Great Games, Local Rules: The New Great Power Contest in Central Asia (Oxford University Press, 2012) Alexander Cooley Review and author interview by George Gavrilis, Executive Director of the Hollings Center Please click here for a printer-friendly PDF version of this page. The drive from central Dushanbe—Tajikistan’s capital—to the Afghan border is an easy four-hour jaunt. […]

After Defeat: How the East Learned to Live with the West (Cambridge University Press, 2011) Ayşe Zarakol Review and author interview by George Gavrilis Please click here for a printer-friendly PDF version of this page. In 1933, a year when Japan was at once caught up in the throes of modernization and in search of […]

Phebe Marr’s The Modern History of Iraq (Westview Press, 2012) Review and author interview by George Gavrilis Please click here for a printer-friendly PDF version of this page. Writing a historical survey of any country is no easy task. This is particularly true of Iraq, where the chaos of the past ten years creates a great temptation […]

Dead Men Risen: The Welsh Guards and the Real Story of Britain’s War in Afghanistan (Quercus: October 2011) Toby Harnden Review and author interview by George Gavrilis, Executive Director of the Hollings Center Please click here for a printer-friendly PDF version of this page. Stories of war oftentimes lend themselves to exaggerated, heroic narratives. This […]

Awista Ayub Review and author interview by Sanem Güner Please click here for a printer-friendly PDF version of this page. The London 2012 Olympics are a few months away. For most of us, it is just another great sports spectacle. For others, like the Afghan women’s boxing team, it is a milestone; a chance to prove […]

Afghanistan’s Troubled Transition: Politics, Peacekeeping, and the 2004 Presidential Election Scott Seward Smith Review and author interview by George Gavrilis, Executive Director of the Hollings Center Please click here for a printer-friendly PDF version of this page. Scott Seward Smith’s book masterfully covers the highs and lows of the United Nations mission in Afghanistan through […]