Institutional Efficacy in a Fragile World Order

Jack Watling, in his book Statecraft: The New Rules of Power in a Divided World, seeks to explain the material conditions on which geopolitical competition rests. This depends on an understanding of the global political economy and how it can be manipulated for strategic effect. The book is not limited to a discussion of interdependences, choke points and how systems of systems shape strategic choice – it also reflects on how the state generates power, and how that might be put to use in an era of geopolitical competition. The strength of Watling’s contribution lies in his discussion of the levers of state power and the paradoxical outcomes they produce when pulled without reflection and under strategic duress.