1) Parag Khanna is an Indian-born researcher who studies second world countries and argues that whichever superpower brings most of these countries into its economic and political union will be most successful. 2) Joel Kotkin is an American urban researcher who argues that the US population will grow by 100 million by 2050 due to immigration and birthrates, maintaining its diversity and superpower status through innovation and new work from home technologies. 3) Both authors discuss the competition between the US, EU and China to gain influence over second world nations through economic and political ties rather than military force.