June 28, 2021
Dodds (Geopolitics: A Very Short Introduction), a professor of geopolitics at Royal Holloway, University of London, surveys a wide range of contemporary border battles in this informative account. He documents the shift from post–Cold War optimism about a new, more fluid international landscape to rising security concerns about “open borders” after 9/11, and draws incisive parallels between the China-Taiwan and Israel-Palestine conflicts, noting how much of an uphill battle it remains for both Taiwan and Palestine to earn “widespread international recognition” in the face of resistance from China, Israel, and the U.S. Dodds also details how efforts by the U.S. government to secure its southern border have created a surveillance state in the region, with citizens and noncitizens subjected to increasing electronic and physical monitoring. In the book’s most eye-opening chapter, Dodds describes how governments and corporations are jockeying for position and power in outer space. Though he draws more observations than firm conclusions, Dodds’s depth of knowledge impresses, and he makes a persuasive case that identity politics and climate change disruptions will intensify border conflicts in the coming decades. This broad-minded study offers a fresh perspective on world affairs. (Sept.) Correction: An earlier version of this review misspelled the author's name in several instances.