Trouble Spots: The World Atlas of Strategic Information by Andrew Duncan and Michel Opatowski Stroud, United Kingdom: Sutton Publishing, 2000. 324 pp. $39.95
There are few geopolitical atlases. The Duncan-Stroud is concentrated on areas of conflict around the world. It is impossible to include every actual or potential trouble spot in a book of this size, but the major areas of strategic importance are covered.
The book has 15 sections–12 of which are regionally focused on trouble spots–together with a useful stop-press addition. Each section is lavishly illustrated with maps and photographs, mostly in color, and there are helpful summaries and tables in the margins.
The section on the United States provides a sound analysis of the military reach and global intentions of the only superpower. In addition, there is a realistic examination of ballistic missile defense and a critical survey of sanctions.
The treatment of Russia and the former Soviet Union raises many more problems, given the abundance of trouble spots. Apart from the development of Russia itself and its military capabilities, the areas considered are the northern Caucasus, the Baltic States, and the Kuril Islands.
The section on the Balkans presents the most complete coverage in the book. Each state is considered in the context of past, present, and future problems, and myriad issues are treated under the rubric of “The Crescent of Crisis.” The highlights are oil in the Caspian Basin, the Kurds, and the Tigris and Euphrates. Among these trouble spots are the southern Caucasus and Afghanistan.
Middle East flashpoints appear in three sections entitled “The Middle East,” “North Africa,” and the “Middle East-African Interface.” Prominence is given to the continuing Arab-Israel conflict and future water problems.
The section which follows on “Sub-Saharan Africa” offers examples from each area of the continent. It is both detailed and well illustrated.
All the major states are included in the section on South Asia, and there are useful sub-sections on Kashmir and Myanmar. The section on East and Southeast Asia considers most trouble spots in the region. The final section is focused on Latin America.
Throughout the regional parts of the text, historical background provides an appreciation of the current issues which are detailed in a clear and unbiased fashion. The key points are tabulated in the margins, and each section concludes with a bibliography and list of Web sites. As a concise guide to trouble spots, these sections compare well with other available reference works.
In many respects it is unfortunate that the remaining sections on strategic matters were included. Some subsections attempt to cover huge topics in only a few pages, while the overall selection reveals obvious omissions.
On balance, Trouble Spots is an invaluable reference for both experts and armchair critics who depend on television for news coverage of world events. It deserves a place on the bookshelf of anyone interested in international security affairs, if only for its excellent maps.
This review is based on a review by British Professor em. Ewan W. Anderson, who is the author of An Atlas of World Flashpoints: A Sourcebook of Geopolitical Crises. The Anderson review was published on Internet in 2002 by the Business Library
