A concise discussion of geopolitics, by someone in a position to understand. Marshall brings years of political commentary to bear on how governments see, and respond, to geography – both their own and those of their potential rivals.

It’s purely about the effects of geography on States’ behaviours, which sometimes lends the book an almost nineteenth-century feel. There’s no discussion of the possibly conflicting attitudes of large national and multinational companies, whose activities might be difficult for governments to steer. I suspect Marshall views States as still to dominant actors without actually saying such – and he may well be right, in the sense that the credible threat of force can trump other approaches. The arguments are quite compelling, and show how the forces that affect grand strategy haven’t fundamentally changed since the days of the Great Game and earlier.

4/5. Finished Monday 5 August, 2019.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)