Statecraft

The essential read to understand our world - as featured on The Rest is Politics

By: Jack Watling

Narrated by: Matthew Spencer

Gripping . . . packed with fascinating detail' – Financial Times
‘Indispensable – brilliantly grounded in first-hand experience. Compelling’ – Rory Stewart, author of Politics on the Edge

‘Anyone interested in geopolitics should read it’ – Anne Applebaum, author of Autocracy, Inc

How do states actually exercise power in an age of chaos?

From top defense analyst Dr. Jack Watling, Statecraft reveals the hidden mechanics of global influence. While we watch the headlines, Watling takes us inside the bunkers and wood-paneled offices where the real decisions are made.

In this urgent analysis, you will discover:

• The Iran Paradox: How a sanctioned nation controls global energy prices despite US military might.
• The Russia-Ukraine Lesson: Why a superpower struggled against a smaller neighbor in the opening months of the invasion.
• The Aircraft Carrier Dilemma: Why the UK spends billions on hardware it can barely support at sea.
• The Future of Taiwan: What the shifting ‘rules of power’ mean for the next great flashpoint.
• Middle Powers: How do smaller countries build leverage and stay off the menu?

Whether it’s economic alliances, sea power, or the latest military technology, Watling provides a powerful new lens to understand a world that feels increasingly out of control.

Critic reviews

'Gripping . . . packed with fascinating detail . . . ranges from first-person reportage from the trenches of Ukraine to analysis of the chokepoints in the world economy, including the Strait of Hormuz' (Financial Times)

An indispensable book on strategy – brilliantly grounded in first-hand experience and telling detail. [Statecraft is] blunt about the failures and structural defects in policy [and] thoughtful, serious and compelling (Rory Stewart, bestselling author of Politics on the Edge)

Jack Watling has rewritten Clausewitz for the modern world, using stories and taking lessons from Ukraine to Mali to Taiwan. Anyone interested in geopolitics should read it (Anne Applebaum, bestselling author of Autocracy, Inc)

Through narrative and analysis, Statecraft explores the key factors that decide success or failure in resolving conflict or chaos. Jack Watling draws on his own stories to weave a narrative that gets underneath events – from Afghanistan to Ukraine – with which we might be familiar, but through this book, can better understand.

Statecraft is an astonishing book, full of stories and details, drawn from Jack Watling’s unique experience from the front line in conflict zones all over the world. Through it, we are able to evaluate what determines success and failure, and how we might better prepare for an uncertain future.

(Rt Hon Baroness Catherine Ashton LG GCMG)

'While Statecraft is a detailed, often surgical, book, its overall effect is therapeutic. Reading it one can start to imagine a road map through the crazy car crashes of the post-rules-based world, and how we can unite the disparate tools we still possess to truly take back control' (The Spectator)

Sharpest insight in the game today

Carl von Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, Jack Watling

Figure it out later or find out now, these three are equal.