Cuisine and Empire, by Rachel Laudan
A lively examination of cooking as one of the first transformative technologies and cuisine as a carrier of empire. Culinary techniques have served armies and disseminated culture across the world.
Black Wave, by Kim Ghattas
Examines how the Saudi-Iranian rivalry after the Iranian Revolution shaped the region and the wider world. It treats the peoples and actors of the region as agents rather than pawns in a geopolitical chess game.
Dancing in the Glory of Monsters, by Jason Stearns
Examines the Congo War, a conflict on such a scale that it is sometimes called Africa’s World War. Rarely covered, it can also be understood as a resource war in which conflict minerals played a critical role.
Born in Blackness, Howard W. French
A sweeping analysis of six centuries in which Africa played a crucial part in creating the modern world. It recovers the rise and fall of powerful empires that are studied too little in the West.
The Fate of Africa, by Martin Meredith
Covers six decades of post-independence Africa and shows how decolonisation took many different forms. Each colonial power left a different legacy and scar that had to be overcome.
India After Gandhi, Ramachandra Guha
An in-depth history of India’s first steps into democracy. It navigates the legacy of colonialism, geopolitical pressures, and internal cleavages, and shows that India has long charted its own path in the world.
The Concept of the Political, by Carl Schmitt
Written by the chief legal theorist of the Nazi regime and frequently cited in Silicon Valley, it operationalises the friend-enemy distinction as the fundamental axis of politics.
Why Liberalism Failed, by Patrick J. Deneen
A conservative critique of liberalism’s failures that argues for a return to older values of community, religion, and tradition.
The Digital Republic, by Jamie Susskind
Attempts to apply institutional reform to existing liberal institutions and offers one possible path forward.
How Migration Really Works, by Hein de Haas
Dismantles the myths driving European migration politics and explains how migration is a strategic source of strength rather than weakness.
The Long Game, by Rush Doshi
Presents the perspective of a China hawk who sees China as a direct threat to the American order.
The China Model, by Daniel A. Bell
The strongest good-faith case for Chinese political meritocracy on its own terms.
World Order, by Henry Kissinger
The order-builder’s own account of how the postwar equilibrium is coming apart and the grammar of the multipolar order in which any partnership of equals would have to operate.
The AI Paradox, by Virginia Dignum
A governance-first account from within the responsible-AI field that treats AI as power to be governed rather than merely a product to be regulated, cutting through hype in both directions.
The Brussels Effect, by Anu Bradford
Documents how the European Union exports its rules through the gravity of its market, forcing companies far beyond its borders to comply. It is the clearest account of Europe’s one genuine form of technological power.
Accessory to War, by Neil de Grasse Tyson & Avis Lang
Explores the long marriage between the military and the frontier sciences.
Destined for War, by Graham Allison
Argues that great-power rivalries tend to end in warfare and popularises the vocabulary of the Thucydides Trap around the supposed inevitability of conflict.
The Kill Chain, by Christian Brose
Examines how the future of warfare will be driven by technological integration.
On War, by Carl von Clausewitz
A seminal text in military theory that defines the political nature of war.
Apple in China, by Patrick McGee
An in-depth examination of China’s use of neoliberal doctrine to pull Apple’s production processes within its borders.