On Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power by Robert D. Kaplan, published in 2010. Three things stuck out, (1) realities, (2) reorientation, and (3) resilience. Robert Kaplan is a journalist who has published many books on international travel and geopolitics. In Monsoon, he describes his experiences in and perspectives of countries bordering the Indian Ocean. Kaplan also offers some broad speculative generalizations about the future of the areas surrounding the Indian Ocean. History could be seen as a story of an increasingly interconnected human world. Kaplan argues that the Indian Ocean held much more commercial significance in ancient history and is in position to hold much more geopolitical influence in the future. Kaplan suggests that these realities could result in a global reorientation around the Indian Ocean. Regardless of how much international focus centers on the Indian Ocean, the majority of the world’s population live in countries that border the Eastern Indian and Western Pacific Oceans. And navigable waterways provide some of the most energy-efficient travel and trade routes. If the world is reorienting itself around its most densely populated ocean, how resiliently will countries like India, China, and the United States respond?
Image Links
Ancient Transasia Trade Routes (Wikicommons, 2006) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Transasia_trade_routes_1stC_CE_gr2.png#filehistory
Indian Navy USS CVN70 Exercise (Bell, 2012) https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Indian_Navy_Blue_Water.jpg
Rim of Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise (Evans, 2006)
Wikicommons (2023)
Liaoning Aircraft Carrier (Wikicommons, 2022)
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Deliberating Truth 
