20 Best Books On Geopolitics (2023 Update)

Written by one of the world's leading political geographers, this fully revised and updated textbook examines the dramatic changes wrought by ideological, economic, socio-cultural and demographic changes unleashed since the end of the cold war. saul cohen considers these forces in the context of their human and physical settings, and explores their geographical influence on foreign policy and international relations.

From one of the most admired admirals of his generation—and the only admiral to serve as supreme allied commander at nato—comes a remarkable voyage through all of the world’s most important bodies of water, providing the story of naval power as a driver of human history and a crucial element in our current geopolitical path. from the time of the greeks and the persians clashing in the mediterranean, sea power has determined world power. to an extent that is often underappreciated, it still does. no one understands this better than admiral jim stavridis. not least, sea power is marvelous naval history, giving us fresh insight into great naval engagements from the battles of salamis and lepanto through to trafalgar, the battle of the atlantic, and submarine conflicts of the cold war. it is also a keen-eyed reckoning with the likely sites of our next major naval conflicts, particularly the arctic ocean, eastern mediterranean, and the south china sea. finally, sea power steps back to take a holistic view of the plagues to our oceans that are best seen that way, from piracy to pollution. admiral stavridis sees the shapes of the seven seas. after reading sea power, you will too.

Geopolitics is not dead, but nor does it involve the same old logic of a world determined by physical geography in a competition between great powers. hidden geopolitics recaptures the term to explore how the geography of power works both globally and nationally to structure and govern the workings of the global political economy. globalization, far from its antithesis, is tightly wound up in the assumptions and practices of geopolitics, relating to the scope of regulatory authority, state sponsorship, and the political power of businesses to operate worldwide. agnew shows how this "hidden" geopolitics and globalization have been vitally connected. he focuses on three moments: the origins of contemporary globalization in the policies pursued by successive us governments and allies after 1945 and its continued relevance even as the us role in the world changes; the close connection between geopolitical history and status of different countries and their relative capacities to exploit the possibilities and limit the costs of globalization; and new regulatory and standard-setting agencies which emerged under the sponsorship of major geopolitical powers but have grown in power and authority as the dominant states have become limited in their ability to manage the explosion of transnational transactions on their own. agnew argues that it is time to move on from the narrow inter-imperial cast of geopolitics and the foolish policy advice it produces. the old perspective on geopolitics has taken on new life with the rise of national-populist movements in europe and the united states and the reinvigoration of territorial-authoritarian regimes in russia and china.

This extensively revised second edition of the geopolitics reader draws together the most influential and significant geopolitical readings from the last hundred years. a compendium of divergent viewpoints of global conflict and change, it includes readings from halford mackinder, theodore roosevelt, adolf hitler, george kennan, samuel huntington, edward said, osama bin laden and american neoconservatives. it draws on the most illuminating examples of imperial, cold war and contemporary geopolitics, as well as new environmental themes, global dangers and multiple resistances to the practices of geopolitics. whilst retaining a coherent five part structure, the selection of readings has been updated to account for recent developments in the critical study of geopolitics and the post 9/11 geopolitical landscape (including issues in technoscience, biowarfare, oil politics, and terrorism), and key questions address issues of the transformed nature of threats in the new millennium, the debate over the hegemonic position of the us, and non-american perspectives on contemporary geopolitics.skilfully guiding the reader through the divergent viewpoints of global conflict and change, the editors, all leading geopolitical authorities, provide comprehensive introductions and critical commentaries at the start of each section. illustrated with provocative cartoons, this second edition of the geopolitics reader is the ideal textbook for introductory classes on international relations, world politics, political geography and, of course, geopolitics, provoking lively discussion of how questions of discourse and power are at the centre of the critical study of geopolitics.

In this cogent introduction to the state of contemporary geopolitics, short provides an understanding of the basic themes of geopolitics and an overview of geopolitical issues around the globe. his regional approach to the study of the power relations between states is framed by a discussion of critical and popular geopolitical analysis.

This new updated edition of introduction to geopolitics presents the overarching themes of geopolitical structures and agents in an engaging and accessible manner, which requires no previous knowledge of theory or current affairs. using new pertinent case studies and guided exercises the title explains the contemporary global power of the united states and the challenges it is facing, the persistence of nationalist conflicts, migration, cyberwar, terrorism, and environmental geopolitics. case studies of the rise of the so-called islamic state, the south china sea disputes, the syrian civil war, the korean conflict, and israel-palestine emphasize the multi-faceted nature of conflict. the book raises questions by incorporating international and long term historical perspectives and introduces readers to different theoretical viewpoints, including feminist contributions. the new edition features expanded sections on network geopolitics and non-state actors, a new section on geopolitics of transnational business, cyberwar, an interpretation of isis within historical geopolitical trends, as well as expanded discussion of the relevance of boserup and neo-malthusians to environmental geopolitics. introduction to geopolitics will provide its readers with a set of critical analytical tools for understanding the actions of states as well as non-state actors acting in competition over resources and power. both students and general readers will find this book an essential stepping-stone to a deeper and critical understanding of contemporary conflicts.

In this new york times bestseller, an award-winning journalist uses ten maps of crucial regions to explain the geo-political strategies of the world powers—“fans of geography, history, and politics (and maps) will be enthralled” (fort worth star-telegram). maps have a mysterious hold over us. all leaders of nations are constrained by geography. in “one of the best books about geopolitics” (the evening standard), now updated to include 2016 geopolitical developments, journalist tim marshall examines russia, china, the us, latin america, the middle east, africa, europe, japan, korea, and greenland and the arctic—their weather, seas, mountains, rivers, deserts, and borders—to provide a context often missing from our political reportage: how the physical characteristics of these countries affect their strengths and vulnerabilities and the decisions made by their leaders. offering “a fresh way of looking at maps” (the new york times book review), marshall explains the complex geo-political strategies that shape the globe. why is putin so obsessed with crimea? why was the us destined to become a global superpower? why does china’s power base continue to expand? why is tibet destined to lose its autonomy? why will europe never be united? the answers are geographical. “in an ever more complex, chaotic, and interlinked world, prisoners of geography is a concise and useful primer on geopolitics” (newsweek) and a critical guide to one of the major determining factors in world affairs.

Alexander dugin traces the geopolitical development of russia from its origins in kievan rus and the russian empire, through the peak of its global influence during the soviet era, and finally to the current presidency of vladimir putin. dugin sees russia as the primary geopolitical pole of the land-based civilizations of the world, forever destined to be in conflict with the sea-based civilizations. at one time the pole of the seafaring civilizations was the british empire; today it is represented by the united states and its nato allies. russia can only fulfill its geopolitical mission by remaining in opposition to the sea powers. today, according to dugin, this conflict is not only geopolitical in scope, but also ideological: russia is the primary representative and defender of traditional values and idealism, whereas the west stands for the values of liberalism and the market-driven society. whereas russia began to lose sight of its mission during the 1990s and threatened to succumb to domination by the western powers, dugin believes that putin has begun to correct its course and return russia to her proper place. but the struggle is far from over: while progress has been made, russia remains torn between its traditional nature and the temptations of globalism and westernization, and its enemies undermine it at every turn. dugin makes the case that it is only by remaining true to the eurasian path that russia can survive and flourish in any genuine sense – otherwise it will be reduced to a servile and secondary place in the world, and the forces of liberalism will dominate the world, unopposed. alexander dugin (b. 1962) is one of the best-known writers and political commentators in post-soviet russia, having been active in politics there since the 1980s. in addition to the many books he has authored on political, philosophical, and spiritual topics, he is the leader of the international eurasia movement, which he founded. for more than a decade, he has been an advisor to vladimir putin and the kremlin on geopolitical matters, and was head of the department of sociology at moscow state university. arktos has also published his books, the fourth political theory (2012), putin vs putin: vladimir putin viewed from the right (2014), and eurasian mission: an introduction to neo-eurasianism (2014).

