Robert D. Kaplan

Robert D. Kaplan, born on June twenty-third, nineteen fifty-two, is a prominent American geopolitical analyst, journalist, and author. With a career spanning over three decades, Kaplan has made significant contributions to the discourse on politics, particularly in the realms of foreign affairs and travel. His insightful writings have graced the pages of esteemed publications such as The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The New Republic, The National Interest, Foreign Affairs, and The Wall Street Journal.

One of Kaplan's most notable works is the influential article "The Coming Anarchy," published in The Atlantic Monthly in nineteen ninety-four. This piece has drawn comparisons to Samuel P. Huntington's Clash of Civilizations thesis, as it frames contemporary global conflicts as a struggle between primitivism and civilization. Kaplan frequently explores the resurgence of cultural and historical tensions that were momentarily subdued during the Cold War, providing a nuanced perspective on global dynamics.

Throughout his career, Kaplan has held several prestigious positions, including serving as a Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security in Washington, D.C., from two thousand eight to two thousand twelve, and rejoining the organization in two thousand fifteen. He was the chief geopolitical analyst at Stratfor, a private global forecasting firm, from two thousand twelve to two thousand fourteen. In two thousand nine, he was appointed by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to the Defense Policy Board, a federal advisory committee to the United States Department of Defense.

Kaplan's influence has been recognized by Foreign Policy magazine, which named him one of the world's top one hundred global thinkers in two thousand eleven and two thousand twelve. In two thousand seventeen, he became a senior advisor at Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy. His academic contributions continued to flourish, as he was appointed the Robert Strausz-Hupé Chair in Geopolitics at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in two thousand twenty, and in two thousand twenty-six, he was named Distinguished Senior Lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin.