C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd

A frank assessment of Israel’s uncertain place in a region scarred by conflict and insecurity. Where can the country and its people go from here? Days before his country signed a deal to normalise ties with Israel, the Emirati Ambassador to the US penned an article in Hebrew, directly addressing Israelis. Israel, he argued, faced a choice between engagement with the rest of the region, or isolation. His words struck a chord then, and will continue to ring true in the decades to come. Michael A. Horowitz tells the unfolding story of this decision: of tension between the hope ushered in by the normalisation agreements, and the enduring despair both Israelis and Palestinians feel about the waning prospects of peace. Rather than examining the past, Horowitz looks to Israel’s future—one marked by new opportunities, but also tremendous challenges, as the country tries to find its place in a region trying to find itself. Israel is a ship in a storm, navigating a ‘new’ Middle East where unfinished revolutions, regional competition, perceived US disengagement and an unstable but menacing Iran all warrant caution. In the ‘promised land’ itself, existing gaps are widening, and the space for optimism is shrinking. Hope and Despair is a brutally honest exploration of what lies ahead for Israel: the waves, the winds, and the ray of light above the clouds.

An absorbing new history of European colonialism, showing how ideas of retribution and revenge were used to justify violent conquest and rule. Today, the use of military force to punish enemies is strictly prohibited under international law. It is also a widely accepted principle that acts of vengeance and reprisal have almost no legitimate place in warfare. Throughout much of Western history, however, punishment and retaliation were not only important aspects of conflict, but were key justifications for waging war in the first place—particularly when it came to the defence of national honour. European empires were no exception to this rule. Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, two of the world’s most formidable powers, France and Britain, regularly framed wars of conquest and counterinsurgency using the language of justice and revenge. Whether to avenge alleged insults, punish perceived transgressions, or exact retribution for ‘crimes’ committed against the dignity and authority of Europeans, ‘honour’ was used as a legal, religious and moral rationale for violent expansion, consolidation and policing. Based on extensive archival research in multiple languages, Empire with a Vengeance is the first comparative examination of honour and revenge in colonial policy. Showing the central importance of these seemingly archaic concepts, it offers crucial insight into the brutal dynamics of empire’s ‘civilising mission’.

Ghost neighbourhoods, trainless railways, empty offices—a bottom-up look at China’s footprint in British cities. At the high tide of UK–China relations, Chinese investors pumped billions into British property and projects each year, promising urban renewal and economic prosperity. But as political tides turned in both countries, the money dried up. A decade on, we live in the ruins of this ‘golden era’. Caroline Knowles explores China’s global influence from the bottom up. Focusing on London and Manchester, she contrasts Beijing’s grand claims with the ramshackle physical evidence she finds at street level: a series of half-finished buildings and abandoned holes in the ground. And this isn’t just a British phenomenon. All along the continent-spanning Belt and Road network, Chinese-funded cities are patchworks of incompleteness, the products of relentlessly profit-driven urbanism that puts people last. China’s soft-power city-making falls far short of the dreams displayed in glossy brochures. Combining urban observation with sharp commentary, interviewing property developers, Chinese migrants and other city-dwellers, Knowles paints an intimate, nuanced portrait. This is the material and human fabric of Chinese Britain.

A fascinating study of the British Empire’s Middle Eastern intelligence section during the First World War, drawing on government files and secret publications. In the midst of the First World War, an extra- ordinary intelligence unit operated from Cairo’s Savoy Hotel, combining the skills of archaeologists, academics and soldiers to revolutionise how Britain gathered information and shaped events in the Middle East. Overshadowed by Lawrence of Arabia, the Arab Bureau’s true significance has remained hidden in plain sight ever since. This fascinating study uncovers the Bureau’s remarkable story through newly discovered Arabic documents and previously overlooked archives. At its heart lies an astonishing find: Thawrat al-Arab, an ambitious Arabic-language book and the longest piece of British propaganda produced during the war. From the Arab Bulletin’s secret intelligence reports to sophisticated propaganda campaigns, the Bureau was decades ahead of its time. The team—including archaeologists fresh from desert digs and scholars fluent in local dialects— developed new methods of cultural intelligence that would influence future generations. Eamonn Gearon’s compelling narrative reveals how this unique organisation navigated the complexities of Arab politics, tribal rivalries and Ottoman intelligence, while developing techniques that resonate with today’s challenges in intelligence-gathering. Essential reading for anyone interested in intelligence history, the Middle East or how innovation occurs in wartime, this book transforms our understanding of a crucial moment in world history.