This concise introduction to the growth and evolution of geopolitics as a discipline includes biographical information on its leading historical and contemporary practitioners and detailed analysis of its literature. – an important book on a topic that has been neglected for too long, geopolitics: a guide to the issues will provide readers with an enhanced understanding of how geography influences personal, national, and international economics, politics, and security. the work begins with the history of geopolitics from the late 19th century to the present, then discusses the intellectual renaissance the discipline is experiencing today due to the prevalence of international security threats involving territorial, airborne, space-based, and waterborne possession and acquisition. – the book emphasizes current and emerging international geopolitical trends, examining how the u.s. and other countries, including australia, brazil, china, india, and russia, are integrating geopolitics into national security planning. it profiles international geopolitical scholars and their work, and it analyzes emerging academic, military, and governmental literature, including gray literature and social networking technologies, such as blogs and twitter. – biographies of major current geopolitical scholars and descriptions and listings of their works – maps of geopolitical crisis areas, such as afghanistan/pakistan, the south china sea, and the straits of malacca quotations from various government and military primary source documents – a glossary of geopolitical terms – a bibliography of international scholarly resources, including government and military documents

It has been increasingly impossible to think about our changing world without coming across the term 'geopolitics'. in the wake of the invasion and occupation of iraq by the united states, united kingdom, and others, geopolitics has been offered as an explanation for the occupation's failure to reinvent the iraqi state and as a blueprint for future action. but what is 'geopolitics'? drawing both on academic and political material, this book introduces readers to the concept of geopolitics, from the first usage of the term to its more recent reconceptualisations. the concept of geopolitics is introduced through four thematic sections – imperial geopolitics, cold war geopolitics, geopolitics after the cold war and reconceptualising geopolitics. each section includes key writings from a range of diverse and leading authors such as said, agnew, dalby, o tuathail, gregory, barnett and kaplan, and is accompanied by a critical introduction by the editors to guide the reader through the material. this reader establishes the foundations of geopolitics while also introducing readers to the continuing significance of the concept in the 21st century. this reader provides an essential resource that exposes students to original writing. the editors provide a pathway through the material with section introductions to assist the readers understanding of the context of the material and impacts of the writings. the readings included draw from a range of authors, writing from a range of locations. the reader concludes with the latest changes in geopolitical thought, incorporating feminist and other perspectives.

Civilization in the twenty-first century is characterized by its technological capacity, which is substantially realized through space technologies. a desire for increased security and rapid development is driving nation-states to engage in an intensifying competition for speed and superiority to better utilize the unique assets of space. this competition, however, is rigorously challenged by the unforgiving physical properties of the space environment such as extreme temperatures and intense fluxes of radiation, as well as by an escalation in nuclear proliferation that could end all life known to human existence. despite these challenges, humanity is taking eager steps into space-and is taking its various geopolitical rivalries and imperatives along.does space development further or undermine global security? can an obsession with security pose an ironically existential threat to humanity in this most fragile yet unforgiving environment it is stepping into? this book analyses the chinese-american space discourse from the lenses of international relations theory, history and political psychology to explore these questions.

The caucasus region historically has served as a battleground between the empires of old, with a dense population of nationalities constantly vying for leverage over one another and their imperial would-be rulers. in the modern day, three major powers – post-soviet russia, islamic iran and republican turkey – are all rising to prominence at the same time, and regardless of their wishes, all are drawn to the border zone between them.

This significant collection examines the diverse ways natural resources are managed and controlled and the controversies that arise regarding their use, allocation, and protection resulting from governance decisions and policies. professor feldman has selected seminal works which focus on several key issues, including the role of common property resources in questions of trans-boundary resource management, the diverse ways societies and interest groups accord value to resources and their use, and how resources are catalysts for both international conflict and cooperation. this authoritative volume will be of immense value to students, professionals and practitioners interested in the field of geopolitics and natural resources.

