A Question of IntegrationBy Dr. George FriedmanChairman, Stratfor (Strategic Forecasting)
An Excerpt from the Report:
For more than a week, France has been torn by riots that have been, for the most part, concentrated in the poorer suburbs of Paris. The rioters essentially have been immigrants -- or the children or grandchildren of immigrants -- most of whom had come to France from its former colonies. They are, in many cases, French citizens by right of empire. But what is not clear is whether they ever became, in the fullest sense of the word, French.
And in that question rests an issue that could define European -- and world -- history in the 21st century.
Every country has, from time to time, social unrest. This unrest frequently becomes violent, but that is not necessarily defining. The student uprisings around the world in the 1960s had, in retrospect, little lasting significance, whereas the riots by black Americans during the same period were of enormous importance -- symptomatic of a profound tension within American society. The issue with the French riots is to identify the degree to which they are, or will become, historically significant.
The above is excerpted from a timely and thoughtful article on the recent riots in France by Dr. George Friedman, Chairman of Stratfor (Strategic Forecasting), the leading private global analysis group. Dr. Friedman's full report can be read at http://www.futurebrief.com/georgefriedman002.asp
About George Friedman
Dr. George Friedman is the chairman of Stratfor, a company he founded in 1996 that has pioneered the field of private intelligence. As chief intelligence officer, Dr. Friedman guides the strategic vision of the Stratfor intelligence group. Stratfor produces the well-respected "Strategic Forecasting" analyses delivered on a daily basis to more than 150,000 paid subscribers. Dr. Friedman has published numerous articles and several books on national security, information warfare and intelligence including The Future of War (Crown, 1997) and The Intelligence Edge (Crown, 1997). He has appeared as a national security and intelligence expert on all major networks including programs such as Lou Dobbs Moneyline and on National Public Radio. He has been featured in articles including the cover of Barron's (October 2001) as well as the Wall Street Journal, Time, the New York Times Magazine and many others.
In 1994, Dr. Friedman founded and was Director of the Center for Geopolitical Studies at Louisiana State University where he oversaw integrated economic, political and military modeling and forecasting. Dr. Friedman received his B.A. from the City College, City University of New York and holds a Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University.
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