Monsoon Quotes

“Today, despite the jet and information age, 90 percent of global commerce and two thirds of all petroleum supplies travel by sea.”
― Robert D. Kaplan, Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power

“democracy that cannot control its own population may be worse for human rights than a dictatorship that can.”
― Robert D. Kaplan, Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power

“Historically, both Marxist and liberal intellectuals, in their efforts to remake societies after Soviet and Western models, have tragically underestimated these traditional loyal ties existing below the level of the state.”
― Robert D. Kaplan, Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power

“the opening of the Suez Canal shortened the distance from Europe to India, undermining the importance of Muscat and other Omani harbors as Indian Ocean transshipment points.”
― Robert D. Kaplan, Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power

“Oman is an example of how globalization at its best is built on vigorous localisms that can survive the onslaught of destructive commercial forces.”
― Robert D. Kaplan, Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power

“James R. Holmes and Toshi Yoshihara, Chinese Naval Strategy in the 21st Century: The Turn to Mahan (New York: Routledge, 2008); Toshi Yoshihara and James Holmes, “Command of the Sea with Chinese Characteristics,” Orbis, Fall 2005; Gabriel B. Collins et al., eds., China’s Energy Strategy: The Impact on Beijing’s Maritime Policies (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2008); and Andrew Erickson and Gabe Collins, “Beijing’s Energy Security Strategy: The Significance of a Chinese State-Owned Tanker Fleet,” Orbis, Fall 2007. * One should not forget the French, whose role, particularly in the islands of the southwestern Indian Ocean, is covered expertly by Richard Hall in Empires of the Monsoon: A History of the Indian Ocean and Its Invaders (London: HarperCollins, 1996).”
― Robert D. Kaplan, Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power

“Thailand Burma Border Consortium,”
― Robert D. Kaplan, Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power