This book examines the legal and policy aspects of cyber-security. it takes a much needed look at cyber-security from a geopolitical perspective. through this lens, it seeks to broaden the reader's understanding of the legal and political considerations of individuals, corporations, law enforcement and regulatory bodies and management of the complex relationships between them. in drawing on interviews conducted with experts from a wide range of fields, the book presents the reader with dilemmas and paradigms that confront law makers, corporate leaders, law enforcement, and national leaders. the book is structured in a novel format by employing a series of vignettes which have been created as exercises intended to confront the reader with the dilemmas involved in cyber-security. through the use of vignettes, the work seeks to highlight the constant threat of cyber-security against various audiences, with the overall aim of facilitating discussion and reaction to actual probable events. in this sense, the book seeks to provide recommendations for best practices in response to the complex and numerous threats related to cyber-security. this book will be of interest to students of cyber-security, terrorism, international law, security studies and ir in general, as well as policy makers, professionals and law-enforcement officials.

Pyotr volkov (born in uruguay as diego daniel garcía), is an anthropologist and historian with a special interest in past and current events related to the great history of slavdom and orthodox christianity. for an entire decade, he worked to create an ambitious book in which orthodox christianity is put at the center of all political, economical, philosophical, and anthropological considerations which shape our modern world. in this very encompassing book, the author provides the reader with special tools to reach an almost impossible task: a holistic meta-ideology (normativism), being characterized by comprehension of the parts of reality as intimately interconnected to the grand whole of the divine and earthly, the spiritual and material opposites. the long journey expressed through this book goes all the way from ancient religions, the developing of christian orthodoxy, and contemporary philosophers like the polemical russian thinker aleksandr dugin, whose provocative fourth political theory is an invitation for the creation of new alternatives in the path to human salvation through civilizational redemption.through the results of his research, volkov made clear that this work is by no way just a political and theological manifesto, but more like his final political and theological testament and a clear warning to present and future generations about the grim future provided by liberal civilization and deviation from the immortal teachings of the holy fathers. in addition, volkov proposes bold planning to safeguard the great legacy of what guillaume faye called "euro-siberia" a new geopolitical paradigm different from both eurasianism and atlanticism, thus an opportunity for christian orthodoxy to overcome its great challenges.

Under the ambitious leadership of president xi jinping, china is zealously transforming its wealth and economic power into potent tools of global political influence. but china's foreign policy initiatives, even the vaunted "belt and road," will be shaped and redefined as they confront the ground realities of local and regional politics outside china. markey, a scholar of international relations and former member of the u.s. state department's policy planning staff, previews how china's efforts are likely to play out along its "western horizon: " across the swath of eurasia that includes south asia, central asia, and the middle east. drawing from extensive interviews, travels, and historical research, markey describes how perceptions of china vary widely within states such as pakistan, kazakhstan, and iran. powerful and privileged groups across the region often expect to profit from their connections to china, while others fear commercial and political losses. similarly, eurasian statesmen are scrambling to harness china's energy purchases, arms sales, and infrastructure investment. these leaders are working with china in order to outdo their strategic competitors, including india and saudi arabia, and simultaneously negotiating relations with russia and america. on balance, markey anticipates that china's deepening involvement will play to the advantage of regional strongmen and exacerbate the political tensions within and among eurasian states. to make the most of america's limited influence in china's backyard (and elsewhere), he argues that u.s. policymakers should pursue a selective and localized strategy to serve america's specific aims in eurasia and to better compete with china over the long run.

***winner, international studies association international political sociology best book prize 2017*** ***winner, british international studies association international political economy working group book prize 2016*** mainstream historical accounts of the development of capitalism describe a profess which is fundamentally european–a system that was born in the mills and factories of english and under the guillotines of the french revolution. this groundbreaking book tells a very difference story. how the west came to rule offers a unique interdisciplinary and international historical account of the origins of capitalism. it argues that, contrary to dominant wisdom, capitalism's origins should not be understood as a development confined to the geographically and culturally sealed borders of europe, but the outcome of a wider array of global processes in which non-european societies played a decisive role. here is a provocative, incisive explanation of how capitalism emerged in england and europe through a dialectical intersocietal and geopolitical process. the authors' aim to undermine a eurocentric bias that has been prominent in the debate about capitalisms rise to supremacy, and their case is remarkably convincing. they provide a fundamental rethinking. anievas and nisancioglu contend that often cited assumptions are neither theoretically nor empirically tenable and deny the agency of non-western societies to the emergence of capitalism. topics covered include: *the problem of eurocentrism *the problem of historical specificity *the brenner thesis: explanation and critique *the geopolitical in the making of capitalism *the political marxist conception of capitalism *rethinking the origins of capitalism *and much more! through an outline of the uneven histories of mongolian expansion, new world discoveries, ottoman-habsburg rivalry, the development of the colonies, and bourgeois revolutions, alex anievas and kerem nisancioglu offer an account of capitalism's origins that convincingly argues against the prevailing eurocentric narratives. it will change minds and open the eyes of historians, economists, and political thinkers.

