NATO: From Cold War to Ukraine, a History of the World’s Most Powerful Alliance
By Sten Rynning. Yale University Press, £20
Published in the run up to the 75th anniversary of NATO, Sten Rynning’s ‘thorough and well-sourced’ history of the alliance will appeal to practitioners and general readers alike. An International Affairs Review Forum featuring four NATO experts agreed that Rynning’s use of historical arguments to inform policymaking allows for an informative account of the cyclical nature of NATO’s ambitions and crises and a much-needed reflection on the alliance’s future choices. The book travels through four distinct periods, delivering a welcome reminder of the alliance’s early – and yet recurring – concerns regarding overreliance on the United States; an incisive discussion of the disagreements over how to handle the Soviet Union; and a revealing appraisal of the bumpy road towards enlargement in the post-Cold War years.
Where Rynning brings the analysis up to the present day, covering Russia’s invasion of Crimea and then Ukraine, as well as the tensions that underlined the Trump years, his pragmatic recommendations also shine through. For NATO to secure its future in Europe’s new security landscape, it must focus on its ‘classic’ role as a guarantor of security for the continent and disregard wider ambitions in the Indo-Pacific that would see its mandate ‘transformed’. To dissect the implications of Rynning’s policy recommendations, the reviewer quartet examined the merits of Rynning’s approach to NATO’s global commitments, its imperial legacies and the enduring centrality of the US. As Stéfanie von Hlatky, from the Queen’s University, Canada, said, ‘Rynning’s storytelling style is quite enjoyable’ and ‘the simplicity of the book’s conclusion is effective’.
To read the full review in International Affairs, click here
The Rise of Ecofascism: Climate Change and the Far Right
By Sam Moore and Alex Roberts. Polity, £14.99
Sam Moore and Alex Robert’s jointly written book makes for an unsettling read as they unpack the intricate relationship between climate change and fascism, says reviewer Anum Farhan. While the book’s ‘deep and detailed’ collection of historical and contemporary examples is entirely persuasive, Farhan argues that the ‘most striking part is the collection of future scenarios detailing how far-right ecologism could evolve’. From growing climate denial to the possibility of far-right extremists adopting terrorist tactics to fight climate change, the book’s engagement with these daunting possibilities makes it an urgent read.
To read the full review in International Affairs, click here
State Capture in South Africa: How and Why it Happened
Edited by Mbongiseni Buthelezi and Peter Vale. Wits University Press, £25.99
Between 2009 and 2018, South African President Jacob Zuma is alleged to have ‘captured the state’ by allowing predatory networks to loot public coffers with impunity. This illuminating edited volume benefits from the insights of more than 15 experts who investigate the phenomenon of ‘state capture’ beyond the powerful subnational elites, says reviewer Mesrob Vartavarian.
The analysis of how European multinational arms corporations bribed the South African government to procure weapons it did not need paints a stark image of capital that ‘might have been better used to reduce urban poverty and combat a rising HIV/Aids epidemic’. According to Vartavarian, the editors ‘are to be commended for producing a valuable edited volume on the complexities and scope of state capture in South Africa’.
To read the full review in International Affairs, click here
The Book at War: Libraries and Readers in an Age of Conflict
By Andrew Pettegree. Profile Books, £12.99
For reviewer Kathryn Starnes, this book has a familiar feel, ‘in the style of the much-loved social history written by formidable historians like David Kynaston and Juliet Gardiner … Pettegree demonstrates how books are used for both escape and militarization during a conflict’. The Second World War looms large and, armed with ample archival research, Pettegree has penned an ‘enjoyable and nuanced’ contemplation of the power of books and how they can become an extension of the war apparatus, describing their influence on soldiers and wider society. Interesting vignettes include the young Mao Zedong’s work as a university librarian in Beijing.
To read the full review in International Affairs, click here
