I’m an undergrad student in Political Science (B.S.) but I plant to continue onto graduate school to also study International Relations and National Security with career plans to work in the intelligence community.
I’ve never been much of a reader of books (I’ve always just read about history and politics online), but I realize it would probably be a good idea to read some books that apply to my field in my own time, outside of classes, to help me acquire more knowledge.
I’m a junior and I’m going to be really busy from here on, so I’m not looking for super long books. What are some basic, fundamental books about international relations/world issues that would help a student like me increase my knowledge without being too complicated or time-consuming?
Can anyone give me any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
By Way of Deception : The Making and Unmaking of a Mossad Officer
I think you are barking up the wrong tree here. International relations and world issues are inherently complicated issues that take some time to understand. If you genuinely want to increase your knowledge in this field in a meaningful way that will prepare you for graduate study, you’re going to need to put the time in. Anything that’s short and uncomplicated probably won’t be deeply enriching or meaningful prep for graduate study, if that’s what you’re looking for.
Here are some recommendations that are excellent reads but not short:
[The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Captalism](https://www.amazon.com/Shock-Doctrine-Rise-Disaster-Capitalism/dp/0312427999) by Naomi Klein. Very left-leaning, and quite dense, but still very good. It talks about the rise of neoliberal economic politics through the 1970s through 1990s in developing nations and how those politics affected the economies of these developing nations across the world.
[Development as Freedom](https://www.amazon.com/Development-as-Freedom-Amartya-Sen-ebook/dp/B000SEFLIY/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1502155689&sr=1-1&keywords=development+as+freedom) by Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen. Sen writes about how “open dialogue, civil freedoms and political liberties are prerequisites for sustainable development,” and uses several developing nations as examples - most often China and India. The book was originally published in 1999, so it’s interesting to see how prescient he was about the rise of China and India!
[Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty](https://www.amazon.com/Why-Nations-Fail-Origins-Prosperity-ebook/dp/B0058Z4NR8/ref=pd_sbs_351_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=5W3D1WFR4TX3PVS8T6CM), by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. I have not personally read this book but I have heard strongly positive things. It’s exactly what it says on the tin - an exploration of why certain nations falter while others grow rapidly.
I think Fareed Zakaria writes some really interesting stuff. I especially liked the “future of freedom”