Prisoners of Geography

Marshall blends history with geography to attempt to explain contemporary geopolitics. He does a fairly good job of making the case that we underestimate the importance of geography in relations between states, and the book is well-written and engaging. I was thinking as I was reading that this was someone who would get on with Jared Diamond, and then a brief quote from the section on Africa, plus the fact that Guns, Germs & Steel heads up the bibliography confirmed my suspicions.

By starting with Russia, and then wrapping back to it in the final Arctic section, Marshall lays his cards on the table as to where he thinks the most geopolitical turmoil in the coming century is likely to come from. He may not be wrong. I would quibble with his characterisation of the Middle East, particularly the Arab Spring - which I happened to write my dissertation on - as I think in his haste to get back to geography he undersells the economic and political causes of the movement. Still, mostly the book is highly informative, and well worth reading if you have an interest in geopolitics.