The International Affairs summer reading list 2021
Krisztina Csortea
There are few better ways to spend the summer, whatever the weather, than engrossed in a good book. If you’re looking for something to read this summer on the events shaping world politics then look no further! These hand-picked suggestions taken form books reviewed in IA over the last year have got you covered. From the politics of data in global health, to the climate crisis and the history of disinformation, these 10 books offer fascinating insights on a wide array of topics.
1)The uncounted: politics of data in global health
Written by Sara L. M. Davis. Published in Cambridge by Cambridge University Press.
Given how fundamentally the world has changed in the last 18 months and the crucial role played by health data in this transformation, it is difficult to think of a more timely and concerning book than The uncounted. Grounded in a rich analysis of the role of data in global attempts to end AIDS, Davis’s analysis is instructive for anyone looking to understand how the technical information that interventions in health policy are grounded in can end up reinforcing rather than confronting inequalities.
Read the full review in International Affairs here.
2) The picky eagle: how democracy and xenophobia limited U.S. territorial expansion
Written By Richard W. Maass Published in Ithaca, NY by Cornell University Press.
Writing in the context of historical analyses that have questioned the idea of the US as an isolationist power, Maas provides an insightful account of the factors underlying seemingly limited US territorial expansion during its first century. Focused on the particular forms of xenophobic democracy influenced the US political leaders this book makes fascinating reading for those interested in critically interrogating commonly held understandings of US history.
Read the full review in International Affairs here.
3) The justification of war and international order: from past to present
Edited by Lothar Brock and Hendrik Simon. Published in Oxford by Oxford University Press.
As edited volumes go, the sheer range of subjects covered in The justification of war and International order is remarkable. Yet, despite hosting contributions on topics as varied as German justifications for the First World War and Spanish conquest in early colonial Peru, what sets this volume apart is the pluralist interaction between its contributors. Indeed, this thought-provoking book hosts numerous different insights that will make gratifying reading for anyone with an interest in the just war tradition and stands as an example of the kind of discussions the best edited volumes can facilitate.
Read the full review in International Affairs here.
4) Women’s international thought: a new history
Edited by Patricia Owens and Katharina Rietzler. Published in Cambridge by Cambridge University Press.
In Women’s international thought numerous contributors edited by Owens and Rietzler interrogate the racist and sexist exclusions that underpin the founding myths of IR as a discipline. Across numerous incisive analyses, the various authors not only foreground the lives and work of the women excluded from mainstream disciplinary histories but systematically delve into the politics of this exclusion. For anyone interested in understanding the history of studying international relations this ground-breaking edited volume is impossible to ignore.
Read the full review in International Affairs here.
5) Narrating the Women, Peace and Security agenda: logics of global governance
Written by Laura Shepherd. Published in Oxford by Oxford University Press.
Narrating the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, is a book that manages the rare feat of combining theoretical and methodological innovation with meticulous engagement with the details of its subject. Focusing primarily on the narratives surrounding Women, Peace and Security (WPS) policy, Shepherd skilfully investigates the ways framings of WPS have political effects that interact with colonial and spatial power relations. Shepherd’s powerful argument for a WPS agenda that is both active and more plural will be of great interested to those working on WPS or wanting to understand the power of narratives in international relations.
Read the full review in International Affairs here.
6) Planet palm: how palm oil ended up in everything — and endangered the world
Written by Jocelyn C. Zuckerman. Published in London by Hurst.
Grounded in years of painstaking journalistic research, Planet palm offers fascinating insights into the labyrinthine and often environmentally destructive palm oil industry. From the industry’s imperial history to the human exploitation and environmental devastation it is often responsible for, Zuckerman presents a grim portrait of a powerful sector with links to numerous governments. In light of this, Zuckerman’s calls for changes in consumer behaviour and the adoption of sustainable farming practices are essential reading.
Read the full review in International Affairs here.
7) Non-human nature in world politics: theory and practice.
Edited by Joana Castro Pereira and André Saramago. Published in Cham, Switzerland by Springer.
This engaging edited volume by Castro Pereira and André Saramago provides an innovative engaging exploration of the possibilities of studying International Relations through the lens of the natural world. Covering topics as varied as the impact of environmental movements and understandings of the non-human in IR, this thought provoking volume distinguishes itself by its ambition in seeking to systematically bring nature into the study of IR.
Read the full review in International Affairs here.
8) Slow anti-Americanism: social movements and symbolic politics in central Asia
Written by Edward Schatz. Published in Redwood City, CA by Stanford University Press.
Engaging with anti-Americanism in central Asia as a domestic political phenomenon, Edward Schatz presents readers with an incisive and engaging analysis that breaks new ground on the links between public diplomacy and domestic politics. Slow anti-Americanism provides concrete policy recommendations with direct implications for US diplomats alongside a rigorous analysis that will interest policy-makers, researchers and students of central Asian politics alike.
Read the full review in International Affairs here.
9) Active measures: the secret history of disinformation and political warfare
Written by Thomas Rid. Published in New York by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Providing an account of the bewildering array of political and intelligence tools used to spread disinformation, Active measures offers a fascinating look at the often inaccessible world of information warfare. With a particular focus on disinformation in European and former Cold War states, Rid skilfully charts the rise of numerous technologies of information warfare from newspapers to troll farms going back a 100 years. Indeed, the bizarre and often messy history of propaganda and espionage Rid investigates makes the book not only highly readable but also lends much needed historical context to contemporary debates around post-truth politics.
Read the full review in International Affairs here.
10) Animosity at bay: an alternative history of the India–Pakistan relationship, 1947–1952
Written by Pallavi Raghavan. Published in London by Hurst.
In Animosity at bay Pallavi Raghavan draws attention to the often overlooked history of diplomatic cooperation between India and Pakistan in the immediate aftermath of independence and partition. Grounded in extensive archival research, this diligently researched book offers insights into a range of dialogues between the two states on subjects ranging from sovereignty to water management. In the context of contemporary and historic tensions, Animosity at bay provides a prescient reminder of the impacts diplomacy can have.
Read the full review in International Affairs here.
Krisztina Csortea is the Deputy Editor of International Affairs.
To read the review section of our July 2021 Issue in full, click here.
To find more suggestions from the IA Bookshelf series, click here.
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All views expressed are individual not institutional.
