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 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 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.
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.
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.
The Jakarta Method, by Vincent Bevins
Shows the catastrophic cost of a security spiral run amok and how fear of communism led the United States to support mass murder.
Material World, by Ed Conway
Maps the material dependencies and chokepoints underlying the global economy and shows how a small amount of pressure, applied precisely, can cripple an entire supply chain.
Spy Schools, by Daniel Golden
Covers the early securitization of the American academic sector after Chinese spies abused research access. It laid the groundwork for later efforts to ban students from the Seven Sons universities.
Chokepoints, by Edward Fishman
Documents the United States’ transition from free-trade orthodoxy towards weaponised interdependence as a tool of geopolitical pressure.
The Revenge of Geography, Robert D. Kaplan
Expands on the strict interpretation of geopolitics and explains how geography shapes foreign relations.
Is the American Century Over? by Joseph S. Nye, Jr.
An assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the United States in an era of returning great-power politics. Crucially, the assessment was made before the election of Donald Trump.
Focus: The ASML Way, by Marc Hijink
Focuses on the company that has probably been most exposed to the return of geopolitics: the Netherlands-based company ASML.
The Technological Republic, by Alexander Karp & Nicholas Zamiska
A frontal attack on Western culture as complacent, intellectually frail, and lacking decisive leadership. The book underlines the messianic argument made by technology elites in propagating their own vision of the future.