High-energy particle colliders: the past 20 years, the next 20 years, and the distant future

Particle colliders for high-energy physics have been in the forefront of scientific discoveries for more than half a century. The accelerator technology of the colliders has progressed immensely, while the beam energy, luminosity, facility size, and cost have grown by several orders of magnitude. The method of colliding beams has not fully exhausted its potential but has slowed down considerably in its progress. This paper briefly reviews the colliding beam method and the history of colliders, discusses the development of the method over the last two decades in detail, and examines near-term collider projects that are currently under development. The paper concludes with an attempt to look beyond the current horizon and to find what paradigm changes are necessary for breakthroughs in the field.