. His books include the international bestseller The End of the Free Market and The J Curve. He lives in New York City and Washington, DC. Willis Sparks focuses on top global political risks as well as US politics and elections. Willis also works directly with Eurasia Group's president Ian Bremmer on a variety of macro-political risk projects. Prior to joining Eurasia Group in 2005, Willis worked at the Council on Foreign Relations, where he wrote on transnational terrorism and US national security. Willis holds an MA in International Affairs from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, where he specialized in international security policy and the study of the former Soviet Union. He also earned an MA degree in International Relations from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris. Willis holds two BA degrees from Brown University and is a graduate of the Juilliard School.