Ten Global Affairs Reads of 2024

Some are diplomatic histories. Others are academic manuscripts on international politics. All of them provide key insights into the current global system, from the operation of the global economy to the major security competitions that pose a threat to global peace.

To Run the World: The Kremlin's Cold War Bid for Global Power

By Sergey Radchenko (Cambridge University Press)

During the Cold War, the Kremlin sought to be seen as the leader of global revolution and a peer power to the United States. But the pursuit of status led to overreach and, eventually, collapse.

Paper Soldiers: How the Weaponization of the Dollar Changed the World Order

By Saleha Mohsin (Portfolio)

Military bases and alliances might be the “shields of the Republic,” but the true basis and expression of US global power is using the dollar, as the global reserve currency, to further US interests.

Military Medicine and the Hidden Costs of War 

By Tanisha M. Fazal (Oxford University Press)

War is violence resulting in not only death but serious injuries. The latter would seem obvious, but it is an often overlooked aspect of war and war-making decisions.

A World Safe for Commerce: American Foreign Policy from the Revolution to the Rise of China 

By Dale C. Copeland (Princeton University Press)

States seek power to ensure prosperity, specifically the security of economic and trade interests. This goes a long way toward explaining much of US foreign policy over the last 200 years.

The Insiders’ Game: How Elites Make War and Peace 

By Elizabeth N. Saunders (Princeton University Press)

Do leaders matter? Sure, but maybe not as much as those who advise them. This book explores the influence of “elites” (advisers, military, and elected officials) on US presidential decisions to use force.

World on the Brink: How America Can Beat China in the Race for the Twenty-First Century 

By Dmitri Alperovitch with Garrett M. Graff (PublicAffairs) 

This book provides a framework for viewing US-China competition as a “Cold War 2.0.” But that doesn't mean the two countries are “bound for war,” nor that China's “victory” is inevitable.

Pax Economica: Left-Wing Visions of a Free Trade World 

By Marc-William Palen (Princeton University Press)

The idea that “free trade leads to peace” is often associated with right-leaning, free market ideologies (hello, Adam Smith). This book shows that the origins of the idea are associated with left-wing ideologies.

Upstart: How China Became a Great Power 

By Oriana Skylar Mastro (Oxford University Press)

Rather than directly confronting the US, China has been selective and entrepreneurial in where and how it has challenged the US order, be it economically, diplomatically, or militarily.

Technology and the Rise of Great Powers: How Diffusion Shapes Economic Competition 

By Jeffery Ding (Princeton University Press)

Technological change has long been a key to becoming a major power, even the global power. This book traces the process through three industrial revolutions.

Dollars and Dominion: US Bankers and the Making of a Superpower 

By Mary Bridges (Princeton University Press)

The United States became a superpower through finance. This new history traces that process, including that US financial dominance was not a given.