For a macro-level historical overview, this will be required reading at most universities soon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Origins-Politi...374533229/
This is also great for a big-picture view: http://www.amazon.com/Why-West-Rules---N...312611692/ - his thesis is that all human progress can be explained by fear, greed and laziness. It's a very interesting read. It starts out around 20,000 BC and goes all the way till today.
Both give the kind of bird's eye, historical view that's essential to real understanding of geopolitics. Too much of what you read about geopolitics is either ahistoric (people simply ignore history) or written by people with very narrow frames of reference. Most political science students only really know about the 20th century - possibly the 19th century - but usually not further back than that. The narrative is that anything that happened before Democracy is irrelevant.
For more current stuff it's hard to beat Foreign Affairs: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/
And if you want somewhat gossipy, yet usually smart, geopolitical coverage read the FP Blog: http://blog.foreignpolicy.com - they do a daily Morning Brief which is an at a glance overview of the main developments in the world.
A brilliant academic turned blogger in the field is Stephen Walt - http://walt.foreignpolicy.com - he's very clear-sighted. He's quick to get to the heart of issues and not get blinded by rhetoric or political smokescreens. Here's a good piece he wrote about Hilary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State: http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013...ry_clinton
This is also great for a big-picture view: http://www.amazon.com/Why-West-Rules---N...312611692/ - his thesis is that all human progress can be explained by fear, greed and laziness. It's a very interesting read. It starts out around 20,000 BC and goes all the way till today.
Both give the kind of bird's eye, historical view that's essential to real understanding of geopolitics. Too much of what you read about geopolitics is either ahistoric (people simply ignore history) or written by people with very narrow frames of reference. Most political science students only really know about the 20th century - possibly the 19th century - but usually not further back than that. The narrative is that anything that happened before Democracy is irrelevant.
For more current stuff it's hard to beat Foreign Affairs: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/
And if you want somewhat gossipy, yet usually smart, geopolitical coverage read the FP Blog: http://blog.foreignpolicy.com - they do a daily Morning Brief which is an at a glance overview of the main developments in the world.
A brilliant academic turned blogger in the field is Stephen Walt - http://walt.foreignpolicy.com - he's very clear-sighted. He's quick to get to the heart of issues and not get blinded by rhetoric or political smokescreens. Here's a good piece he wrote about Hilary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State: http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013...ry_clinton
"A flower can not remain in bloom for years, but a garden can be cultivated to bloom throughout seasons and years." - xsplat