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The world: a brief introduction. By Richard Haass. New York: Penguin. 2020.
400pp. £23.99. ISBN978 0 39956 239 6

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DOI: 10.1093/ia/iiab166

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 Book reviews
to the literature on the far right. While exposing the intrinsic relationship between
racism and liberalism, Mondon and Winter’s work invites academics and journal-
ists to take a more reflexive and critical attitude to their work. As they observe, the
mainstreaming of the far right did not happen by accident, and it is not possible to
address this problem without delving into its roots: the inequalities that feed racism.
Beatriz Buarque, University of Manchester, UK

The world: a brief introduction. By Richard Haass. New York: Penguin. 2020.
400pp. £23.99. isbn 978 0 39956 239 6. Available as e-book.

Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ia/article/97/6/1990/6412464 by guest on 01 November 2021

There are hundreds of books in the broader discipline of International Relations
(IR) exploring the structure, functioning and dynamics of the world we inhabit.
However, most of them are either too dense or too theoretical to be read outside
the community of experts and scholars of IR. As a result, many people outside
academia, who find these works incomprehensible, miss out on the benefits that
come from having a good grasp of the issues that matter, both individually and
collectively. To help non-experts contend with this shortcoming in the existing
literature, Richard Haass delivers an excellent practical guide, written in easily
understandable prose and bold style. The world: a brief introduction will certainly
be a definitive work for those seeking to master the basics of world politics. At
the outset, it makes the bold promise that readers of any background will become
‘globally literate’ (p. xvii) by working through the book. Indeed, it is a welcome
contribution to the available literature and will deepen readers’ understanding of
some hotly debated global issues of our times.
The book is neatly structured in four parts. Each part deals with a particular
subject, idea or institution. The first part covers essential history from the Thirty
Years War to the end of the Cold War and through to the current era. The second
part covers six important regions of the world: South Asia, the Middle East, Africa,
Europe, east Asia and the Pacific, and the Americas. The author takes readers
through each region’s tumultuous history, politics and its geopolitical significance.
The major highlight of the book is Haass’s refreshing take in the lengthy third
part on contemporary global challenges and how to resolve them multilaterally.
No single country, including the United States, can deal with any global problem
single-handed—as COVID-19 has proved beyond any doubt. The extent of the
challenges posed by the pandemic, and other equally intractable ones dealt with
in the book, is too great for any country or region to handle alone. Furthermore,
the phenomenon of globalization has exacerbated these problems in myriad
ways. He argues that these issues can cause chaos or stability depending on how
they are addressed (p. 158). However, he also sounds optimistic about the power
of globalization to address the very problems it has generated. The continuing
pandemic and other global challenges have revealed the true extent to which we
rely on one another to live in this world. On the other hand, it has also laid bare,
to an excruciating degree, the contradictions of our globalized and interconnected
world. While some of its aspects may have intensified the severity of these polit-

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 Governance, law and ethics

ical issues, the author makes a strong case for collective action to overcome them.
Nonetheless, he laments the apathetic and lackadaisical attitude of governments
worldwide in tackling these contentious issues. In this context, Haass draws our
attention to what he calls the ‘global gap’ between global challenges and the
international community’s willingness and ability to deal with them, which,
much to his chagrin has only been widening and deepening over the years. In
the present context, the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and a host of
other burning issues clearly exhibit such a gap.
On overcoming the menace of terrorism, he seems to grant governments an
unrestricted role—which could be dangerous, for governments tend to behave in

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ways that harm people’s rights in the name of combating terrorism and defending
national interests. The US Patriot Act, introduced in the wake of 9/11 to deter and
punish terrorist crimes committed domestically and internationally, and similar
legislation in other countries, highlight the negative aspect of arming governments
at the expense of the people. The author is silent on how states can draw the fine
balance between ‘hard security’ and human security. Nonetheless, COVID-19 has
shown that national security needs to be holistically grounded in human security.
Another point that is likely to raise eyebrows is the author’s identification of
the Middle East, South Asia and Africa as the regions where most of the world’s
terrorists reside (p. 169). He thus conveniently brushes aside the fact that these
regions also happen to be the places where the United States and other powers have
continuously interfered for their own geopolitical and national interests. Most of
the countries in these regions were also once under colonial rule. Therefore, the
former colonial powers cannot be easily absolved of blame for the present chaos
there. Such negligence on the author’s part unwittingly plays into the Manichean
dynamic of ‘us vs them’. Instead of educating readers, it misinforms them, which
is a blemish on the book’s beauty.
In the final section, Haass analyses the pros and cons of concepts such as alliances
and coalitions, international law and the balance of power, and institutions such as
the United Nations. Toward the end of the book, he makes a vehement pitch for
the US-led modern-day concert to solve global problems. He is confident in the
United States’ capacity to ensure world order and stability. This suggests that the
book has been written with the readers of the United States in mind. However,
the range of the issues it deals with, and their complexity and significance, make it
relevant for all people living in any country of the world.
In conclusion, the book presents a comprehensive overview of key facts and
ideas that can help readers to think critically, build their vocabulary and form
logically sound opinions international questions. Not only students of Interna-
tional Relations but people from other disciplines and backgrounds can also benefit
immensely from it. In this ‘post-truth’ era, facts are needed more than ever and thus
The world is a must-read in these polarized times. The geopolitical churning that
has taken place in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic certainly justifies a revised
second edition.
Tawseef Ahmad Mir and Anayat Ul lah Mugloo, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India
1991
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