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Robert D. Kaplan: Europe, the US and early-stage globalization

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12 mins read
8 years ago
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By Sidonja Manushi The first time Robert D. Kaplan was in Albania, the country was still isolated, deprived and unknown. Although communism was in its final throes, it had not officially fallen, and so nobody from the West had been in the capital, let alone rural areas, for decades. Passing through the now modern Skanderbeg Square with a tour group from Greece, Kaplan, who was no stranger to the Balkans, then saw a very different image from what one sees strolling down Tirana’s center today: a number of gangs, made up of ten-year-old boys, harassing and pickpocketing around old stores,…

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Story Highlights

  • Kaplan’s work over the course of three decades has appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, etc., as well as has accredited him as one of the world’s “top 100 global thinkers” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2011 and 2012. His areas of interest took him from the US to Israel and then a multitude of hot-spots for reporters, including Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the Balkans. His firsthand experience as a reporter coupled with his research and publications portfolio make his positive outlook on the current situation in the country a trustworthy, and welcomed, point of view.

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