ABSTRACT
Instead of trying to anticipate the specific details and timing of changes in governance, the core of our effort is to understand the general trajectory and approximate pace of change. What we can and will forecast in subsequent chapters is the direction that underlying pressures-in demography, the economy, education, information technology, energy and the environment, global political dynamics, and other domestic and international systems-are likely to move countries and regions. We also can attempt to say something about the general speed at which such changes might occur.
