Studying a (rapidly) changing world
"There is a tide in the affairs of men. Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune..."
It appears that the world is undergoing a period of extraordinary change. Change is a constant aspect of life, occurring at different levels. However, when these changes occur at deep levels within our civilization, things can become quite unusual and unpredictable.
Economic and diplomatic relationships between nations that appeared relatively stable in the decades following the Cold War, forming a kind of orderly global dynamic, now seem to be re-arranging themselves at rapid speeds. In that same time, technology has made significant strides, taking what was once science fiction and making it accessible to the general public. In part fueled by those new technologies, political norms are being challenged more aggressively worldwide. Perhaps the very assumptions underlying our modern global structure have become shaken and weak.
Project Puraka is an ongoing research project looking to study three broad questions in light of these recent convulsions:
- Why and how is the "global dynamic" - i.e. the economic, diplomatic, and security relationships between nations - changing?
- How will the U.S. respond to these changes?
Economics is the ostensible focus area of the project. But since economies don't function in a vacuum, we'll explore a broad range of subjects as long as they help us better answer our primary questions.
What's with the name?
The word puraka means inhale in Yoga practice. It is a double-entendre.
On the one hand, shifting geopolitical winds have brought with them a greater inward focus among nations. The resolute belief in the inherent good of unbridled globalization as a means to global prosperity and peace, a belief that was dominant in the West for several decades, appears to have dissolved. Around the world, policy makers are remembering the wisdom of prioritizing their own economic and security interests, and looking for ways to bring resources back within their own borders and their allies' borders.
But the idea of a sharp inhale captures the zeitgeist in a more humanistic way as well. Like a diver right before launching themselves into an ocean, or an engrossed movie watcher in the run-up to a climactic scene, it feels like we are all "holding our breaths" in a way, as we launch ourselves into the unknown.
No one knows exactly what the global dynamic will look like, even in the near future. Project Puraka is an attempt to get some clarity on this front and to engage with this change with eyes open. If that sounds interesting to you, sign up, follow along, and please provide your feedback!
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Project Puraka is an independent publication launched in January 2023 by Nimayi Dixit. If you subscribe today, you'll get full access to the website as well as email newsletters about new content when it's available. Your subscription makes this site possible, and allows Project Puraka to continue to exist. Thank you!