The two main topics that interested me this year were history and geopolitics (specifically
global, Europe, and Poland). A lot has happened in the last four years, including the global COVID-19 pandemic,
the war in Ukraine, and the AI revolution. It appears that the world order we've known for the past 30 years is
being challenged, and the balance of power is shifting. However, it's still uncertain who will emerge as the
winner. Understanding the reality in which we live is crucial for me, especially with regard to Poland, where I
live. I also devoted the majority of my time and energy to national politics. I have written a separate post specifically addressing this topic.
What follows is a list of the ten most interesting articles, books, podcasts, and videos/documentaries that I
have read, listened to, or watched. I consume a lot of information (learning is my main hobby), so I have
selected only the resources that I believe are the best or have had the most impact on me. I also included a few
entries from the miscellaneous category, which covers a wide range of topics, including work, science &
technology, culture & sports, and lifestyle. All content is in English unless specified otherwise (some might be
in Italian or Polish).
One of my goals for 2023 was to refresh my knowledge of history. I find history to be an extremely
interesting subject that forms the basis for all further fields of knowledge, such as art, literature,
religion, and philosophy. This book was my main point of reference. It's a concise book that focuses on
factual information and includes a few useful maps.
It follows a chronological order, covering pre-history, the ancient world (3500 BCE - 500 CE), the middle
ages (500-1500 CE), the ascent of the West (1450-1800 CE), the modern period, and the 20th Century.
My main goal was to study history in order to have a solid foundation to understand today's
geopolitical situation. Specifically, I wanted to analyze the shift of power among nations, with a focus on
the last 500 years (see image below from another book, "The Changing World Order").
This is another interesting book I had the pleasure of reading. It follows a slightly different pattern:
instead of dividing history into temporal periods, it showcases historical events divided by geographical
areas: Europe, Asia & Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and the Americas. However, the real gem of this book is
the inclusion of timeline charts. There is a global chart for the entire world and four focus charts for
each of the aforementioned areas (see video below). I cannot emphasize enough how these charts have been
immensely helpful in gaining a comprehensive understanding of world history. (I'm a visual learner 🙂.)
I strongly suggest supplementing the study of these charts with this video:
The History of
the World: Every Year. It shows how the world map has changed over the centuries.
As part of my history project, I watched hundreds of hours of documentaries. The channels that I liked the
most were
Captivating History for shorter videos and EpicHistoryTV for longer documentaries, especially
those focused
on battles. If I could recommend only one video, it would be the "History of the Entire World" linked here.
The audio is not great but it provides a condensed overview of all time periods and civilizations.
I suggest watching the
short version
before starting to study history, and the longer version after reading a few books.
By that point, most of the information should make sense.
I have also watched the complete series of DVDs (I know, weird to say this in 2023)
that were part of the " Storia dell'Umanità " encyclopedia I have. Each DVD explores a different historical
era or civilization, as well as a "protagonist of history" ("Protagonisti della storia"). They were
filmed in the late 90's and early 2000's, which was evident, but nevertheless it was a nice visual
journey.
The World Ahead 2024
Article(s), Economist, Politics (Global), English (Nov 2023), 130 pages
Foreseeing the future is not always easy, but nevertheless, I've enjoyed reading "The World Ahead" report
from The Economist. Instead of treating it as a prediction, I've viewed it as a summary of the current
global situation. My conclusion is that the three main topics to watch are elections worldwide (politics),
AI (technology), and green energy (environment).
Elections, in particular, will be significant events throughout the year, starting with Taiwan
in January and culminating with the USA in November. The outcomes of these elections will have a profound
impact on the world, especially considering the already precarious geopolitical situation in Ukraine and
Gaza, as well as Latin America, the Sahel region, Myanmar, and so many other areas.
