I highly recommend this book for those who are interested in international relations and globalization. The framework obviously makes it easier to understand the complexity of geo-politics. From the left side of the curve, as a nation opens up it becomes less stable initially and eventually transitions to stability.īremmer explores the cases of extremely closed states (Cuba and North Korea), moderately closed states (Saudi Arabia), states that reached the bottom of the J curve (South Africa and Yugoslavia), and more open states (Israel, Turkey, and India), and these countries' peculiar historical, social, and political contexts that landed them on certain points of the J curve.Įssentially, the author suggests that only by giving citizens (starting from the middle class) of closed states a means to interact with the rest of the free world - and absolutely not through economic sanctions - would autocratic governments be pressured from within to increase their level of openness.ĭespite its scope, the book is very easy to grasp largely because of its clear language and coherent argument. The J curve is an adroit way to illustrate that a nation's stability is dependent on its level of openness. Over time, for every repressive action, there is an equal and opposite reaction of resistance. The J Curve: A New Way to Understand Why Nations Rise and Fall (2006) by Ian BremmerĪll states on the left side of the J curve are eventually headed to instability and fundamental change, because repression and isolation from the outside world cannot be maintained forever. A total must-read for those who are into novels that raise questions more than give answers. Using vivid language, Atwood does not preach, rather she leaves you spooked and perplexed (in a nice way). This novel gives readers a glimpse into the many horrible things that could go wrong with our civilization, thanks to global warming, hyper-entertainment, corporate megalomania, and most strikingly, the perils of genetic modification. Oryx and Crake is an apocalyptic tale of the future of humanity (or the lack of it) if man acts god. Margaret Atwood is one of my favorite authors, having been previously spellbound by The Handmaid's Tale, Cat's Eye, and The Blind Assassin. If you take 'mortality' as being, not death, but the foreknowledge of it and the fear of it, then 'immortality' is the absence of such fear. "Immortality," said Crake, "is a concept. That obviously is one book beyond my quota and is an accomplishment in itself considering what a sloooooowwwww reader I really am.īelow are some of my more noteworthy reads in the past few months: Often I finish a couple of books per week. We all know what a challenge that is to my infamous attention span, chai mai? and I should read at least two hours per night. The rule is I should be reading by 10 p.m. Since January, I've in fact significantly cut down my online surfing time in the evening to give way to reading. and this resolution alone.įor someone severely lacking discipline as my self, I'm surprised at my devotion to sticking my face between the pages of books. I'm happy to report that among my many resolutions I made I have managed to stick to this. At the start of 2009, I committed to read one book per week, alternating between fiction and non-fiction.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |