Bio
Francesco M. Bongiovanni has lived in Europe, Asia, America and in the Arab world. He holds an MBA from Harvard and a doctorate in engineering. A former investment banker, he subsequently worked as an entrepreneur and as an advisor in strategy and finance.
He has been made a Knight of the Order of St Charles for his contribution to humanitarian endeavours and biodiversity protection. He is an author and a composer of classical symphonic music and jazz .
Author's note
In 2001 I came back to live in Europe after having spent 15 years in Asia. The shocking contrast between a sclerotic Europe overtaken by what I labelled the “civilization of entitlements” , refusing to face reality, led by a sub-par political class - on one side - and a dynamic and pragmatic Far East on the other side, prompted me to undertake a journey of exploration and to write my first book, “The Decline and Fall of Europe”, which was published in 2012. Major, game-changing, mostly unexpected and unpredicted (at least as far as I am concerned) events from the refugee crisis to Brexit to the swift rise of "alternative politics" took place in Europe in the few years following the publication of my first book. This reality and the complexity of the new challenges facing Europe meant my first book was unfinished business and compelled me to write a sequel,"Europe and the End of the Age of Innocence". Similarly the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops came as a thunderclap on a bright day, a surprise (at least as far as I am concerned), prompting me to undertake yet another personal journey of discovery across the geopolitics of our time and compelling me to write "The Return of Geopolitics and Imperial Conflict - Understanding the New World Disorder".
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The "West" in general seems to have lost its sense of direction and of what it stands for. As ideology increasingly replaces common sense and pragmatism, problems get compounded, societies become increasingly divided and extreme polarization over issues becomes the norm. Ideologically-biased decisions taken by a mediocre Western political class often turn problems into intractable challenges. When it comes to geopolitics, the times when post-WWII bipolarity and post-Soviet unipolarity conferred a modicum of equilibrium among powers are gone, as a consequence of which the world is entering an era of turbulence unlike anything we have seen during our lifetimes.
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Against this backdrop making sense of things is no easy task. Adding to the world's growing complexity, information is increasingly and brazenly manipulated by governments, the media and other actors driven by their own agendas and ideologies. Hence the need to find out what is really going on and where things could take us. I am no historian, academic or politician nor do I harbour ambitions to become any of these. I am just a concerned person who, prompted by alarming trends decided three times to undertake a demanding journey of personal discovery in order to gain a better understanding of the world around us and of where we are heading. In truth, these journeys have been fascinating experiences. The conclusions I reached were in many cases surprising and worrisome enough to compel me to share my findings with others, hence these books.
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As an author, I personally carry out my research, select the issues to focus on and do my own writing. Any shortcomings are thus my own. Through my research I endeavour to seek the truth beyond the biased lenses of ideology, “conventional wisdom” and “political correctness”. Conventional wisdom is too often more conventional than wise and political correctness has shown a tendency to turn into a new form of social tyranny. In my journeys of exploration I endeavour to base my writings on facts in order to provide a (hopefully) balanced and informative view, mostly leaving conclusions to the reader. I hope you enjoy my writings. Above all I hope that I am wrong on many counts and that the world turns out to be a much better place than my writings seem to portray.
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Francesco M. Bongiovanni
June 2024
He has been made a Knight of the Order of St Charles for his contribution to humanitarian endeavours and biodiversity protection. He is an author and a composer of classical symphonic music and jazz (www.francescobmusic.com).