Arthur Snell – författare

'An extraordinary mastery of geopolitics, combining years on the ground in the most challenging places, a raw instinct for politics and a deep ethical concern for the world in the face of climate catastrophe. A masterpiece.' - RORY STEWART'A powerful, passionate and utterly convincing book.' - LORD PETER RICKETTSFrom the water-stressed mountains of the Arabian Peninsula to the wildfires raging through America's most populated regions, the climate crisis is already affecting the lives of millions. As natural disasters and increased scarcity shake the established world order to its core, Elemental reveals an alternative future is still possible.Within this century, the new era of extreme weather will threaten India's ability to grow rice, prevent southern Europe's farms from providing the continent with fresh produce, and make building in Saudi Arabia near impossible. While such unprecedented challenges inevitably drive conflict, they will also encourage innovation, upending economies and global power structures to create opportunities for new players and pioneering ways of living.In this groundbreaking study, Arthur Snell visits rapidly changing societies to show how we can live on a warming planet. He presents a vision in which Africa powers Europe with solar energy, where autocratic oil states are no more, and new shipping routes across the melting Arctic bring Asia, Europe and North America closer than ever before. In Russia, huge areas of highly fertile land will be exposed by the melting ice for whoever can seize it, while China's stranglehold on rare minerals looks set to make it the world's leading superpower.Through four sections - Earth, Air, Fire and Water - Elemental blends reportage with analysis and interviews with key experts, policymakers and politicians, to reveal the turbulent future we face - and the choices we need to make to avert disaster.

'An extraordinary mastery of geopolitics, combining years on the ground in the most challenging places, a raw instinct for politics and a deep ethical concern for the world in the face of climate catastrophe. A masterpiece.' - RORY STEWART'A powerful, passionate and utterly convincing book.' - LORD PETER RICKETTSFrom the water-stressed mountains of the Arabian Peninsula to the wildfires raging through America's most populated regions, the climate crisis is already affecting the lives of millions. As natural disasters and increased scarcity shake the established world order to its core, Elemental reveals an alternative future is still possible.Within this century, the new era of extreme weather will threaten India's ability to grow rice, prevent southern Europe's farms from providing the continent with fresh produce, and make building in Saudi Arabia near impossible. While such unprecedented challenges inevitably drive conflict, they will also encourage innovation, upending economies and global power structures to create opportunities for new players and pioneering ways of living.In this groundbreaking study, Arthur Snell visits rapidly changing societies to show how we can live on a warming planet. He presents a vision in which Africa powers Europe with solar energy, where autocratic oil states are no more, and new shipping routes across the melting Arctic bring Asia, Europe and North America closer than ever before. In Russia, huge areas of highly fertile land will be exposed by the melting ice for whoever can seize it, while China's stranglehold on rare minerals looks set to make it the world's leading superpower.Through four sections - Earth, Air, Fire and Water - Elemental blends reportage with analysis and interviews with key experts, policymakers and politicians, to reveal the turbulent future we face - and the choices we need to make to avert disaster.

'An extraordinary mastery of geopolitics, combining years on the ground in the most challenging places, a raw instinct for politics and a deep ethical concern for the world in the face of climate catastrophe. A masterpiece.' - RORY STEWART'A powerful, passionate and utterly convincing book.' - LORD PETER RICKETTSWith over 30 years' experience in conflict zones and fragile states, Arthur Snell travels from the heat of the Sahel to the Arctic Circle to show how climate change is coinciding with a breakdown in geopolitical order, increasing conflict and economic crises.Within our lifetimes, rising temperatures, sea levels and scarcity will inevitably drive both conflict and mass migration globally. Natural disasters and the battle for rare minerals that are essential to clean energy will shake the established world order to its core within this century. When the rain wrecks India's ability to grow rice, the heat makes building impossible in Saudi Arabia, wildfires rage through America's most populated regions, and in Russia huge areas of highly fertile land are exposed by the melting ice, what will living on a warmer planet actually look like?Here, for the very first time, historian and former British diplomat Arthur Snell delivers a comprehensive account of the geopolitics of climate change. Through four sections - Earth, Air, Fire and Water - Elemental blends reportage with analysis and interviews with key experts, policymakers and politicians, to reveal the turbulent future we face - and the choices we need to make to avert disaster.

