George Friedman

George Friedman is an American geopolitical analyst and author who founded Stratfor and later founded the geopolitical forecasting company Geopolitical Futures.

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Stratfor: Stratfor is a private geopolitical intelligence and analysis company founded in 1996. Friedman founded Stratfor and led its development into a prominent private intelligence firm.
Geopolitics: Geopolitics studies how geographic conditions shape political power and relations among states. This is the broad field in which Friedman develops his analysis.
The Next 100 Years: The Next 100 Years is George Friedman’s 2009 book forecasting geopolitical developments through the twenty-first century. It presents his long-range forecasts in their most widely known book-length form.
Political forecasting: Political forecasting estimates future political events or conditions using evidence, models, or expert judgment. Friedman’s work is a prominent form of long-range political forecasting.
Geopolitical Futures: Geopolitical Futures is a company that produces geopolitical forecasts and analysis. Friedman founded it after leaving Stratfor to continue publishing long-range forecasts.
Political geography: Political geography examines the spatial organization of political power, borders, territories, and states. Friedman emphasizes how terrain and location constrain national choices.
The Next Decade: The Next Decade is George Friedman’s book analyzing likely geopolitical challenges facing the United States in the 2010s. It applies his forecasting method to a nearer-term period and U.S. policy.
Scenario planning: Scenario planning develops several plausible future narratives to support decisions under uncertainty. Unlike a single forecast, it treats multiple futures as planning tools.
Jacob L. Shapiro: Jacob L. Shapiro is an American geopolitical analyst and writer associated with Geopolitical Futures. Shapiro collaborated with Friedman on geopolitical analysis and forecasting.
International relations: International relations studies interactions among states and other actors across borders. His forecasts address the strategic behavior of states within the international system.