Good books on geopolitics For American expats
Good books on geopolitics will teach you how to predict the future, understand the present and know the past. To study geopolitics is like studying meteorology: It gives you the trends you need to understand what the heck is going on and why it's going on.
If you plan on capitalizing on American geopolitics then it's a great idea to invest in the books that will give you a better "lay of the land." That means taking a bit of history, current events and understand that said history has a way of repeating itself.W. hat would or could that look like? This is what you want to be looking at as you look into good books.
Good Books on Geopolitics Explain the Past
A good book will appreciate the past events and go into why things happened the way they happened. Studying American history will explain why the US is doing what she's doing today. An example of this is understand why and how American expansion has occurred.
Good books will explain how the US has always been a country founded on war with a sense of manifest destiny and against tyrannical imperialism (read "tyrannical".).
Good Books on Geopolitics Assess the Present
You've probably picked up a few good books on geopolitics because you want to understand what's going on right now. Although many books will discuss current events you'll find the books to come into two types; The alarmist and the analytical. I recommend filtering out the former and sticking with the latter.
I remember when the year was 2014 and everyone was reading geopolitical books on the rise of China. Every other book was dealing with the fact that China just seemed to keep growing and growing and growing...Some said that while was happening the influence of the United States was shrinking. These books would conclude with how China will become the "next superpower" and even rule the world.
This reminds me of the books that came out in the 1980s on how Japan was to be the next big power. An example of these books is "Japan the Fragile Superpower" published in 1979. The books looked primarily at the cultural events and then justified Japanese success based on external factors (including its history.).
A more contemporary book that did that was the book "When China Ruled the world." It did even worse than justifying China's rise based on history: It twisted historical events to make the book's main argument work! This is NOT what I recommend reading.
You want books that address contemporary issues from a grander scale - looking at what is happening now as a symptom of history and not the other way around. Some of the best books on geopolitics that I recommend can be found doing just that.
The trickiest part of good books on geopolitics is having those that can use the past and present to explain a probable future.
Good Books on Geopolitics Predict the Future
No knows what can happen in the future - not even the best of us. That being said we can predict the geopolitical trends as time goes forward based on the data we've collected throughout the centuries. This doesn't mean that what is predict imminent...but it does mean that the predictions are inevitable. When picking up a good book you want to make sure the author does these three key things.
The author keeps a sense of humility.
The author understands and accepts that he or she might be wrong. This is because geopolitical analysis, although accurate, is not infallible. If the book you've picked up shows no sign of humility (or worse...has an air of alarmist arrogance) then put it down and get something else.
The Author's arguments Make Sense
I'll go back to Martin Jacques' book "When China Rules the World." The author's argument is this in short: "China will replace the United States as the world's dominant power. In so doing, it will not become more western but the world will become more Chinese."
This argument doesn't make sense. Is the author claiming that the world will follow more of a Chinese way of doing things? But if the world has been more western up to now then can't we argue that in fact it is China that is becoming more western? And you can see a more Western china: Chinese using pinyin (western characters) to teach their language. Chinese dressing up in suits and ties instead of the Zhongsan suits. China is joining western led organizations such as the World Trade Organization and BRICS (thought about by Westerners.)
So this is an example of an author who doesn't even start out making sense and knows it. In fact he uses alarmist rhetoric to scare the audience into buying the book.
The Author's Book has to at least be Trending Correctly
If the book you're considering has made predictions that have just not happened (in fact the opposite has occurred) then maybe the author's research is incorrect.). Going back to Martin Jacques' book: Last I checked China is not quite ruling the world...
What are some Good Books on Geopolitics?
So there you have it - make sure the book you've chosen gives a good idea on what is happening. You also want to pick a good book that reads easily and is compelling enough to make you want to read it. You'll also want to make sure that the book is practical enough so that you can plan your next move abroad (or maybe even help you if you are already an expat.)
Here are arguably the 5 best books on geopolitics.