Geopolitics and strategy

The strategic background for the places and conflicts that keep turning up in our work.

The strategic background for the places and conflicts that keep turning up in our work.

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• The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia
  Hopkirk, Peter. (1990) 2006. The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia. John Murray. ISBN 9780719564475.
  Why read it: The nineteenth-century contest between Britain and Russia for Central Asia, told through the officers and explorers who fought it. It is the background to borders, grievances and trade routes that are still live, and it is a good story. Who it is for: anyone working on Central Asia, or who likes history told as a thriller.
• The New Rules of War: How America Can Win Against Russia, China, and Other Threats
  McFate, Sean. (2019) 2020. The New Rules of War: How America Can Win Against Russia, China, and Other Threats. William Morrow. ISBN 9780062843593.
  Why read it: How war has changed in the twenty-first century and why conventional doctrine keeps losing to it. McFate’s “durable disorder”, in which states, mercenaries and criminal networks blur together, is the environment much illicit trade work sits in. Who it is for: security professionals thinking about conflict below the threshold of war.

Last checked 2026-10-13.