As senior director for Russia in the Trump White House, the author worked closely with the president. Her memoir is full of startling and unsettling insights into how Trump dealt with foreign leaders and his “autocrat envy”. Hill’s book is also a compelling memoir about her journey from a working-class background in northern England to the corridors of power in Washington. Her background gives her particular insight into the social and economic forces driving the rise of populism in the US, UK and Russia.
Beef, Bible and Bullets: Brazil in the Age of Bolsonaro by Richard Lapper, Manchester University Press £20
Jair Bolsonaro is the most controversial leader to come to power in Brazil since the end of military rule in the 1980s. With the Brazilian president up for re-election in 2022, Lapper, a former FT Latin America editor, provides a lively and comprehensive guide to the life and times of Bolsonaro — explaining his ideology and the social bases of his support: the beef, bible and bullets of the title. This book is an important guide to what may be one of the political stories of the coming year.
The Long Game: China’s Grand Strategy To Displace American Order by Rush Doshi, Oxford University Press £21.99
As the US and China slip towards a new cold war, Doshi argues that Beijing is pursuing a long-term plan to displace the US as the world’s most powerful nation. The verdict may sound sensationalist, but it is carefully argued and backed by deep research and primary sources. The fact that Doshi is now advising on China in the Biden White House means that this book is also valuable as a guide to current US thinking, about its growing rivalry with China.
Move: The Forces Uprooting Us by Parag Khanna, Simon & Schuster $30/Weidenfeld & Nicolson £20
The crisis on America’s southern border and the flows of refugees into Europe underline the extent to which mass migration is now one of the most important forces, shaping global politics and economics. Despite the calls in parts of the west to halt the flows of people, Khanna sees mass migration as both inevitable and welcome. But his work also contains dark forecasts about how much migration will be driven by the changing climate.
Navalny: Putin’s Nemesis, Russia’s Future? by Jan Matti Dollbaum, Morvan Lallouet and Ben Noble, Hurst £20
Alexei Navalny, who was imprisoned earlier this year, is the most dangerous political opponent to take on Vladimir Putin, during the Russian leader’s more than 20 years in power. Despite his extraordinary courage, Navalny has attracted his share of critics — from both the liberal left and the nationalist right. This book is a fair-minded and comprehensive guide to a man who may yet play a major role in the future of Russia.
Go Big: How To Fix Our World by Ed Miliband, Bodley Head £18.99
The former Labour party leader has used his electoral defeat in 2015 to rethink his approach to politics, arguing that people are now hungry for “big” solutions to what look like overwhelming problems. In a successful series of podcasts — and now a book — he engages with thinkers, often working at a local level, who propose radical solutions to a range of problems, from climate change to affordable housing.
Modi’s India: Hindu Nationalism and the Rise of Ethnic Democracy by Christophe Jaffrelot, Princeton University Press £30
The most comprehensive study of Modi’s India to date offers a bleak and unsparing view of the direction of the country. Jaffrelot, a professor at King’s College London, argues that India has turned into an “ethnic democracy” in which Muslims and Christians are effectively second-class citizens. Modi’s Hindu nationalist project has, in his view, effectively hollowed out institutions that might have checked the prime minister’s power — including the supreme court, the media and the election commission. The conclusion is that the world’s greatest democracy is sliding towards authoritarianism.
Eagle Down: The Last Special Forces Fighting the Forever War by Jessica Donati, PublicAffairs £20
In the year in which the US finally and ignominiously pulled out of Afghanistan — allowing the Taliban to retake power — Donati’s book has a particular resonance. Her closely reported story of US special forces operations in Afghanistan captures much of the chaos and tragedy of the conflict and the human costs involved.
The War of Words: A Glossary of Globalization by Harold James, Yale £21.95
In contemporary political debate, words like “neoliberalism”, “geopolitics” and “globalisation” are chucked around — but their actual meanings are often contested and obscure. James, a Princeton professor, delves into the often-surprising intellectual origins of key concepts in the arguments about globalisation — and illuminates the debate in the process.
Aftershocks: Pandemic Politics and the End of the Old International Order by Colin Kahl and Thomas Wright, St Martin’s Press $29.99/£23.99
The Covid-19 pandemic has killed millions of people and been a huge shock to the global economy. This book, based on original reporting as well as analysis, convincingly argues that the pandemic has also reshaped global politics — accelerating the move towards confrontation between China and the US and highlighting the breakdown of international co-operation.
Red Roulette: An Insider’s Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption and Vengeance in Today’s China by Desmond Shum, Simon & Schuster £20
The long economic boom in China has created many huge fortunes. But Chinese billionaires are also vulnerable to sudden changes in political fortune and abrupt falls from grace. The author tells the story of his rise to wealth and the sudden arrest of his ex-wife and business partner. In doing so, he pulls back a veil on the intersection between power and wealth in China. The book reads like a thriller and has become a bestseller.
Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain by Sathnam Sanghera, Viking £18.99
At a time when Britain’s imperial legacy is once again a subject of public controversy, this immensely readable book is very timely. The account by Sanghera, a former FT writer, is simultaneously personal and scholarly. It addresses many of the questions that are now urgent subjects of public debate — such as Britain’s role in the slave trade and the connections between empire and multiculturalism.
Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad by Michela Wrong, Fourth Estate £20/PublicAffairs $18.99
A deeply researched and highly critical biography of one of Africa’s most praised leaders — Paul Kagame of Rwanda. It accuses the Rwandan leader of orchestrating the assassination of exiled opponents — and questions his economic record and his role in the events that led to the Rwandan genocide. The FT praised the book as “remarkable, chilling and long overdue”
Peril by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, Simon & Schuster £20/$30
The US and the wider world are still assimilating the extraordinary events of January 6, when a pro-Trump mob stormed the US Capitol, in an effort to overturn the result of the US presidential election. This is a first draft of history, following the usual Woodward method of meticulously recreating events through the testimony of insiders. It makes for compulsive and disturbing reading.
Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War by Howard W French, Liveright £25/$35
A recasting of the history of the modern world that places Africa and Africans at the centre of the story. French argues that the rise of the west to global dominance was made possible by the exploration and exploitation of Africa — and, above all, by the slave trade. He recounts the destruction of complex African societies and the scale and brutality of slavery. At the time of Black Lives Matter this is an intensely political message. But French’s book is no work of propaganda and has been hailed as a “masterpiece” by Peter Frankopan, professor of global history at Oxford.
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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
