The Power of Geography: Ten Maps that Reveal the Future of Our World – the sequel to Prisoners of Geography

by Tim Marshall

If the climate-change modelling is on target Australia will continue to suffer record-shattering heatwaves, drought and forest fires, creating a scorched, uninhabitable landscape. The more the suburbs of the great cities sprawl out into the countryside, the greater the number of people at risk. This means Australians are likely to continue to cling to the coastline, creating ever more densely packed urban areas, even as sea levels may be rising. The country could require a slow retreat from some areas and a long-term building plan for locations designated as lower-risk.

Canberra has been engaging in what is dubbed the ‘Pacific step-up’ policy, but has to move carefully. The Pacific islanders are keenly aware of Australia’s colonial history and take a dim view of anything that might hint at paternalism. It helps to refer to places such as Vanuatu not as ‘small island nations’ but ‘large ocean states’, as the islands now prefer, based on their large, exclusive maritime zones. Depending on how you define the region the islands, including maritime zones, make up about 15 per cent of the world’s surface.

‘The Chinese model of “state capitalism” is appealing to most Arab politicians. “Economic liberalism” decoupled from political liberalism is a model most governments in the region pursue, and in the past two decades the Chinese model is lauded as a success.’