Book Reviews

In “Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in Modern Southeast Asia”, Michael R. J. Vatikiotis focuses on the violent conflicts that have plagued Southeast Asia ever since it gained independence from colonial empires. Internal conflicts, political polarization, corruption, and economic disparity have halted the region’s progress. In fact, in 2015, Cambodia ranked 150 out of 168 on the corruption index, Thailand sat at 76, Vietnam at 112, and Indonesia at 88.

“The Pashtuns: A Contested History” is an account of the Pashtun ethnic group, their journey through history, their struggle with foreign invaders, and internal conflicts. Tilak Devasher highlights Pakistan’s role in the rise of the Taliban and in their endurance, especially during the American invasion in the post-9/11 era.

Ilhan Niaz’s ‘The State During the British Raj: Imperial Governance in South Asia 1700-1947,’ takes upon itself to decipher the gradual evolution of institutionalism during the British Raj. The author also tries to divulge the pattern of impersonalized governance, constitutionalism, civilian supremacy, meritocracy, and bureaucratic administration in the Indian subcontinent.

In “The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism”, Naomi Klein exposes the idea that neoliberal economic policies and unpopular free-market decisions (such as deregulation, privatization, and cuts in social spending) are implemented only at the time of crises or a ‘shock’. These shocks appear in the form of coups, terrorist attacks, economic meltdowns, wars, or natural disasters (i.e. tsunamis, hurricanes, and floods). A shock deliberately creates large, clean canvases for the economic technocrats to make policies and legislations which will inevitably transfer wealth and power (i.e. disaster privatization generating new markets) from the people (majority) to large corporations, global corporate elite, and corrupt governments (minority).

“Russia: Myths and Realities” was written and published by Rodric Braithwaite in 2022. Braithwaite has formerly served as Britain’s ambassador to Russia, giving his book the authenticity it needed. The author has attempted to shine a light on the cold hard facts of Russian history while unraveling the myths—whether those created by the Russians themselves for glorification or by the West as an attempt to villainize them.

It is largely maintained that population growth makes for scarcer resources. Marian Tupy and Gale Pooley’s book, Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet, convinces you otherwise. Superabundance is an absolutely detailed book with data spanning two centuries. Its fundamental premise? Resources become much more abundant as the population grows.

“An Introduction to Strategy” was originally published in French in 1965 by General André Beaufre. In his condensed book (138 pages), he defines military strategy before proceeding to discuss its patterns and evolution.

In “Pakistan’s Foreign Policy, 1947-2016: A Concise History,” a former diplomat and foreign minister of Pakistan, Abdul Sattar, charts the foreign policy of Pakistan from its inception. It is another book strongly recommended to CSS candidates because of the social and political aspects being used to understand Pakistan’s foreign policies.

Known as one of the founding fathers of behavioral economics, Richard H. Thaler’s book, “Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics,” is a compendious study of the intersection of psychology and economics. It clearly demonstrates how human errors and thought processes drive market behavior.

The Unending Game: A Former R&AW Chief’s Insights into Espionage by Vikram Sood is a brilliant piece of writing that is based on the workings of a premier intelligence agency. Vikram Sood has discussed various examples of the foreign policy contours of India while simultaneously poking around the organization, hierarchy, operations, successes, and failures of an agency.

In “Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need To Know About Global Politics,” Tim Marshall (British author and journalist) explores the world through ten geographical maps. The book is divided into ten chapters, and provides critical insights into the geography and politics of each of the ten regions.