This book represents the latest effort by one of the leading political geographers of his generation and the winner of two Choice Outstanding Academic Title awards. This current work does not disappoint. Agnew ably elucidates the less obvious (hence “hidden”) financial, cultural, regulatory, and developmental dimensions of interstate interactions in the post-1990 era of globalization. He brings into focus the often-neglected forces operating outside the military and diplomatic competitions among states.. Readers at all levels will benefit from the shift in Agnew’s focus away from the strictly territorial definitions of geopolitics and toward the multifarious, often hidden transnational and global interconnections and networks underlying the dynamics of the contemporary world. Highly recommended. Undergraduates through faculty; professionals; general readers.

Choice Reviews

Hidden Geopolitics rejects simplistic dichotomies between state and non-state actors, between geopolitics and globalization. It is a nuanced and helpful exploration of ways to analyze and grapple with an ever more complex world.

Anne-Marie Slaughter, Bert G. Kerstetter '66 University Professor Emerita of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University

I have been a strong proponent of taking territory seriously in the contemporary world. But that does not mean that we should ignore the ways in which territorial arrangements and the networks, flows, and assemblages associated with globalization are intertwined. Hidden Geopolitics makes a compelling case for their interpenetration. Drawing on different facets of his rich scholarly oeuvre, John Agnew has developed an account of remarkable historical and geographical depth that offers telling insights into how often-underappreciated geographical extensions of power have shaped, and continue to shape, the world in which we live.

Alexander B. Murphy, University of Oregon

At the moment the news is simultaneously filled with both the ‘Great Power’ ambitions of Russia to re-gain a sphere of influence lost since the Cold War, as well as the importance of the SWIFT banking transfer network in the West’s subsequent choking off of the Russian economy. Agnew’s treatise on hidden geopolitics, existing between the national and the global, could not be more timely in thinking through contemporary geopolitics.

Jason Dittmer, University College London

Timely and incisive, Agnew once again rethinks the field of geopolitics by turning attention away from analysing traditional actors – such as the territorial nation state – to consider instead the wealth of agents and processes involved in global capital flows. Hidden Geopolitics provides a conceptual toolkit to understand the geographical implications of offshore financing and associated illicit and licit flows of money. It will be an essential text for student and researcher alike, advancing our geographical and historical understanding of the making of the world in the 21st century.

Alex Jeffrey, University of Cambridge

This book is an erudite and broad-ranging exploration of the interplay between logics of the territorial state and globalization in varied forms and contexts. John Agnew convincingly argues that our failure to recognize how “territorial determinism” and a “world of flows” coexist has undermined progress toward understanding and managing global political economy. Hidden Geopolitics points toward new realms of interdisciplinary research and should be pre-requisite reading for those seeking to lead states, firms, and varied regulatory agencies in the 21st century.

Alexander C. Diener, University of Kansas