Prisoners of Geography

Travelling provides an excellent opportunity to catch up on some reading. Tim Marshall’s Prisoners of Geography provided absorbing material for my recent Eurostar trip to Brussels.

Brexit seemed to be on the minds and tongues of everyone I met in Brussels – from the European Parliament to the EU Studies Fair, as well as on all newsstands and points in between. Questions and what ifs abounded. It was interesting to hear and read views on our island nation from outside our borders.

Britain has been blessed by its geography unlike many countries described in Tim Marshall’s book. It has been our fortune to be

“close enough to the European Continent to trade

and yet protected by dint of being an island race” (p91).

Our geography has shaped our independent spirit. We are also seen as being

“at one remove from living with the historical collective memory

of frequent invasions and border change” (p91).

Thanks to our geography we have grown accustomed to punching above our size and weight globally. As the sole Brit, I was outnumbered by youthful representatives from the other 27 member states on the European Parliament tour. There were also young visitors from candidate countries.

I couldn’t help wondering how Britain’s future generations would feel about being outside the “club” whatever its faults. The Union Jack seemed to be on the way out already. Then, I realised that its position at the end of the line was probably due to the diplomatic use of alphabetical order.

Our excellent Latvian guide was very open in discussing both the good and bad aspects of the European Parliament. He mentioned the financial wastefulness of the Strasbourg Parliament. (It is still maintained due to the ongoing vetoes of France and Luxembourg). He shared the difficulties of progressing any legislation without Germany’s support. He mentioned the frustrations of smaller nations and parties in getting their voices truly heard.

Human rights were seen as a strong area for the EU. For example, the EU can criticise China’s human rights’ record and invite the Dalai Lama to speak to the Parliament without fear of trade reprisals. The 2015 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought went to the Saudi Arabian blogger, Raif Badawi. Europe enjoys peace and freedom of expression under the EU’s watchful eye.

Prisoners of Geography is particularly strong in explaining how geography shapes Russia and China. It invites the reader to picture Putin ruing the absence of mountains and watching as the EU encroaches ever closer through the former Soviet bloc. Ukraine was “the red line”. As Tim Marshall concludes:

“It doesn’t matter if the ideology of those in control is tsarist,

Communist or crony capitalist – the ports still freeze,

and the North European Plain is still flat” (p25).

The world’s flashpoints are all enlightened with reference to their geography. The Arctic features at the end of the book. The melting ice cap is changing geography. Climate change is creating new tensions. 80% of Bangladesh is on a flood plain and it cannot relocate. The Maldives will disappear.

In conclusion, the author casts our eyes upwards away from the land. He refers to spy satellites and international cooperation in space. He speculates whether we will learn to meet the challenges ahead as “representatives of humanity” rather than as of a particular nationality. The road ahead seems to require even greater cooperation, rather than a self-interested retreat within our own borders.

Tim Marshall ends on a pessimistic note:

“... we are still imprisoned in our own minds,

confined by our suspicion of the ‘other’,

and thus our primal competition for resources.

There is a long way to go. (p240).”

I hope history will prove that he should have been more optimistic. It is an eye-opener to discover how much world tension is based on geography rather than our neighbours’ actual actions.

Book review details:

Tim Marshall: Prisoners of Geography. Ten maps that tell you everything you need to know about global politics. Published by Elliott & Thompson, 2015.

Cultural understanding: a safer world in female hands?

“Everyone speaks English”. There is a tendency for the Americans, British and Irish to dominate meetings. Meeting styles and etiquette vary from country to country.  Silence does not always mean agreement. Attempting to learn another language teaches you respect for those who confidently or bravely speak yours at the very least. Listening with cultural sensitivity is the most important skill of all.

A thaw, please?

It is precisely because I have studied other languages and cultures that I am uneasy about the rhetoric from the US towards Russia. Threats only hasten another Cold War or worse. We need a thaw on the Russian side for dialogue. Was it not a Russian who won enormous respect in the Western World for initiating the end of the Cold War? Why as we approach the 100^th Anniversary of the First World War, do we appear to be on a slippery slope towards the Third? Why can’t Putin and Obama have a fireside chat like Gorbachev and Reagan?

We all have loved ones

Are we going backwards? Is there a lack of cultural understanding here? Despite cultural differences, it is important to remember that the other side have loved ones they really care about too. Today, every world crisis beams the dead, dying and distraught live into our living rooms. We see the suffering of the Syrian children and displaced refugees in our homes.

In any crisis, it is important to remember that wounds can take generations to heal. Children learn at their grandfather’s knee of past crimes and injustices. I remember how my own grandmother spoke with vitriol about Germans. During the Second World War, she defiantly stated that she preferred the comfort of her own bed to that of the Anderson shelter. "The Germans could bomb her in her bed if they were going to". Yet, my fiery Welsh grandmother could not hate the German exchange student who visited us decades later. Ingrid was a child like any other - no different to her own grandchildren.

Rhetoric and misery

Heavy-handed political rhetoric can come back to haunt us. That is not to say that we should appease a murderous foreign leader. We know the lasting misery caused by the Holocaust, and ethnic cleansing in the Balkans and Rwanda. Old wounds have come back to haunt Ireland this week. When will Israel and Palestine achieve lasting peace?

I am surprised that the first African American US President would make jokes about his Kenyan roots. Ghanaian Kofi Annan, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, speaks English, French and several tribal languages. Barack Obama apparently speaks none.

I was appalled to read that the US President has jokingly made reference to the missing Malaysian plane. How insensitive. Those poor families from China and other nations may wait years to know the true fate of their loved ones.

I remember the Swiss Air Disaster of 1973. At the time, I lived in Axbridge, Somerset (UK). Forty local children lost their mothers. The suffering and repercussions lasted long after the Media scrum had left the village square. They were able to bury the dead in Somerset at least.

My own mother could have easily have been on that shopping trip to Basle. My best friend’s mother was one of just 37 who survived out of 140 on the flight. I still remember how we listened in numb shock for further news on the radio. We didn’t wait as long as the distraught relatives in Malaysia. We all remember seeing a family friend on TV. The newly widowed father of three young girls wandered in shock among the coffins. The Swiss were very generous, but our local community was devastated.

Unprofessional humour

In recent weeks, I have been astounded by some of the rhetoric and cultural faux pas emanating from Washington. Self-deprecating humour is common in Britain and America. However, it is regarded as unprofessional elsewhere. I am lucky to live in a democratic country. In Britain and America, we can question the behaviour of our leaders. So Mr President, I do not believe that the leader of the Western World should act like a stand-up comedian on camera. The eyes and ears of the world are always on you. As you joked, they were still retrieving children’s bodies from the South Korean ferry disaster.

Quiet female diplomacy

While the rhetoric is flying over Ukraine, a British woman is working more quietly and effectively for peace in the world’s troubled spots. She may not be a polyglot or full of rhetoric, but respect for other cultures and quiet tenacity behind the scenes can take you far. Catherine Ashton has risen from a Northern working-class background to become the much respected, first High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission.

Progress is slow in the world of diplomacy. It can take generations. It can also be destroyed in an instant. If we want more peace in the world, it seems that we need less rhetoric and more women in high positions.