"the conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking. noted john kenneth galbraith. of constraints and preferences focuses on how the world has changed over the past decade, why investment and corporate professionals are not equipped to deal with that change, and why the usual way of doing political and geopolitical analysis is inadequate in the age of uncertainty and disruption. marko papc has a unique world view, one that offers investors an original window on geopolitics and the notion of geopolitcal alpha. in of contraints and preference, he shares this world view and explores how a constrait-based approach to looking at the world can produce some powerful investment inghts. preferences are optional and subject to constraints, whereas constraints are neither optional nor subject to preferences. this is the maxim that makes up the constraint framework. it is simple and many will say that they inherently apply it already. but it is difficult remaining disciplined. policymakers are like water. predicting their behavior requires understanding of the relief of a hillside and knowing where water will find constraints to movement. e. machiavelli was therefore wrong. fortuna always wins. policymakers are no better at beating fortuna with virtu than water is capable of willing itself to flow against the grain. sp wamt constraits truly matter? poltical, economic & financial, geopolitical, and constitutional. papic demonstrates how to put an investment thesis together by reviewing the world through thiese constraint lenses. in the process, he shows how to use this einformation to make money or protect it. like a sports gambler, the investor should not be rooting for one side over the other, but rather thinking about where the bookie/casino (but really, the market) has set the line. and bet against the line. after all, the job of the investor is to not predict who wins, but where the line is set"–

A clear-eyed look at modern india's role in asia's and the broader world one of india's most distinguished foreign policy thinkers addresses the many questions facing india as it seeks to find its way in the increasingly complex world of asian geopolitics. a former indian foreign secretary and national security adviser, shivshankar menon traces india's approach to the shifting regional landscape since its independence in 1947. from its leading role in the "nonaligned" movement during the cold war to its current status as a perceived counterweight to china, india often has been an after-thought for global leaders–until they realize how much they needed it. examining india's own policy choices throughout its history, menon focuses in particular on india's responses to the rise of china, as well as other regional powers. menon also looks to the future and analyzes how india's policies are likely to evolve in response to current and new challenges. as india grows economically and gains new stature across the globe, both its domestic preoccupations and international choices become more significant. india itself will become more affected by what happens in the world around it. menon makes a powerful geopolitical case for an india increasingly and positively engaged in asia and the broader world in pursuit of a pluralistic, open, and inclusive world order.

The indo-pacific is fast becoming the world's dominant region. as it grows in power and wealth, geopolitical competition has reemerged, threatening future stability not merely in asia but around the globe.china is aggressive and uncooperative, and increasingly expects the world to bend to its wishes. the focus on sino-us competition for global power has obscured "asia's other great game" the rivalry between japan and china. a modernizing india risks missing out on the energies and talents of millions of its women, potentially hampering the broader role it can play in the world. and in north korea, the most frightening question raised by kim jong-un's pursuit of the ultimate weapon is also the simplest: can he control his nukes? auslin examines these and other key issues transforming the indo-pacific and the broader world. he also explores the history of american strategy in asia from the 18th century through today.taken together, auslin's essays convey the richness and diversity of the region: with more than three billion people, the indo-pacific contains over half of the global population, including the world's two most populous nations: india and china. in a riveting final chapter, auslin imagines a war between america and china in a bid for regional hegemony and what this conflict might look like.