Archive · 10 Oct 2026
Review Finds John Andrews’ Geopolitics Book Clear but Restrained
John Andrews has written a book about why events between countries matter.
It discusses powerful nations, ideas, armed groups and different kinds of influence.
The reviewer says the book is easy to read and useful for people who want an introduction.
But because it covers so many big topics in a short space, it does not explain each one deeply.
The reviewer especially wanted more of Andrews’ own conclusions from his long career.
The review also questions some of the book’s statements about empires and India.
Overall, it calls the book a helpful guide, though not a deeply personal account.
John Andrews’ The World in Turmoil surveys geopolitics through chapters on nations, ideology, non-state actors, power and the future.
Reviewer C Uday Bhaskar says the book is lucid and wide-ranging, but its brief treatment of complex themes often remains at the surface.
The book presents itself as a guide intended to inform rather than instruct, with an extensive A-to-Z section of terms and summaries.
Bhaskar praises Andrews’ discussion of the Trump effect but says the book offers limited personal analysis from the veteran correspondent.
The review challenges the book’s descriptions of empire and India’s communal tensions, arguing that these issues need more nuanced treatment.
- Who
- Author John Andrews and reviewer C Uday Bhaskar.
- What
- Bhaskar reviews Andrews’ book The World in Turmoil: Why Geopolitics Matters, describing it as a clear but relatively surface-level introduction.
- When
- The review discusses the global context as of late 2026; no publication date is stated.
- Where
- The review addresses global geopolitics and includes discussion of India.
- Why
- The book aims to inform readers and provide a guide to geopolitical themes and terminology.
Reviewer’s Assessment
Book’s Approach
Breadth and depth
Reviewer’s Assessment
Bhaskar argues that the book’s many topics receive too little space for meaningful depth.
Book’s Approach
Andrews frames the book as a guide meant to inform rather than instruct, and the reviewer says its overview and A-to-Z sections serve that purpose.
Geopolitical analysis
Reviewer’s Assessment
Bhaskar says the book often describes how power works without offering enough distinctive conclusions from Andrews’ experience.
Book’s Approach
The book takes a measured, non-polemical approach; the review notes that its restraint may be understandable in the circumstances of late 2026.
Examples and framing
Reviewer’s Assessment
Bhaskar disputes the book’s broad framing of history through territorial empire and says its brief account of communal tensions in India lacks nuance.
Book’s Approach
The book argues that geography and identity, including ethnic and religious identity, are important forces in geopolitics.
- Book
- The World in Turmoil: Why Geopolitics Matters
- Author
- John Andrews
- Reviewer
- C Uday Bhaskar, director of the Society for Policy Studies
- Publisher
- Hachette
- Length and price
- 304 pages; Rs 599
- Main text
- The reviewer says the main text is 152 pages, followed by about 100 pages of A-to-Z terms, short histories and summaries.
- Review’s assessment
- A lucid, useful primer whose broad coverage leaves limited room for depth and the author’s own conclusions.