Geopolitics: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) [Paperback]

International Relations is one of the topics that I am particularly interested in. So far I have been a citizen of two different countries and a resident of three, and have been directly affected by some of the late twentieth century international crises. I regularly go through the international section of any newspaper or a magazine that I read, and am subscribed to the "Foreign Affairs" which I read cover to cover. (My Amazon review of the Kindle edition of that journal is currently the highest rated review.) When it comes to international relations I consider myself to be very well informed and non-ideological in my views. I read foreign policy articles from people from all sides of the political spectrum, and have over the years supported policies from very heterogeneous assortment of politicians, statesmen and diplomats. This is why I am extremely disappointed with the blatant and oftentimes shrill one-sidedness of "Geopolitics: A Very Short Introduction."

Klaus Dodds quite obviously comes from the Noam Chomsky school of international relations. Chomsky is mentioned very early in the book, and the tone thus set is relentlessly pursued throughout the rest of the book. This is fine if you happen to be a far-left armchair political activist, but for the vast majority of the rest of us this short introduction leaves too much to be desired. It is quite simply the shallowest ideological propaganda, and has nothing to do with serious scholarly work on international relations and related topics. Dodds is oftentimes engaging in the most sophomoric polemics, painting those who support his worldview and policies as unquestioningly righteous, while those on the opposite side are either perfidious or deluded and brainwashed by the "media". This is the kind of problematization of political topics that one would expect from a student newspaper, and not from a serious scholar. One of the main problems with pushing a particular set of issues in a book like this one is that it makes the book date very, very quickly. Even though this book was first published only four years ago, it already feels very quaint and passé. This is the problem when you write books with a very limited audience in mind, both in terms of ideological inclinations as well as in terms of the time period. Nothing ages faster than books that aim to be fresh and contemporary.

I have never read a purportedly scholarly book that was this froth with tendentiousness, misleading information, and downright bald-faced lies. It baffles the mind that the Oxford University Press, in this collection aimed at the general audience, would publish a book like this one. I would say that I am really surprised by this were it not for the fact that many of their books (especially the more recent ones) have also failed all standards of responsible academic integrity.

There are a few interesting tidbits of information early in the book. The development of the very term "Geopolitics" over the years, and its comings and goings into and out of fashion, are particularly fascinating. However, such worthy sections are not able to redeem this book as a whole. If you want to learn more about Geopolitics from an objective and unbiased perspective you'll have to look elsewhere.

I found this to be an interesting book on a subject which in a sense states the bleeding obvious - that geography affects politics - so it was nice to see some flesh put on the idea, and the book certainly came over to me as balanced.

The author, however is of course, an academic, and although he is nowhere near as bad as some of the other academics in this series of books, occasionally one can see the political correctness shining gratuitously through. Why for example on Page 94 are we told (after a discussion of the glorious aftermath of the Falklands War), that not only was not all well with Britain but that it was riven by Racism. Leaving aside the question of whether Racism, that is to say a preferrence for people like oneself is a bad thing or even anything other than inevitable, if, as we are told 99% of the population was then native British how on earth could those same people - that is to say almost the entire country - be suffering from racism? One never saw foreigners so one never thought about them. How is that racist, save of course to the self-loathing liberals keen to denigrate their own people. My own recollections of the 80s was that it was 'the best of times' though unemployment was and remains a major curse. If I have to find fault (personally), agism against males in the labour market was rife, Pederasty was prosecuted with gusto by the now Gay-promoting Police, and Divorce Law was and remains Misandrist, yet somehow the author fails to mention those facts (in favour of as I say the fanciful attack on white people in which he indulges). This is rather priceless from someone whose first name is clearly not a common English Christian name. The fact that he is British rather gives the lie to his criticism of (I assume) his mother's (?) adopted country. As it happens Britain is surely in the last phases of extreme ethno-masochism. The passages in the book embarrased at the fact that the Third Reich indulged in Geo-politics - apparently, perhaps shows how academia is riven by fashion. Outside of Maths and Logic far too much in Academia is opinion - pity the gullible students.

As with his other works, notably 'Global Geopolitics' and 'Geopolitics in a Changing World', Professor Dodds writes eloquently on the major geopolitical issues and theories that define the contemporary world. As befits a "Very Short Introduction", Dodds' writing is lean and accessible, yet also intellectually deep and considered. A must for undergraduates in this field, it cuts out the jargon that so often taints academic writing. Rather than offering detailed discussion of the world's major international issues and crises (see the works cited above for this), the book emphasises the imaginative and cultural dimensions of world politics. In doing so, it provides the reader not just with new information about the geopolitical make-up of our planet, but novel ways of understanding, perhaps even ameliorating, some of its many challenges.