''Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics'' is a 2015 non-fiction book about

geopolitics Geopolitics (from Greek γῆ ''gê'' "earth, land" and πολιτική ''politikḗ'' "politics") is the study of the effects of Earth's geography (human and physical) on politics and international relations. While geopolitics usually refers to ...

by the British author and journalist

Tim Marshall Tim Marshall may refer to: * Tim Marshall (journalist) Timothy John Marshall (born 1 May 1959) is a British journalist, author, and broadcaster, specialising in foreign affairs and international diplomacy. Marshall is a guest commentator on ...

. The author has also released a children's illustrated version of this book in 2019, ''Prisoners of Geography - Our World Explained in 12 Simple Maps'', nominated for ''

Waterstones Waterstones, formerly Waterstone's, is a British book retailer that operates 311 shops, mainly in the United Kingdom and also other nearby countries. As of February 2014, it employs around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe. An average-sized Wa ...

Book of the Year''. '' The Power of Geography'', a sequel, was released in 2021.

Summary

''Prisoners of Geography'' covers the geopolitical contexts and situations in several vital regions of the world. These include: Russia, China, the United States, Europe, the

Arab World The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

(mainly focusing on the geopolitical anomalies of India and Pakistan), Africa, Japan and Korea,

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, and the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

(mainly to cover the geopolitics of the

Arctic resources race The Arctic resources race is the competition between global entities for newly available natural resources of the Arctic. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea, five nations have ...

). ''Prisoners of Geography'' describes the impact geography can have on international affairs, offering an explanation for such geopolitical events as Russia's annexation of Crimea based on Russia's need to retain access to warm-water ports and China's actions in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

to enforce its border with India.

Reception

The book was a ''New York Times'' Best Seller and #1 ''Sunday Times''

bestseller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...

. Writing in the

American Association of Geographers The American Association of Geographers (AAG) is a non-profit scientific and educational society aimed at advancing the understanding, study, and importance of geography and related fields. Its headquarters is located in Washington, D.C. The ...

' Review of Books, Douglas Webster concluded "The book has obvious appeal, though, corroborated by its success to date, as an easy-to-read, informative primer on contemporary geographic dynamics from a geopolitical perspective." while noting that it would be criticised by exponents of

global studies Global studies (GS) is the interdisciplinary study of global macro-processes. Predominant subjects are global politics, economics, and law, as well as ecology, geography, culture, anthropology and ethnography. It distinguishes itself from the rela ...

, who see more influence by sociological than geographical factors. The Berlin geographer Hans-Dietrich Schultz criticises that ''Prisoners of Geography'' is based on old-geographical spatial arguments of 19th-century ''regional geography'', which completely contradict the current state of geographical research. He criticises Marshall's expositions on the geopolitical relationship of Russia to Ukraine: "The fact that current Russian politics also has something to do with Russia's social conditions, its savage capitalism and its kleptocratic elite, remains hidden behind the penetratingly invoked spatial determinism, which must be recognised as a 'decisive factor in the course of human history'. In contrast, it should be noted: Physical objects, like Marshall's eternal mountains, plains and rivers, do ''not will'' anything of themselves. They do not act, dictate anything, force anything, seduce anything and take no sides of their own accord".Hans-Dietrich Schultz (2018): Der Realraum als Problem. Frankfurt am Main: Wochenschauverlag, S. 41.

References

{{reflist British non-fiction books Books about geopolitics 2015 non-fiction books