Articles by: Ross Matthewman

A Gathering Storm? The struggle for power and territory in the South China Sea

A Gathering Storm? The struggle for power and territory in the South China Sea

Something is stirring in the Far East. A dormant nationalism has awoken. Emboldened by economic growth and success at home, the decline and retreat of the West, and the weakness of their neighbours, China has claimed nearly the entire South China Sea as its own and is seeking total regional dominance. Faced by a rapacious, expansionist power, the other countries […]

The Dark Continent

The Dark Continent

Beginning in the late 1940s, The State of Africa by Martin Meredith looks at the development of the continent through time, as democracy replaced colonial rule, and this in turn was moulded into personal dictatorships and tyrannies, right up to the modern day. An excellent and thought-provoking book, and,  as the narrative wore on, I became increasingly disconcerted by what […]

by and · 27th April 2014 · Foreign Affairs