Tag Archives: geopolitics

Coming to Palestine

Posted on May 24, 2025 by smellincoffee

Given the current horrors going on in Gaza, and that Israel/Palestine is largely a blind spot for me, I figured this was worth a look, especially given that I haven’t read anything on the subject since Peace not Apartheid (2007!) … Continue reading →

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Our Man In Charleston

Posted on May 9, 2023 by smellincoffee

Our Man in Charleston© 2016 Christopher Dickey416 pages Our Man in Charleston is a fascinating history of British diplomacy in the South, 1850s-1865, about a British consul working to defend Her Majesty’s interests in the erstwhile colonies, focusing specifically on … Continue reading →

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Related Videos: Losing an Enemy

Posted on July 12, 2020 by smellincoffee

A few months ago I read Losing an Enemy, written by Trita Parsi on the Joint Plan of Action, also known as “The Iran Deal”.     I just discovered a ten-minute clip from Parsi in a TED talk reviewing the history … Continue reading →

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The Limits of Partnership

Posted on January 18, 2019 by smellincoffee

The Limits of Partnership: U.S.-Russian Relations in the 21st Century © 2014 Angela Stent 384 pages The Limits of Partnership examines the Russo-American relationship through four presidential administrations,  reviewing what progress was made  or conflicts each American executive had with his … Continue reading →

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The Iran Wars

Posted on October 3, 2018 by smellincoffee

The Iran Wars: Spy Games, Bank Battles, and the Secret Deals that Reshaped the Middle East © 2016 Jay Solomon 352 pages When the young people of Iran hit the streets in protest about suspicious election returns in 2009, the … Continue reading →

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The New Tsar

Posted on August 14, 2018 by smellincoffee

The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin© 2012 Steven Lee Myers592pages When the Soviet Union collapsed abruptly at the dawn of the 1990s, the world order changed overnight. Optimists predicted the ‘end of history’.   Such an end … Continue reading →

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Confront and Conceal

Posted on May 13, 2017 by smellincoffee

Confront and Conceal: Obama’s Secret Wars and Surprising Use of Power 496 pages © 2012 David E. Sanger Barack Obama may have been the only Nobel Peace Prize winner in history to order lethal force used on a regular basis, … Continue reading →

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In Spite of the Gods

Posted on March 6, 2017 by smellincoffee

In Spite of the Gods: the Rise of Modern India© 2007 Edward Luce400 pages In Spite of the Gods appraises India’s culture as its ancient civilization enters the 21st century as the world’s largest democracy and one of its largest … Continue reading →

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The Twilight War

Posted on January 12, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Twilight War: the Secret History of America’s Thirty-Year War with Iran656 pages© 2013 David Crist  In the presidential campaign of 2008, John McCain made plain what kind of aggressive foreign policy he would pursue by half-singing a chipper little … Continue reading →

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Inside the Kingdom

Posted on December 24, 2016 by smellincoffee

Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia432 pages© 2009 Robert Lacey When I first began paying attention to politics, the cozy relationship between Saudi Arabia and the DC power-caste  confused me to no end. … Continue reading →

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