Hinterlands

Why have Russian resorts sprung up in seaside towns in Northern Cyprus? What can Sarajevo’s local politics tell us about Trump, Putin, and Erdogan? How has the Syrian revolution turned the state into a new Cold War frontier? And how are sanctioned regimes using cryptocurrencies to swerve around embargoes?

Acclaimed correspondent Hannah Lucinda Smith reveals the hidden conflicts that underpin contemporary geopolitics. From Azerbaijan to the Adriatic, Kosovo to Nagorno-Karabakh, these are the disputed territories that have the power to enthrone strongman dictators, shape the future of the West, and define the fault lines of the new Cold War.

Drawing on encounters with politicians, spies, and the ordinary people caught in the crosshairs, this indispensable account of events in the gray zones of Eurasia—and beyond—gives vital context to our rapidly changing world, which we ignore at our own peril.