A N
I N T E R V I E W
W I T H
TIM MARSHALL
DANIELLA BENNETT REMINGTON & EMILY JOLLIFFE
Tim Marshall is the former Sky News Diplomatic Editor and an award-
winning journalist. In his best-selling books, 'Why Nations Fail and
The Revenge of Geography' and 'Prisoners of Geography', Marshall uses
ten maps of crucial regions to explain the geopolitical strategies of
the world powers. He provides a context often missing from our
political reportage: how the physical characteristics of countries
affect the decisions made by their leaders.
FOLLOWING THE EVENTS OF 2016 AND
BRITAIN’S DECISION TO LEAVE THE EU;
IN YOUR BOOK PRISONERS OF
GEOGRAPHY YOU SPOKE ABOUT THE
NEGATIVE REPERCUSSIONS THIS COULD
E.U AND
AND
HAVE FOR THE FUTURE OF THE EU
PARTICULARLY THE RELATIONS
BETWEEN GERMANY AND FRANCE - TO
WHAT EXTENT DO YOU ANTICIPATE A
RETURN TO THE HOSTILITIES THAT
MARKED THE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH
CENTURY?
No. I don't predict that, but I think that
what Brexit will do is kill the idea of an
ever-close union of the remaining 27
states, and that the stress and strains
that are with us at the moment will
mean that the Franco-German alliance
will not be as strong politically.
However, it could be difficult to see a
return to the early 20th century
because they are so bound together
economically, so even if there is a
return to more how it used to be,
Germany is now so democratic and
locked in economically to the EU, so
we won’t see a return to the previous
hostilities. There remain situations
around where the world where
ideologies such as nationalism can
actually trump economics, so even
12
though it is stupid to go to war, people
will. I disagree with the analysis of
what the Dutch election vote meant,
and Wilders doesn't mean the end of
nationalism; we will see it again in the
French and German vote. Even if it is in
small numbers, it’s still a growth, so
even if they don't win, the point is that
the trajectory is still growing in the far
right, and that is set to continue.
WITH REGARD
REGARD TO
TO THE
THE COUNTRIES
COUNTRIES OF
OF
WITH
THE MIDDLE
MIDDLE EAST
EAST LARGELY
LARGELY BEING
BEING
THE
ESSENTIALLY ARTIFICIAL,
ARTIFICIAL, HAVING
HAVING BEEN
BEEN
ESSENTIALLY
CREATED BY
BY FOREIGN
FOREIGN POWERS,
POWERS,
CREATED
PARTICULARLY BRITAIN,
BRITAIN, TO
TO WHAT
WHAT
PARTICULARLY
EXTENT CAN
CAN BRITAIN
BRITAIN BE
BE HELD
HELD
EXTENT
RESPONSIBLE FOR
FOR THE
THE POLITICAL
POLITICAL
RESPONSIBLE
INSTABILITY IN
IN THE
THE REGION
REGION AND
AND WHAT
WHAT
INSTABILITY
DO YOU
YOU FORESEE
FORESEE FOR
FOR THE
THE FUTURE?
FUTURE?
DO
They take a share of responsibility, but
it diminishes with each passing
decade, because if you always fall back
on that blame game, you don't start
looking at the turmoil and issues that
hold back the states. Both sides need
to get over the ‘guilt-shaming’ because
it won’t solve any problems. The world
is changing each year at a greater
speed and the alliances are shifting.
Nevertheless, the Russian intervention