Selling the future : the perils of predicting global politics / Ariel Colonomos. [electronic resource]

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Colonomos, Ariel, author.

Contributor:

Elliott, Gregory, translator.

Series:

Series in comparative politics and international studies.

Series in comparative politics and international studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

World politics--Forecasting.

World politics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations (black and white).

Place of Publication:

[New York] : Oxford University Press, 2016.

Language Note:

Translated from the French.

Summary:

In an age of uncertainty, those who can anticipate revolution, the outbreak of wars, or which states might default are much in demand. The marketplace of ideas about the future is huge, and includes 'wonks', scholars, and pundits who produce scenarios, predictions and ratings. The more opaque the future seems to be, the further the relationship between knowledge and power intensifies-especially the nexus between those who sell their expertise and those who consume it. This book analyzes today's knowledge factories to reveal how our futures are shaped by social scientists, think-tanks, and rating agencies.

Contents:

Introduction: The Future on Stage

1. At the Centre of the World: Oracles, Seers and Prophets

2. Telling the Future Today

3. The Blinkers of the Social Sciences

4. Engineering the World

5. The Risk Market: Credit Ratings

6. Right and Wrong Futures

7. Responsibility for the Future

8. The Future of Norms

The Ultimate Delphic Paradox: The Veil of Finitude.

Notes:

Previously issued in print: 2016.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on August 19, 2016).

ISBN:

0-19-063847-8