The World in Conflict: Understanding the World’s Troublespots

journalist Andrews showcases his foreign correspondence background in this book about hostilities around the world. Organized by continent, each chapter examines violent conflicts in specific areas and probes their causes. The result is an equally useful monograph and succinct reference. Readers may sort the insurgent militias in Sudan or Palestine against the background of such movements in Africa and the Middle East. Mastering such complexity should not be underestimated. Since 1991, more than 30 sub-Saharan countries have changed governments peacefully. But in acknowledging the many causes of conflict, the narrative diminishes the relevance of systemic sources. Global deficits in government legitimacy and bureaucratic capacities aggravate conflicts, as do the offensive appeal of cyber warfare and the altered context of nuclear proliferation. No matter how it’s understood, globalization turns discrete “trouble spots” into something more complex. The author’s conclusion, “Endless War,” demonstrates an overall decline of conflict-related casualties since World War II, but it lacks a more analytic interpretation of general conflicts.