“The Coming Anarchy” A Critical Review “Where there has always been mass poverty, people find liberation in violence. Physical aggression is part of being human. Only when people reach a certain economic, educational and cultural level does this trait subside. In the article "The Coming Anarchy", Robert D. Kaplan, a master of global strategy, supports his theory that, among all possibilities, the one characteristic that will allow the United States to survive an era of extreme losses is education. Kaplan used the West. Africa as a model for factors that could lead to anarchy in other parts of the world. Environmental distress such as national security due to factors such as political and strategic impact including population increase, spread of disease, deforestation and soil erosion, water depletion, pollution air and possibly sea level rise. "The last man will adapt to the loss of underground water tables in the western United States." Additionally, as struggling populations increase, so do differences between civilizations, including history, language, and religion. Kaplan referenced Thomas Fraser Homer-Dixon, to support his assertion that large-scale population movements lead to crime surges similar to those in Africa due to the growing disparities discussed above. This growth ultimately leads to environmental scarcity and affects power relations. Additionally, in West Africa, high population and conflict are also shown to lead to high rates of disease. Communicable diseases account for 63 percent of deaths in the African region, with emphasis on HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. Luis Gomes Sambo, World Health Organization regional director for Africa, confirmed that HIV/AIDS was responsible for 38.5 percent...... middle of paper ...... and diseases are rapidly destroying the social fabric of our planet. The Atlantic Monthly, 1-20.Library of Economics and Liberty. (2008). Thomas Robert Malthus. Retrieved from the Library of Economics and Liberty: http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Malthus.htmlLoveluck, L. (June 18, 2013). Egypt and Ethiopia are trying to repel threats of war. Retrieved from CBS News: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/egypt-and-ethiopia-try-to-roll-back-threats-of-war/Sperry, S. (nd). Conflict on the Danube. Retrieved from National Geographic Education: http://education.nationalgeographic.com/media/file/Gabcikovo-Nagymaros_Project.pdfThe Atlantic Wire. (October 8, 2012). Play and solve the world's problems. From the C-SPAN video library: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/GamingaUnited States Joint Forces Command. (2010). The Common Operating Environment 2010. Suffolk.