DURHAM, N.C. - Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, columnist and host of CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS," will speak at Duke University Monday, Nov. 9, about the rapidly changing international climate.

Zakaria will present the 2009 Ambassador S. Davis Phillips Lecture in Page Auditorium beginning at 5:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required.

In his recent national bestseller, "The Post-American World," Zakaria writes about the "rise of the rest" -- the growth of China, India, Brazil and many other countries -- and what it means for the future. He calls this phenomenon "the greatest story of our time."

"We are living through the third great power shift in modern history. For the last 20 years, America's superpower status in every realm has been largely unchallenged -- something that's never happened before in history, at least since the Roman Empire dominated the known world 2,000 years ago," Zakaria says. "During this Pax Americana, the global economy has accelerated dramatically, and that expansion is the driver behind the third great power shift of the modern age."

Zakaria's previous bestseller, "The Future of Freedom," has been translated into 20 languages and was called "a work of tremendous originality and insight" by The Washington Post.

Peter Feaver, a Duke professor of political science and public policy, said Zakaria "has an exceptional capacity to analyze broad trends in a fashion that influences the global public conversation."

Tickets will be distributed at the door starting at 4:45 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis. A limited number of general seating tickets are available through the Duke Box Office at (919) 684-4444 or online at www.tickets.duke.edu. Tickets purchased online include a $5 handling fee.

The lecture, made possible by the Ambassador S. Davis Phillips Endowment, is co-sponsored by the Sanford School of Public Policy Inaugural Series, Duke's American Grand Strategy Program and the Triangle Institute for Security Studies.