The Next 100 Years draws on a fascinating exploration of history and geopolitical patterns dating back hundreds of years. Friedman shows that we are now, for the first time in half a millennium, at the dawn of a new era--with changes in store, including:

• The U.S.-Jihadist war will conclude--replaced by a second full-blown cold war with Russia.
• China will undergo a major extended internal crisis, and Mexico will emerge as an important world power.
• A new global war will unfold toward the middle of the century between the United States and an unexpected coalition from Eastern Europe, Eurasia, and the Far East; but armies will be much smaller and wars will be less deadly.
• Technology will focus on space--both for major military uses and for a dramatic new energy resource that will have radical environmental implications.
• The United States will experience a Golden Age in the second half of the century.

• 2020: China Fragments.

• 2050: Global War Between U.S., Turkey, Poland, and Japan - The New Great Powers.

• 2080: Space-Based Energy Powers Earth.

• 2100: Mexico Challenges U.S.
  

One of the reasons Friedman expects the U.S. to dominate is because of America's absolute dominance of the world's oceans.

"The United States Navy controls all of the oceans in the world," Friedman opines. "Whether it's a junk in the south China Sea, a dhow off the African coast, a tanker in the Persian Gulf, or a cabin cruiser in the Caribbean, every ship in the world moves under the eyes of American satellites in space and its movement is guaranteed - or denied - at will by the U.S. Navy."

Yoni Goldestein writes in National Post (April 27, 2009): 

Friedman is a statistics man -- which means, he would argue, that the future can be predicted accurately (though how accurately he isn't sure) through an analysis of socio-political trends that are already beginning to take shape...

He envision the downfall of China, spurred by a recession in the United States. Beijing's peddling of low-cost goods, Friedman points out, will only produce a financial windfall as long as people are in a buying mood -- once the market declines, China's revenues will dry up. (Events in late-2008 and early-2009, which took place after both books were set to print, supply mixed evidence for this thesis.) ...

(The author) also envision a protracted war between the West and militant Islamists... 

And speaking of Turkey, Friedman sees the country becoming a major world power sometime after 2020. As Russia crumbles (the result of another Cold War, Friedman predicts) the Turks will exert force in the Caucasus and the Balkans, becoming one of the world's top-10 economies (the author points out that the Turks are already, as of 2007, #17 on the list). And while, in the last century or so, Turkey has steered clear of radical Islam, that might change as the country seeks to find allies in the face of American opposition to its newfound power...

The 21st century will prove to be the "American age" -- a time when the U. S. will lead, or continue to lead, the world in economic, military and political power. Friedman believes both Russia and China will crumble sometime before the 2050s, and that the Americans will be able to contain (even if they won't be able to defeat) radical Islam. The American military will rule the seas -- indeed, at present, the U. S. Navy already controls all of the oceans -- and control space (more on that later).

Friedman believes that the major war of the 21st century will be fought in, and from, space. America will lead this development with the introduction of what he terms "battle stars" -- manned and unmanned satellites that will beam information, guided lasers and, eventually, solar energy to robot warriors. In fact, he predicts that the first shot of the world war of 2050 -- pitting America and Poland against Japan and Turkey -- will be fired from space by the Japanese at an American "battle star."