The Nonaligned World
Article(s), Foreign Affairs, Politics (Global), English, May/June (2023-04-18), 33 pages
This series of five articles presents various reasons why countries in the so-called "global South" are
hesitant to take sides in the war in Ukraine. While the conflict has united the West, this is not true for
the rest of the world. The articles provide detailed analyses for specific regions: India, the African
continent, and Southeast Asia (ASEAN). The premise is that we are moving towards a multipolar world order
and that, quoting the first article, "developing countries are increasingly seeking to avoid costly
entanglements with major powers, trying to keep all their options for maximum flexibility. These
countries are pursuing a strategy of hedging because they see the future distribution of global power as
uncertain and wish to avoid commitments that will be hard to discharge".
The main focus is on the perspective of developing countries. It describes how their thinking is
shaped by past interactions with great powers and how the West is viewed as hypocritical in its dealings
with the developing world. Additionally, the article explores how a multipolar world could be advantageous
for the interests of developing countries and how they are navigating the rivalry between the United States
and China in a way that allows them to maintain their autonomous foreign policies. A recurring theme is the
profound frustration of the global South with the West's mismanagement of globalization and the perceived
Western double standards. Developing countries are urging the West, especially the U.S., to address global
risks - such as debt, pandemics, refugee displacement, and climate change - in a more inclusive manner. They
also seek reform of international organizations, most notably the UN and the UN Security Council.
On the other hand, the military and diplomatic strength of the West is still a force to be
reckoned with. Hedgers are unlikely to permanently join forces with Beijing or Moscow, which they might view
as unattractive propositions. This presents an opportunity for the West to collaborate with the Global South
on fair and equal terms, in order to regain their trust and achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
The video explains that in order to understand the world we live in, we need to study three topics:
demography, geography, and history. Unfortunately, these subjects are not given much consideration in
Italian
schools. Lucio Caracciolo, editor-in-chief of Italy's leading geopolitics magazine, Limes, goes on to
explain
how we went from the Cold War of the 70s to the Russian-American war in Ukraine and the Sino-American
tension in
the Pacific. The video also presents, in my opinion, one of the best maps of the year. It is a comprehensive
visual guide that helps us understand the world better.
This article describes Europe's past, including its many dark moments, and explores what the future might
hold. It does this by examining Europe through the lens of an empire - a democratic, liberal one, but still,
analytically speaking, an empire (hence the title).
I'm really curious to see what happens next. My dream is to live in a united Europe, possibly
even as one big country (if done well!). But I am aware that foreign interference, internal disagreement,
the still visible divide between West and East, and unfortunately, a lack of proper leadership are the major
obstacles to realizing such a vision. But how otherwise are you going to compete with Russia, USA, or China?
Don’t Give Poland a Pass
Article, Foreign Affairs, Politics (Poland), English, May/June (2023-07-24), 11 pages
The article offers an insightful description of the current political situation in Poland. According to the
author, Poland is currently heading towards illiberalism and experiencing a decline in democracy under the
current government. The author highlights that despite its strategic significance and (initial) positive
stance towards Ukraine, Poland should still be open to criticism.
If the Law and Justice party wins the 2023 election, the country is likely to continue its
democratic backsliding. This includes further dismantling of the independent judiciary, restrictions on
press freedom, suppression of civil pluralism, persecution of political opponents, fostering hostility
towards migrants and refugees, and diminishing the rights of minority groups.
The article also discusses Poland's relationship with Ukraine, highlighting the contentious
Volhynia (pl. Wołyń) case and the recent grain transit dispute. It also mentions Poland's close ties with
the United States, which is its major geopolitical ally.
The main point of the article is that working from home is not more productive than working in the
office. I have been working remotely for 11 years now (mostly from home, but not exclusively). While I
prefer the remote setup, I'm open-minded and recognize that the issue is not all black and white.
The article cites various research papers that suggest a decrease in productivity when working
remotely. However, I found the definition of productivity used in the article to be misleading and
borderline laughable (e.g. "number of calls handled per hour" and other trivial examples). It also gives the
impression that 'productivity' is something that can be precisely measured. While it would be nice for
managers to see a neat chart showing their team's productivityâ„¢ going up, the reality is that value cannot
always be accurately measured by a single number alone.
