Book Reviews

In transitioning away from communism to independence since 1991, Ukraine struggled more than its neighbors, including Poland or Hungary. For more than two decades, Ukraine wavered between loyalty to Russia and stronger ties with the European Union.  Discontent and protests, Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and intervention in the country’s east have exacerbated struggles with inequality, high debt and corruption. Anders Åslund, an economist with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, served as an economic advisor to Ukraine’s President Leonid Kuchma from 1994 to 1997. He urges immediate reforms and austerity measures. In her review, Julia Sinitsky praises Åslund’s analysis, but questions the wisdom of austerity during a sensitive period. She also expresses doubt on his optimistic outlook but expresses hope that the book may inspire agents of change for Ukraine.

The pace of globalization does not let up, and historians struggle to keep up. Bruce Mazlish’s Globalization and Transformation is a heady survey of the great thinkers who embraced a global context. Mazlish, professor emeritus of history at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, assures readers that they may wield some control over globalization, and even when that’s not the case, they have “a moral duty to behave as if we can shape our present and future.” In her review, Susan Froetschel comments on the book’s quick pace for such an immense topic, and agrees that society can no longer afford to neglect global connections and consequences. Mazlish concludes that all history is global history, and the review suggests that histories should be regularly reassessed, keeping multicultural and global contexts in mind.

China’s fast rise disrupts global order and tests regional ties, too The South China Sea: The Struggle for Power in Asia details the history and disputes, analyzing the potential for conflict as China manages a tightrope between making broad claims and shaping a role as Asia’s benevolent leader. The book is written by Bill Hayton, BBC correspondent who has covered Southeast Asia since 2006, and reviewed by Nayan Chanda, editor in chief of YaleGlobal Online who reported from Vietnam and Cambodia during the 1970s. In the review originally published by GlobalAsia.org, Chanda suggests the book dispels misconceptions, details the South China Sea’s essential role in modern trade and regional divisions, and analyzes the potential for rivalries turning into war.

Journalist and historian Dilip Hiro starts his book Indians in a Globalizing World: Their Skewed Rise with its purpose – analyzing the impact of India’s 1991 New Economic Policy and globalization on Indians at home and abroad.  India is a place of inequality, with troubling levels of corruption and poverty. The book offers personal tales of fortune and woe, which in turn give insights into the complex challenges of inequality in fast-developing India. Education offers the most reliable path to comfort and affluence, Susan Froetschel writes in her review. According to various rankings, India is not the most unequal place, yet is destined to become the world’s most populous nation over the next decade. India’s experiences hold lessons for the rest of the world on the dangers of skewed opportunities.