'Engrossing and deeply troubling' (The Bookseller). A former top diplomat reveals Britain's role in raising tension worldwide, from Kosovo to Iraq to Afghanistan and castigates its foreign policy towards Russia, Saudi Arabia, USA, India and China.

How Britain Broke the World is a compelling, eye‑opening account of how British foreign policy helped shape the turbulent world we’re living in now. If you’ve wondered why the rules‑based international order feels weaker, why conflict keeps spreading, and why trust in Western leadership has eroded, this book connects the dots — from the Balkans to the Middle East, from London’s financial districts to Brexit’s aftershocks in Europe.Snell isn’t a distant commentator. He served as a British diplomat through the era of “ethical foreign policy,” humanitarian intervention and the war on terror, including postings in places where the consequences were brutally real. He writes with an insider’s understanding of the Foreign Office, Downing Street decision‑making, intelligence culture, and the national obsession with “punching above our weight” — and he shows what happens when ambition outruns strategy, expertise and accountability.Across a fast‑moving narrative of modern history and geopolitics, you’ll see how pivotal UK choices since the late 1990s contributed to a world of greater instability, rising authoritarianism and deepening great‑power rivalry. Snell explores how Britain repeatedly became the “marginal buyer” in international crises: not always the biggest actor, but the one that tipped the balance.Inside you’ll explore:Kosovo and the birth of liberal interventionism: NATO’s war in Europe, the humanitarian argument, and the long‑term cost of bypassing UN Security Council authorityIraq, MI6, and the weapons of mass destruction fiasco: intelligence failures, the infamous dossier, and how a botched invasion helped fuel sectarian violence, regional chaos and the conditions that later fed ISIS/Islamic StateAfghanistan and the fantasy of “government in a box”: counter‑terrorism, nation‑building, Helmand, and why exit strategies collapse when local realities are ignoredLibya and Syria: regime change, power vacuums, proxy warfare, and the ripple effects of prolonged conflict and refugee flowsRussia and the London laundromat: oligarchs, offshore tax havens, money laundering, corruption and the security consequences of letting dirty money shape politicsChina and Britain’s “golden era” error: trade, technology, strategic dependency, and tensions inside the Five Eyes intelligence allianceSaudi Arabia, oil, arms sales and influence: the ethics-versus-interest dilemma, and what the Yemen war reveals about modern power politicsIndia and the politics of empire: colonial legacy, identity, and diplomacy in a multipolar worldThe US–UK “special relationship” and Brexit: alliance management, multilateralism, the Northern Ireland problem, and what sovereignty slogans can cost in credibility and leverageThis is essential reading for fans of current affairs, political nonfiction, international relations and diplomatic history — especially readers interested in British politics, NATO, the UN, international law, security studies, intelligence agencies, Russia, China, the Middle East, Europe and the global fallout of intervention.You’ll come away with a sharper grasp of the forces driving global insecurity: how intervention and regime change can backfire, how intelligence can be politicised, how sanctions and offshore finance intersect, and how populism at home (from the Brexit referendum to culture‑war politics) can distort national security abroad. Whether you’re tracking the Ukraine war, Putin’s grievances, the fragility of the UN system, or the future of Western alliances, Snell offers a readable, debate‑starting map of what happened — and why it matters now.If you want a clearer, more honest picture of how today’s crises connect — and what Britain could do differently — How Britain Broke the World delivers. Add it to your library today and understand the hidden links behind the headlines.An intelligent, cultured read for turbulent times.