Written by Pardee's founding director, Barry B. Hughes, the fifth edition of Exploring and Shaping International Futures introduces new and seasoned users alike to the structure and use of IFs, Pardee’s open-source, integrated forecasting platform. For new users, the book offers a practical entry point into IFs. Experienced users will find an updated guide to the model’s structure, applications, and role in long-term scenario analysis.

Published 20 years after the fourth edition, the new volume addresses both enduring and emerging global issues, such as climate change and geopolitical shifts, along with major advances in IFs. Drawing on contemporary issues and dynamics of global change and organized in part by the Sustainable Development Goals, it guides readers through scenario analysis across human development, environmentally sustainable development, and national and global sociopolitical systems.

The fifth edition covers substantial enhancements to IFs, including new and expanded modeling in education, health, infrastructure, water, and governance. These advances broaden the range of questions IFs can help users examine and underpin much of the work featured in this review: from gender equality and industrial development to environmental transformation, renewable energy, jobs, and long-term planning.