Invisible Countries, Joshua Keating
Invisible Countries, Joshua Keating
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Invisible Countries
Journeys to the Edge of Nationhood

Author: Joshua Keating

Narrator: Joshua Keating

Unabridged: 7 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 06/26/2018


Synopsis

What is a country? While certain basic tenets—such as the clear demarcation of a country's borders, and the acknowledgment of its sovereignty by other countries and by international governing bodies like the United Nations—seem applicable, journalist Joshua Keating's book explores exceptions to these rules, including "breakaway," "semi-autonomous," or "self-proclaimed" countries such as Abkhazia, Kurdistan, Somaliland, a Mohawk reservation straddling the U.S.-Canada border, and an island nation whose very existence is threatened by climate change.

Through stories about these countries' efforts at self-determination, as well as their respective challenges, Keating reveals that there is no universal legal authority determining what we consider a country. He argues that although our current world map appears fairly static, economic, cultural, and environmental forces in the places he describes may spark change. Keating ably bridges history with incisive and sympathetic observations drawn from his travel and personal interviews with residents, political leaders, and scholars in each of these countries.

About Joshua Keating

Joshua Keating is a foreign policy analyst, staff writer, and editor at Slate. Previously, he was a an editor at Foreign Policy. He lives in Washington, D.C.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Bandit

I’ve recently discovered a new sort of travelogues, ones featuring destinations that either didn’t quite make it to the traditional map of the world or feature barely as specks in the wide span of Mercator projection. My latest find is Invisible Countries. A book that concentrates on places that are......more

Goodreads review by Jeremy

Keating visited a few disputed areas in an effort to discuss what it means to be a state. It's a really deep subject that Keating more or less dipped his toes into by making some interesting points and observations; a thorough treatment this is not, as the history of the ebbs and flows of statehood......more

Goodreads review by Marcus

Fantastic book; the ending was like a time capsule though and would love to see a follow up book talking about Palestine, Ukraine, and the other secession issues that have came up in the last five years.......more

Goodreads review by Mike

Now I know The Knights of Malta have a seat in the U.N. for some reason that honestly makes less sense than the fact they knighted Miles Davis, an act I completely approve of.......more