Dominic Lieven
author of Towards the Flame
Book Recommendations:
Recommended by Dominic Lieven
“This wonderfully intelligent, original and well-written book is based on years of meticulous research conducted in many languages in archives across Eurasia, some of them previously almost inaccessible to foreign historians. Not only does it offer unique insights into the thinking of Russian policy-makers, it also adds crucially to our understanding of nineteenth-century European imperialism. This work should transform the Anglophone world's understanding of the ‘Great Game'.” (from Amazon)
by Alexander Morrison·You?
by Alexander Morrison·You?
The Russian conquest of Central Asia was perhaps the nineteenth century's most dramatic and successful example of European imperial expansion, adding 1.5 million square miles and at least 6 million people - most of them Muslims - to the Tsar's domains. Alexander Morrison provides the first comprehensive military and diplomatic history of the conquest to be published for over a hundred years. From the earliest conflicts on the steppe frontier in the 1830s to the annexation of the Pamirs in the early 1900s, he gives a detailed account of the logistics and operational history of Russian wars against Khoqand, Bukhara and Khiva, the capture of Tashkent and Samarkand, and the bloody subjection of the Turkmen, as well as Russian diplomatic relations with China, Persia and the British Empire. Based on archival research in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia and India, memoirs and Islamic chronicles, this book explains how Russia conquered a colonial empire in Central Asia, with consequences that still resonate today.
Recommended by Dominic Lieven
“Sumantra Bose is one of the world’s leading experts on Kashmir. His brilliant new book explains how the advent of Modi and growing Indo-Chinese tensions have transformed the Kashmir question into potentially one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints.” (from Amazon)
by Sumantra Bose·You?
by Sumantra Bose·You?
An authoritative, fresh, and vividly written account of the Kashmir conflict—from 1947 to the present The India-Pakistan dispute over Kashmir is one of the world’s incendiary conflicts. Since 1990, at least 60,000 people have been killed—insurgents, civilians, and military and police personnel. In 2019, the conflict entered a dangerous new phase. India’s Hindu nationalist government, under Narendra Modi, repealed Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomous status and divided it into two territories subject to New Delhi’s direct rule. The drastic move was accompanied by mass arrests and lengthy suspension of mobile and internet services. In this definitive account, Sumantra Bose examines the conflict in Kashmir from its origins to the present volatile juncture. He explores the global context of the current situation, including China’s growing role, as well as the human tragedy of the people caught in the bitter dispute. Drawing on three decades of field experience in Kashmir, Bose asks whether a compromise settlement is still possible given the ascendancy of Hindu nationalism in India and the complex geopolitical context.