Foreign Policy & International Relations

Many of us live in democracies and believe in government transparency, but the truth is our leaders have considerable scope to engage in secret operations overseas. Rory Cormac talks us through five books on 'covert action,' and some of the countries that have embraced it as a policy tool.

Postwar Europe was a scene of both physical and moral destruction. Keith Lowe, author of the award-winning Savage Continent, recommends essential reading for understanding the sheer scale of suffering, dislocation and fighting after the war was over.

History is usually studied and written from the perspective of war, says veteran journalist John Gittings. It can look very different when viewed from the perspective of peace.

The job of the intelligence services is to understand others and help leaders act more wisely, says the author of a new history of the FBI. There’s a balance to be struck between liberty and security but when the CIA and FBI do not harmonise their intelligence missions, people die.

Edward Mortimer, the former Director of Communications to Kofi Annan talks about the need for reform, how when the Camp David talks broke down "the whole atmosphere in the organization became poison", and his boss. He picks the best five books on the United Nations.

The changing relationship between China and America will be one of the defining foreign policy issues of our times. To understand its dynamic, says sinologist Orville Schell, we must take account of China's lingering sense of victimhood.

The veteran Middle East correspondent gives us his tips for the best reading about the US-led invasion and occupation, and explains why the West shouldn’t have intervened in Iraq in the first place

Veteran diplomat Michael Palliser discusses his friend Henry Kissinger’s diplomatic skills and says his experiences in post-war Germany made him a committed European

Wars and terrorism usually end through a negotiated bargain where you have to sit across the table from those you consider terrorists and murderers, says American scholar and peace activist David Cortright. He picks books that help us think through the potential for non-military solutions to political conflicts.

From the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 to the present day, the US has always been heavily involved in Latin America and viewed itself as the dominant power in the region. William LeoGrande, a Latin America specialist and professor of government at the American University, takes us through books on the history of the relationship, including a book that tells the story of Cuba and the US through the tale of one family, the Bacardi dynasty.