If I say I will be buying a car in the near future, I (specifically, I) would be saying within the next several months.

If the government says they will get the troops out of Iraq, in the near future, that PROBABLY means within 1-2 years.

Frame of reference. That defines what “near future” means.

It is a term that is used to personalize the person’s statement for them. There are no hard and fast rules as to how you can use the term.

“I will be job hunting in the near future.” – This could be anywhere from 6 months to a year.

“Global warming will result in catastrophic events in the near future.” – This could be next year or 100 years.

The answer is that it depends on context. To me. it normally means within a cycle of some sort.. In a job-related sense, I can accept that it means before the next project is finished. In terms of life, will you accept within a generation, whether human, fruit fly or dog?