One curious omission stands out in this book, though, and that is the effects of climate change. Marshall analyses geographical constraints and opportunities around the world covering every continent as well as specific conflict hotspots such as North and South Korea, China and Tibet, India and Pakistan and the Middle East. The next is unfolding in front of our eyes. The annexation of Crimea in 2014 was the first step in satisfying this ambition. Russia, on the other hand, is fenced in by uninhabitable land areas in the east, frozen ports in the north and countries to the south and west as a barrier to what they most desire: ice-free ports. Plenty of ice-free ports, access to the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the world largest network of navigable rivers, fertile farmland, a common language and states unified under one government – in short – a geopolitical heaven. If you won the lottery, and were looking to buy a country to live in, the first one the estate agent would show you would be the United States of America.įrom a geopolitical perspective, America has it all, argues Marshall, and it’s no coincidence the country has emerged as the number one superpower. Marshall explains how mountains, rivers, ports and climate play major roles in shaping economic prosperity and political power in this accessible and surprisingly enjoyable introduction to the dry sounding topic of geopolitics. The very first page dives into the Russia-Ukraine relationship which the author predicted would end in conflict (the book was first published in 2015 and updated in 2019). After lying around my house for several years, I finally decided to read perennial bestseller Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall, and what a serendipitous time to pick it up.
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