Book Review: The Power of Geography: Ten Maps That Reveal the Future of Our World by Tim Marshall

8 April 2022

I enjoyed reading Tim Marshall’s ‘Prisoner of Geography’ and this motivated me to read the sequel ‘The Power of Geography’. In this book, the author’s focus is on nine regions (Australia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Greece, Turkey, the Sahel, Ethiopia, Spain) and Space, and how they will shape global politics mainly due to their geography.

For each region, Tim shows how their location, access to deep water ports, the conduciveness to navigate their rivers for trade (internal and external), control of the trade corridors, mountains etc. have defined their history, present and the role they will play in global politics. For example, Turkey can leverage its location as the gatekeeper to the migrant flow into Europe; UK being an Island, did not experience the Second world war like continental Europe and as a result, did not embrace the European Economic Community (EEC) project like the others; Spain being mountainous and lacking large uninterrupted rivers means that the regions maintain their individual identities (and languages) resulting in increasing calls for independence or Ethiopia’s status as the “water tower of Africa” defines its geopolitical position and makes it a key player in the region.

In discussing the Sahel, Tim seems to suggest that France participation in this region is mainly due to concerns of the migrant crisis that Europe will face if this region remains destabilised. Following the French colonisation of most of the countries in the Sahel, I think France's chief motivation is the contribution the Sahel makes to France’s economy, consequently, the stability of the Sahel is important for the French economy.

In the last chapter, Tim discusses Space. He points out the benefits cooperation in space can provide but suggests that humanity has failed to learn from the past and is towing the same line in its dominance of space. Tim also alludes to the possibility of a space arms race especially since the big players consider ‘full-spectrum dominance’ to include space. Tim suggests that “we should be working on codifying agreements whereby the spacefaring nations co-operate on projects, agree to share profits and knowledge, and set binding targets on transferring a percentage of their gains to everyone else.”

Header photo by Dami Akinbode on Unsplash