Democracy and despotism live closer together than you’d expect—this briskly astute book reveals why that should alarm us all. We live in troubled times, marked by a sinister trend threatening democracy everywhere: the triumph of despotism not only in countries like Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia, but also in states run by popularly elected demagogues—Trump, Erdogan and Netanyahu. Leading political thinker John Keane shows why this new despotism defies the laws of political gravity. Instead of relying exclusively on fear or force, it fosters a strange, pseudo-democratic type of government, led by rulers skilled in winning public loyalty through election-rigging, legal trickery, corruption, weaponised lying and talk of enemies. And alarmingly, the new despots hunt in packs. But what’s so good about democracy? In bold, energetic prose, Keane explains that it’s much more than popular self-government based on free and fair elections. Democracy is the collective insistence that unaccountable power is always dangerous—and that democratic institutions are our best weapon against demagogues and despots.

Reclaiming Turkmenistan from the margins of global attention, Hein offers a lively history of the ‘Mother of the World’ and its people. These days, it’s rare for news items to come out of Turkmenistan. It can be easy for us to assume that the country was always isolated, quirky or even irrelevant. But its real history paints a wildly different picture. Turkmenistan’s desert-dominated landscape has been an unheralded flashpoint at many key moments in history, whether as an integral but misunderstood part of the Soviet Empire, or as a major strategic prize in the brutal invasions of Genghis Khan. Sat exactly where East met West, yet often aloof from both, Turkmenistan was a key crossroads on the Silk Road, and once hosted the largest city on Earth, which doubled up as one of the world’s great seats of learning. It lays claim to conjuring up the world’s first monotheistic religion, and it may well have been one of the major players in that elusive turning point of history, the birth of civilisation—up there with Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Indus Valley. No other nation can claim all of this, yet Turkmenistan’s past has long remained hidden from our understanding. This is the extraordinary story of a starkly beautiful land, its unique culture, and the wonderful people who now call it home.

An intimate portrait of Estonia and all things Estonian from the UK's ambassador, as entertaining as it is informative. Near the top of most international league tables comes a surprising name: Estonia. This small country has many brilliant achievements to its name which can and should inspire the rest of the world: top globally in both environmental performance and human rights; the second-biggest per capita donor to Ukraine, after Denmark; second globally in digital government; home to more tech unicorns per capita than any other state; and boasting the best exam results in Europe. Estonia has the best tax system (seven years in a row!) and the world's most performed living classical composer. All underpinned by a deep commitment to freedom. Ross Allen, UK Ambassador in Tallinn and a fluent Estonian-speaker, explores how this country has come to excel in so many fields, and what the rest of the world could learn from it. He offers insights from his diplomatic work, but also shares his embrace of local culture, from song festivals to smoke saunas. Having travelled across Estonia's towns, villages, islands and bogs, his understanding of and enthusiasm for this relatively obscure country shine through. With elements of travel, history, geography and international politics, this highly enjoyable book will make you see Estonia and the Baltics in a new light.

An intimate portrait of this fascinating country, capturing its contradictions and charms. Though a founding member of NATO and the euro, Portugal is often overlooked, a small country on Europe’s southwestern edge. In The Portuguese, veteran journalist Barry Hatton blends historical insight with personal anecdotes to explore this enigmatic nation. During the 1400s and 1500s, Portuguese explorers led Europe into the Atlantic and helped connect Asia with Europe, creating a vast four-continent empire. This legacy still resonates today, particularly through the Portuguese language, spoken by over 220 million people worldwide. Hatton examines Portugal’s vibrant yet turbulent past—from the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, which shook European thinking and began a long decline, through António Salazar’s dictatorship, to its end in the 1974 Carnation Revolution, briefly thrusting Portugal into Cold War geopolitics. Hatton also explores the country’s complex ties with neighbouring Spain, and its oldest ally, England. With diverse landscapes, rich cultural heritage, a love of food and fine wine, an easy-going lifestyle and a rebellious streak, the Portuguese are uniquely compelling. Hatton’s portrait is intimate and revealing, capturing the charms and contradictions of a fascinating country. .

Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has cast a spotlight on Russia’s burgeoning partnership with Iran. Moscow looked to Tehran for drones and ammunition to fuel its so-called ‘special military operation’, and Iran’s support for Russia’s war reflected a decade-long strengthening of Russo-Iranian ties, beginning with the 2011 outbreak of the Syrian Civil War. Despite a relationship historically marred by mistrust and unmet expectations, the two regimes have worked together to promote their common interests in Syria, where battlefield coordination soon developed into much deeper political alignment. Drawing on extensive Russian and Persian primary sources, and interviews with elites from both countries, Nicole Grajewski uncovers the drivers of ever-closer cooperation between the Kremlin and the Islamic Republic. Detailing the internal structures, shared anxieties and broader ambitions underpinning this alignment, she explores the genesis of Russia and Iran''s mutual antagonism towards the Western-led global order; the impact of deep-seated leadership concerns over regime security and domestic protests; and the future trajectory of the partnership within the larger world order. Examining both military dynamics and economic endeavours, as well as elaborate sanctions evasion schemes and collaboration within international organisations, this is the definitive account of contemporary Russia-Iran relations.

An original conceptual approach to the study of war, attempting to capture the entire phenomenon of military adaptation—whether strategic, institutional or in the field. The unravelling of the post-Cold War order has intensified geopolitical tensions, driving a global increase in defence spending. Most military organisations are engaged in a process of drastic transformation, trying to scale their activities, learn from contemporary battlefields, and improve readiness. Yet armed forces engaged in such reforms must solve a major dilemma: how to adapt to an uncertain future without losing their current identity, coherence or operational effectiveness. In this incisive and timely study, Olivier Schmitt explores how modern militaries adapt, or fail to adapt, to evolving threats, technologies and political constraints. Drawing on global case-studies--from the trenches of Ukraine to the halls of the People's Liberation Army leadership--he investigates how social expectations, political constraints and organisational cultures collide in the worldwide quest to reform the military. Essential reading for defence professionals, policymakers and scholars of international security, Preparing for War equips readers with the tools to grasp not only the 'how' but the 'why' behind military transformation. In an era of rising defence budgets and shrinking certainties, this book delivers crucial insights into the future of war--and the institutions that must be ready for it.

Iconoclasm is in the air. Bitter debates rage in the press, through social media and on the streets around the proper fate of statues of controversial figures, whether slave traders, imperialists or Confederate generals. It is an important question, but discussion has largely been confined to the final act of the lives of statues. Paul Brummell''s contention is that statues should be understood through their changing roles during often complex lifetimes. Starting with a discussion of why sponsors and sculptors choose to erect figurative representations of human subjects, the book explores the impact of time on statues, as durable images in marble and bronze outlive the worldviews of their founders, becoming forgotten relics of past regimes or acquiring a toxicity when their subjects are identified as problematic by new generations. On this journey through the lives of statues, Brummell explores such issues as the circumstances under which statues move, talk, and even kill, the role of votive offerings and the vexed question of the rubbing of intimate bronze body parts, examining the stories of statues from ancient history to the present day, from the celebrated beauty of Praxiteles'' statue of Aphrodite at Knidos to the Romanian hero likened to a chubby Santa Claus.

The inside story of Hungary’s descent into autocracy at the hands of Viktor Orbán, told by a former parliamentary ally turned outspoken political opponent. Hungary, once the poster-child of liberal democracy, is fast becoming an autocracy under Viktor Orbán. After winning an absolute majority in 2010, Orbán launched a series of 'reforms', fundamentally undermining the country's twenty-year, post-Cold War liberal consensus. For supporters and foes alike, the rise and rise of Hungary's prime minister is a vivid example of how democracy can be subverted from within. Zsuzsanna Szelényi, a leading member of Orbán's Fidesz in its early years, has witnessed first-hand the party's shift from liberalism to populist nationalism. Offering an insider's account of Fidesz's evolution since its creation, she explains how the party rose to leadership of the country under Orbán and made sweeping legal, political and economic changes to solidify its grip on power-from reining in the public media to slashing the number of parliamentary seats. She answers a key question: why has Orbán been so successful, winning widespread support within Hungary and wielding considerable influence in European politics? And how can Hungary's opposition party Together, which she co-founded in 2014, work to turn the country aroun? nderpinned by Szelényi's own experiences at the heart of Hungarian politics, Tainted Democracy offers accessible, nuanced insights into the global rise of populist autocracy--and how it can be challenged.