I also realize that, more often than not, publications (and companies in general) have certain
agendas. It could very well be that this is not really about productivity, but rather control. Much of the
anti-work-from-home narrative may also be driven by landlords trying not to lose valuable rental income on
otherwise empty offices.
HOWEVER, I do agree with many points, such as that, quoting the article, "video conferences
inhibit creative thinking", that "feedback exchanged between colleges tend to drop in a remote
setup" and that "there is a relative decline in learning for workers at home". If the author
wanted to make a point about the advantages of on-site work, they should have focused more on the human
aspect rather than on arbitrary productivity metrics.
I also agree that the future of work is hybrid. For me, working remotely is a necessity, but
given the right conditions, I would be very keen on visiting the office once or twice a week. All in all, as
with everything else, remote work is what you make of it.
Poland is admittedly not very successful in many sports on an international level, with one big exception:
volleyball. Both the men's and women's teams are ranked very high and have qualified for the Olympics.
Additionally, the men's team won the
European Volleyball Championship
against Italy this year.
I watched several matches, and I think the most exciting one was the women's olympic
qualification match
against Italy (coincidence? :)). It was held in Lódź, where the athletes came to a dramatic win and
qualified. Raz, dwa, trzy!
Sources
When it comes to (geo)politics, usually I just read
The world this week summary from The Economist, which is sufficient for having the big picture. For more
info, I usually consult one of this sources:
One of my goals for 2023 was to refresh my knowledge of history. I find history to be an extremely
interesting subject that forms the basis for all further fields of knowledge, such as art, literature,
religion, and philosophy. This book was my main point of reference. It's a concise book that focuses on
factual information and includes a few useful maps.
It follows a chronological order, covering pre-history, the ancient world (3500 BCE - 500 CE), the middle
ages (500-1500 CE), the ascent of the West (1450-1800 CE), the modern period, and the 20th Century.
This is another interesting book I had the pleasure of reading. It follows a slightly different pattern:
instead of dividing history into temporal periods, it showcases historical events divided by geographical
areas: Europe, Asia & Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and the Americas. However, the real gem of this book is
the inclusion of timeline charts. There is a global chart for the entire world and four focus charts for
each of the aforementioned areas (see video below). I cannot emphasize enough how these charts have been
immensely helpful in gaining a comprehensive understanding of world history. (I'm a visual learner 🙂.)
Foreseeing the future is not always easy, but nevertheless, I've enjoyed reading "The World Ahead" report
from The Economist. Instead of treating it as a prediction, I've viewed it as a summary of the current
global situation. My conclusion is that the three main topics to watch are elections worldwide (politics),
AI (technology), and green energy (environment).
This series of five articles presents various reasons why countries in the so-called "global South" are
hesitant to take sides in the war in Ukraine. While the conflict has united the West, this is not true for
the rest of the world. The articles provide detailed analyses for specific regions: India, the African
continent, and Southeast Asia (ASEAN). The premise is that we are moving towards a multipolar world order
and that, quoting the first article, "developing countries are increasingly seeking to avoid costly
entanglements with major powers, trying to keep all their options for maximum flexibility. These
countries are pursuing a strategy of hedging because they see the future distribution of global power as
uncertain and wish to avoid commitments that will be hard to discharge".
This article describes Europe's past, including its many dark moments, and explores what the future might
hold. It does this by examining Europe through the lens of an empire - a democratic, liberal one, but still,
analytically speaking, an empire (hence the title).
The article offers an insightful description of the current political situation in Poland. According to the
author, Poland is currently heading towards illiberalism and experiencing a decline in democracy under the
current government. The author highlights that despite its strategic significance and (initial) positive
stance towards Ukraine, Poland should still be open to criticism.
The main point of the article is that working from home is not more productive than working in the
office. I have been working remotely for 11 years now (mostly from home, but not exclusively). While I
prefer the remote setup, I'm open-minded and recognize that the issue is not all black and white.
