Chapter 1. Overcoming Presentism 1 Big Moves Abroad 6 Disruptions at Home 10 Extremism Begets Extremism 15 Plan of the Book 19. Chapter 2. Shocks in Foreign Affairs 23 Globalization 24 9/11 Terrorism 27 The Arab Spring Uprising 30 Russia’s Crimea Invasion 33 Charlie Hebdo Murders and Paris Attacks 35 Brexit 39 Dramatic Consequences 42. Chapter 3. Shifts in Domestic Politics 45 Religious Revival 46 The Reagan Revolution 49 Marijuana Legalization 51 Same- Sex Marriage 56 Obamacare 59 Income Inequality 62 Trumpism and Border Security 66 The Rapid Pace of Domestic Change 69 Chapter 4. Thermidorian Reactions 71 How 1960s Protests Spawned Conservative Reactions 72 Antismoking Attitudes and Policies 75 HIV and AIDS 78 Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis 81 Recognizing Cuba 85 Thesis and Antithesis 87 Chapter 5. The Complications of Zealotry 89 The Clashes between and within Civilizations 91 A Visit to Lebanon 93 The Trip to Bahrain 94 Jewish Fundamentalists 96 Islamic Fundamentalists 101 Christian Fundamentalists 104 Apocalyptic Thinking 109 Chapter 6. The Challenges of Megachange 113 The Challenge for Individuals 114 The Challenge for Society 116 The Challenge for Governance 119 Weakening Political Extremism 122 The Reversibility of Progress 125 Chapter 7. Navigating the Future 129 Broadening Horizons 130 Finding Anchors 134 Understanding That Small Shifts Can Have Great Impact 136 Ending Winner- Take- All 138 Deradicalizing Civil Society 139 Chapter 8. Future Possibilities 143 Iran Gets a Nuclear Bomb 144 Robots Take the Jobs 146 Global Warming and Rising Seas 153 Europe Turns Right and Undermines Democracy 156 What If We Are Not Alone in the Universe? 162 Addressing Nightfall 167

"Big, unexpected changes are here to stay. Slow, incremental change has become a relic of the past. Today's shifts come fast and big, what Darrell West calls megachanges, in which dramatic disruptions in trends and policies occur on a regular basis. Domestically, we see megachange at work in the new attitudes and policies toward same-sex marriage, health care, smoking, and the widespread legalization of marijuana use. Globally, we have seen the extraordinary rise and then collapse of the Arab Spring, the emergence of religious zealotry, the growing influence of nonstate actors, the spread of ISIS-fomented terrorism, the rise of new economic and political powers in Asia, and the fracturing of once-stable international alliances. Long-held assumptions have been shattered, and the proliferation of unexpected events is confounding experts in the United States and around the globe. Many of the social and political institutions that used to anchor domestic and international politics have grown weak or are in need of dramatic reform. What to do? West says that we should alter our expectations about the speed and magnitude of political and social change. We also need to recognize that many of our current governing processes are geared to slow deliberation and promote incremental change, not large-scale transformation. With megachange becoming the new normal, our domestic and global institutions must develop the ability to tackle the massive economic, political, and social shifts that we face"-- Provided by publisher.