A briskly written primer on the North Korean decisions, foreign interventions and accidents of fate which have both threatened and, ultimately, preserved the country's dictatorship. This nimble tour through North Korea's history revisits sixteen knife-edge moments when collapse, reform or war nearly shattered the Kim dynasty. Structured in four acts--from the peninsula's partition in 1945 to Kim Jong-un's 2020 health scare--each chapter reconstructs a crisis and asks, what i? egime change has come within reach far more often than we realise: defeat in the Korean War, leadership challenges in 1956, aborted coups, unrest during a currency crisis--even an armed clash with the US in the 1990s. Kim Il-sung's acclaimed biographer, Fyodor Tertitskiy, guides readers through these events, and explores why change failed to materialise on each occasion. His narrative blends the twists and turns of palace intrigue and battlefield drama with crystal-clear dissections of ideology, institutions and great- power competition. Drawing on Korean, Russian, Chinese and Japanese sources, Tertitskiy offers nuance without special pleading. By tracing the decisions, miscalculations and foreign interventions that locked the peninsula into stalemate, Pyongyang on the Brink offers a swift, fresh look at deterrence, engagement and the future of millions living under the Kims' yoke. Is North Korea truly doomed to never-ending tyranny?

In 1971, the Shah of Iran threw what was declared the Party of the Century. Before it was over, it had been written off as a disaster and helped to precipitate his downfall. The Shah’s Party colourfully captures Iran’s oil-rich boom years. In 1971, eight years before the dynasty fell, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his glamorous wife, Farah Diba, hosted one of the largest gatherings of world leaders ever, celebrating the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian monarchy. But this stranger-than-fiction event, staged in a tented city by the ancient ruins of Persepolis, came amidst a rise in leftist agitation and a turn towards political Islam. Ruhollah Khomeini, an exiled mullah, began a relentless campaign against the Shah. A skilled populist, Khomeini tapped into growing inequalities and resentments to push his theocratic vision, particularly among those who had left the countryside in search of work. The Shah’s autocratic style played poorly in a world increasingly concerned with human rights. The Persepolis party became a symbol of Iran’s regime, allowing the Shah’s critics to portray him as repressive and out of touch with the struggles of ordinary people. Khomeini’s novel religious populism and his mastery of messaging steamrollered the Shah; he left it too late to move towards democracy, losing the support of his army, his people and his allies. In 1971, trickles of dissent started to build into a revolutionary torrent that, within a decade, would end the dynasty.

Decades before Race Across the World, six friends made the epic journey from London to Singapore and back in two Land Rovers. Why not? No-one had ever done it: one of the longest of all overland journeys, from the English Channel to Singapore. Several expeditions had tried. Some had reached the Persian deserts; a few, the Indian plains. But none had gone further: over the jungle-clad Assamese mountains, across northern Burma, to Thailand and Malaya. It was 1955. For the final 3,000 miles, it seemed, there were ‘too many rivers and too few roads’. But no-one really knew... They were undergraduates with no money, no cars—no nothing, except cool audacity. They wheedled and cajoled, coaxing the BBC into supplying film for a possible series; ‘persuading’ Rover to lend them two factory-fresh off-road vehicles; sweet-talking a book publisher into offering an advance. By the time they set off, their eighty-plus sponsors ranged from whiskey distillers to collapsible bucket–makers. Seven months and 12,000 miles later, two weary, police-escorted Land Rovers rolled into Singapore to flash-bulbs and champagne. Here, their bestseller is republished, with a foreword by Sir David Attenborough. He had given them that film, after all.

A long overdue re-evaluation of the first Labour Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald?Ramsay MacDonald was born and brought up in the county of Moray in north-east Scotland, the illegitimate son of a ploughman. When he left school at the age of fourteen he seemed bound to follow in his father’s footsteps. Instead he would be Prime Minister of Great Britain, the first Labour Prime Minister, a friend of his sovereign, George V, a world star on the stage of international diplomacy.How did he get there from his Highland bothy and why is he now forgotten, blanked out of political memory? The Cancelled Prime Minister answers that question. It also exonerates this man of the left from the charge that he went on to lead the Conservative-dominated National Government for reasons of treacherous ambition.While MacDonald’s was a political life, it was also a personal and poignant odyssey, undertaken for half its span beneath the weight of undying grief over the loss of a wife who died young. Similarly, this biography is more than a political one. MacDonald’s was an elusive, Celtic personality and it has been easier to criticise him than to understand him. Making extensive use of MacDonald’s private diaries, Walter Reid reveals for the first time the full essence of a complex individual, a man not without faults, but able and honourable and with deep and widespread interests.History has been unkind to MacDonald. It has been written in general from political standpoints hostile to him. Reid’s book is not uncritical but it reveals the true importance of this hugely significant figure, whose detractors have sought to eliminate him from the record of his century.