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“We are seeing walls being built along borders everywhere. Despite globalization and advances in technology, we seem to be feeling more divided than ever. Thousands of miles of walls and fences have gone up around the world in the twenty-first century. At least 65 countries, more than a third of the world’s nation states, have built barriers along their borders; half of those erected since the Second World War sprang up between 2000 and now.��

Walls like borders are porous, unpredictable entities that are always subject to changes of any kind from many outside influences. In 2018 when we think of walls, most people will find it hard to ignore Trump’s planned construction for the Mexican border, but Marshall makes a very interesting point when he casts back to the early 2000s when the US Congress approved the Secure Fence Act, agreeing that another 700 miles could be built- among those voting for the measure were Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. When Obama came to power, there were over 600 miles of barrier, and he kept building, extending the fence, in some cases double and triple layering it. During Obama’s time in office there was also an increase in the removal of illegal immigrants compared to the Bush years.

“Division shapes politics at every level-the personal, local, national and international. It’s essential to be aware of what has divided us, and what continues to do so, in order to understand what’s going on in the world today.�� Another irony is that Mexico itself has incredibly strict laws regarding immigration, and annually deports more people than the US. It is tougher on immigrants than the US, in some cases you can be jailed for up to 10 years if you are caught trying to get into Mexico a second time.

Marshall doesn’t just look at physical walls like the Berlin and Mexican ones, he also explores social and class divisions within countries, covering more obvious cases like Israel and Palestine, to the insidious culture within the US, where “One study in 1997 estimated that by then the USA had 20��000 gated communities housing 3 million residents.�� Though perhaps the most shocking and widespread division of all, is the one that dictates the ruling classes of the second largest populated country in the world. The Indian caste system dates back more than 3��000 years, and as Marshall explains, “Tens of millions of people are denied basic human rights, not by law but by culture. This is not the image of India most people have. Generations of tourists and student backpackers return from India infused with the spirit of Hindusim, which promotes friendliness, non-violence, spiritualism and vegetarianism. Few see that alongside that is one of the most degrading social systems on the planet.��

He also takes a look at immigration in the UK from a more balanced and refreshing view, concluding, “It’s ironic that often the same type of person who decries middle-class ‘gentrification�� of a working class area, and who understands how the working class might not exactly embrace such change, is often quick to criticize people who are uneasy about the ways in which immigration can alter a neighbourhood. ‘Gentrification�� is sometimes even called ‘social cleansing��, while immigration is termed ‘diversification��. What is almost always true is that many of those using these terms are less affected by them than those living on the spot. To dismiss people who enjoyed their relatively homogenous cultures and who are now unsure of their place in the world merely drives them into the arms of those who would exploit their anxieties-the real bigots.��

Another interesting fact about this book is that when you look back into the origins of so much of the world’s political strife, you can trace it back to the greedy expansionism and empire building of the leading European nations, whose murder, rape and theft of the lands continues to punish hundreds of millions all around the world, and ironically it has come boomeranging back to them in the shape of immigrants seeking asylum for many wars that were initially caused by European business and political interest, whether bankrolling dictators, murdering democratically elected leaders, selling them weapons to bomb civilians, or creating the contentious borders to stir up permanent tension and conflict.

This is another short but highly informative book on geography/current political affairs by Marshall. I enjoy his style, it’s simple without being simplistic and he wears his reading lightly. His humour has notably been toned right down this time round, but you can still see glimpses of it here and there, which helps lighten the tone now and then. We are given some really interesting insights into some volatile regions and some controversial subjects all told in an accessible and clear way that is sure to be of interest to most people with a curiosity about current global politics.