It was a compelling argument. Back in 2015, historian Peter Frankopan developed a new history of the world eastward, towards Asia and, more broadly, the area between the Eastern Mediterranean and the Pacific.
He argued it was along these "Silk Roads", an exotic moniker coined by a German geographer in the late 19th century, that the most powerful networks of trade, ideas, peoples, religions… and diseases took root.
The Silk Roads was called exhilarating, and plenty agreed. It became a surprise bestseller as Europe and the West seemed to lurch from one crisis to the next, and served as a reminder that globalisation is hardly a new phenomenon.
Earlier this year, Frankopan set about writing a short epilogue for a reprint, to sharpen the conclusion and update his idea that the world’s past has always been shaped by what happens along the Silk Roads.
"I wanted to explain that however traumatic or comical political life appears to be in the age of Brexit, European politics or Trump, it is the countries of the Silk Roads that really matter in the 21st century," he writes. But the more he explored how decisions of consequence today are being made in China and Russia, the Middle East or Delhi, the more he realised the seismic period of transformation we are now experiencing was a book in itself; and The New Silk Roads was born.
Frankopan calls it a younger sibling to the first book, and it's definitely a breezier, more energetic read, full of pin-sharp, up-to-date comment on everything from the Chinese government's ambitious Belt and Road programme of investment in global infrastructure to why, for example, it matters that Dubai's DP World and the government of Djibouti are in dispute about a port in the East African republic.
The opening argument – which, to his credit, Frankopan is not afraid to counterbalance later – is that while the West fragments, detaches and is less engaged with the world, along the Silk Roads, states are finding a way to either work together or to manage their competition.
“Where the story in Asia is about increasing connections, improving collaboration and deepening co-operation, in Europe the story is about separation, the re-erection of barriers and ‘taking back control’” he writes.
It’s a broad brush stroke in the light of the many obvious historical and contemporary disputes that Silk Road states have with one another – and Frankopan does eventually admit it’s an oversimplification to suggest that such countries always see eye to eye – but he also finds it fascinating that it now should be the Chinese who are articulating a role of global leadership. He notes with interest President Xi Jinping’s words to the Davos summit last year: “Our real enemy is not the neighbouring country – it is hunger, poverty, ignorance, superstition and prejudice”.
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All of which makes The New Silk Roads less a history book than a state-of-the-world address. It's to Frankopan's great credit that he doesn't get bogged down in geopolitics until the closing phases. Largely this is accessible stuff – the pace of globalisation and changing influence is explored through the European football clubs which are owned or sponsored by businesses and people from the lands of the Silk Roads. It's ironic, he writes, that once upon a time rich British people would head east to Europe on a Grand Tour, bringing back with them art, manuscripts and sculptures as trophies. Now, English and European football trophies are hunted and displayed by the "great and the good" from the Silk Roads.
It's not just football. Westerners' favourite brands, from Volvo to Harrods, the Odeon to the Waldorf are all owned outright or as partnerships via the rising wealth in the east. The remaining American or European brands have had to ensure they have the right message in the east if they want to survive. In these circumstances Frankopan's assertion that somewhere like the South China Sea isn't "a" crossroads of the global economy but "the" crossroads is wholly convincing.
Yet there are niggles. This vision skims over the cost to the "Asian century"; the conflicts, environmental issues, working conditions, national debts and persecutions. Not that Frankopan doesn't mention them – there's some serious research involved in noting that students can't leave Tajikistan without permission. It's just that they feel like mere casualties in a book which is generally awe-struck by the influence of China's economy.
Frankopan himself calls these issues “obvious growing pains”. And while they might be slightly more serious than that throwaway line, how those pains reveal themselves amid the breathtaking speed of change will undoubtedly shape the world of the future.
The New Silk Roads, published by Bloomsbury, is out now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
THE BIO
Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.
Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.
She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.
She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.
Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring the natural world.
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20EduPloyment%3Cbr%3EDate%20started%3A%20March%202020%3Cbr%3ECo-Founders%3A%20Mazen%20Omair%20and%20Rana%20Batterjee%3Cbr%3EBase%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Recruitment%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%2030%20employees%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20Pre-Seed%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Angel%20investors%20(investment%20amount%20undisclosed)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Manchester United's summer dealings
In
Victor Lindelof (Benfica) £30.7 million
Romelu Lukaku (Everton) £75 million
Nemanja Matic (Chelsea) £40 million
Out
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Released
Wayne Rooney (Everton) Free transfer
Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad) £9.8 million
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
