MAPPING OUR WORLD BEYOND THE PHYSICAL BORDERS
Parag Khanna believes geographical boundaries are less important than global supply chains. His new book, Connectography: Mapping the Future
of Global Civilization (yes, he coined the term), outlines a new way of mapping our world, based on links between people, trade, infrastructure and broadband cables. Khanna is an author, academic and CNN commentator based in Singapore.
What is the book’s essential message?
Connectivity, not geography, is destiny. Connectedness can be physical infrastructure, like pipelines and electrical grids, online connectedness or financial hubs. Instead of the world being divided into 200 different nations, places are connected by infrastructure. Nations matter less than the cities we cluster into.
What are the implications of that?
We are moving into an era where cities will matter more than states, and supply chains will be a more important source of power than militaries. Competitive connectivity is the arms race of the 21st century.
Look at Dubai. It is one of the top five cities in the worlds in terms of transit flows of people, goods, services and capital. It lifted itself from obscurity to become a central global hub in just 25 years and it did it through connectivity. It invested in infrastructure, through its airport and port, and offers secure and seamless connectedness to other cities.
But it’s not a model city in every way. Temporary guest workers are badly paid and cannot get citizenship.
I don’t praise Dubai’s labour strategy. I praise its willingness to circumvent tribal structures and become a global hub. It’s the fastest-growing city in the history of the world.
So you anticipate the death of nation states?
No, not at all. That’s not what the book is about. Countries all have borders but they are also trying to maximize connectivity across boundaries to achieve greater prosperity. Borders are friction. And the world is a balance between flow and friction. Cites are flow. Even if Donald Trump were to build a wall with Mexico, the U.S.-Mexican border would still be the most heavily crossed border in the world.
Why are supply chains so important?
The ability for poor countries to connect to global markets is key. That’s why special economic zones are so important. They attract global supply chains and help lift countries into prosperity.
Which parts of the world do this best?
Europe leads the way in connectivity and, for all of its problems, is still the world’s largest trading bloc. A North American union together would be a great rival. Parts of Asia are becoming very well integrated and it is benefitting them. China has used infrastructure as a tool to build connections across neighbours and to connect to Europe.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.