Between Empire and Anarchy from the Mediterranean to China

Recorded at the Delphi Economic Forum in April 2024, best selling author and globally prominent geopolitical analyst Robert Kaplan delivers a tour de force on the prospects and aspirations of the wider Middle East, in conversation with Reuters’ Hugo Dixon.

Drawing from his new book “The Loom of Time: Between Empire and Anarchy, from the Mediterranean to China”, Kaplan explains that contrary to the usual narrative that engulfs the region (democracy vs authoritarianism), a vast part of the world, ranging from North Africa to Western China is influenced by a deeper theme: division between imperial tyranny and fear of anarchy.

Kaplan then analyzes developments in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran and of course Israel and Palestine, to end with a tone of optimism: Change can come to the region, but does not come according to a Western script.