At the end of the Cold War, we found ourselves living in a world with one superpower, the United States. Now, at the start of the twenty-first century, Parag Khanna argues powerfully that the moment of American supremacy is over, brought about by the increasing influence of what he terms the Second World: Eastern Europe, Central Asia, South America, the Middle East and East Asia. Travelling from Azerbaijan to Venezuela, China's hinterlands to Gaddafi's Libya, Parag Khanna explores these countries and their global significance. For as the three superpowers - the US, the EU and China - compete for influence in the Second World, citizens of these countries can already feel the these imperial forces exerting their influence and affecting the global balance of power. In a bold and provocative style, The Second World makes clear what's at stake, for whoever dominates the Second World will lead the twenty-first century - or become a part of the Second World itself.

'Fascinating... elegantly combining historical analysis, political theory and eye-witness reports on the battle for primacy between the world's new empires' Mark Leonard, author of 'Why Europe will run the 21st Century' 'The Second World takes us to a whole series of important places ... and gives us glimpses of life on that messy borderland between the second world and first ... [a] great feat of reportage' - Niall Ferguson, The FT 'This is the sort of reporting that newspapers can no longer afford to send correspondents to do ... [Khanna's] book is compelling and exciting' The Telegraph

Parag Khanna travelled through more than fifty countries to research The Second World. Always interested in global trends, his goal has been to integrate trends in power, conflict, environment, culture and strategy into a single framework, and to explain highly complex societies on their own terms - not only in terms of their interactions with or utility to the West. Previously a Fellow at the Brookings Insititution and manager of the Global Governance Initiative of the World Economic Forum, he is now a Fellow of the New America Foundation and is completing his Ph.D. in International Relations at the London School of Economics.