Bliss sells better than doom, imo. Realism is often misinterpreted as doom. But he may be correct, haven't seen his take, but will watch the video soon.
But what if it is a "calm before the storm"?
Now on the recent talks at the Valdai Discussion Club, this statement struck me as blunt truth as to the requirement of yet more global intrigues and destabilization to come before culmination of a true global governance:
Article: Opening Session: The Limits of Governability, or Systemic Failure
"The global crisis was considered in the context of the failure to find an alternative model to global governance following the end of the Cold War. As a result, the modern world is much less stable than the world that existed during the confrontation between the two superpowers. Moreover, the destabilization is not yet complete."
http://valdaiclub.com/valdai_club/73082.html
Thus the book you mention may be describing a perceived "calm before the storm", when in reality in a global political sense a post Cold War devolution is what is really in action and still progressing, depending on how one interprets the stats. From 1830 to today, the world went from 1 billion to 7 billion, making any relation to former times of course a bit impossible at such a geometric increase as that, all under Anglo forming domination.
I'll have to see his rationale. In some empires I know of in research it gets worse as they are nearing full decline into a new empire, then it stabilizes again. I think we are in a transition to a uni-polar system that has yet to provide the climax global chaos period, for the final order to emerge and be accepted as needed, because even now it is needed. But it takes a decade to bridge that final cycle, imo. That it utilizes cyclic developments is pretty much common knowledge by many globalization experts, its just a basic principle of human civilization.
Question is where in the post Cold War cycle are we?
Either great stability is forming or world record instability, it can't just be seemingly static like this forever. Given the NATO global expansion magnitude during and since GWOT it seems they are preparing, in global military overdrive, for the instability cycle, imo. But those stats fail to make many books.
Example: It was also the most peaceful period of Sioux and Cheyenne existence with Washington in the 3 years preceding the Little Big Horn*, since the Red Cloud War of the 1860's. At the same time the Sioux peaked in their US Gov't trader provided and trade (etc) provided armaments, and it all added up for one hoe down of a show down for Crook and Custer in 1876. Classic microcosm of a "calm before the storm" example.
(1. Custer's Last Campaign: Mitch Boyer and the Little Bighorn Reconstructed; *2. Centennial Campaign: The Sioux War of 1876
By John S. Gray)
