{"title":"Thomas J. Barfield","description":"\u003cp\u003eThomas J. Barfield offers insightful explorations into the complex histories and political landscapes of Central Asia. His works, including \u003cem\u003eAfghanistan\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eShadow Empires\u003c\/em\u003e, delve into the dynamics of power, culture, and conflict that have shaped the region over centuries.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect meticulous research paired with clear analysis, making these books essential for those interested in \u003cstrong\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Military\u003c\/strong\u003e studies. Barfield’s writing illuminates the intricate interplay between empire and society in a pivotal part of the world.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"afghanistan-by-thomas-j-barfield-9780691238562","title":"Afghanistan","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA major history of Afghanistan and its changing political culture.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eAfghanistan\u003c\/i\u003e traces the historic struggles and the changing nature of political authority in this volatile region of the world, from the Mughal Empire in the sixteenth century to the Taliban resurgence today. Thomas Barfield introduces readers to the bewildering diversity of tribal and ethnic groups in Afghanistan, explaining what unites them as Afghans despite the regional, cultural, and political differences that divide them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe shows how governing these peoples was relatively easy when power was concentrated in a small dynastic elite, but how this delicate political order broke down in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries when Afghanistan's rulers mobilised rural militias to expel first the British and later the Soviets. Armed insurgency proved remarkably successful against the foreign occupiers, but it also undermined the Afghan government's authority and rendered the country ever more difficult to govern as time passed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBarfield vividly describes how Afghanistan's armed factions plunged the country into a civil war, giving rise to clerical rule by the Taliban and Afghanistan's isolation from the world. He examines why the American invasion in the wake of September 11 toppled the Taliban so quickly, and how this easy victory lulled the United States into falsely believing that a viable state could be built just as easily.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eAfghanistan\u003c\/i\u003e is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how a land conquered and ruled by foreign dynasties for more than a thousand years became the 'graveyard of empires' for the British and Soviets, and what the United States must do to avoid a similar fate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46848259555564,"sku":"9780691238562","price":59.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/2372763482434.jpg?v=1758970037"},{"product_id":"shadow-empires-by-thomas-j-barfield-9780691181639","title":"Shadow Empires","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn original study of empire creation and its consequences, from ancient through early modern times.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe world's first great empires established by the ancient Persians, Chinese, and Romans are well known, but not the empires that emerged on their margins in response to them over the course of 2,500 years. These counterempires or shadow empires, which changed the course of history, include the imperial nomad confederacies that arose in Mongolia and extorted resources from China rather than attempting to conquer it, as well as maritime empires such as ancient Athens that controlled trade without seeking territorial hegemony. In \u003cem\u003eShadow Empires\u003c\/em\u003e, Thomas Barfield identifies seven kinds of counterempire and explores their rise, politics, economics, and longevity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat all these counterempires had in common was their interactions with existing empires that created the conditions for their development. When highly successful, these counterempires left the shadows to become the world's largest empires - for example, those of the medieval Muslim Arabs and of the Mongol heirs of Chinggis Khan. Three former shadow empires - Manchu Qing China, Tsarist Russia, and British India - made this transformation in the late eighteenth century and came to rule most of Eurasia. However, the DNA of their origins endured in their unique ruling strategies. Indeed, world powers still use these strategies today, long after their roots in shadow empires have been forgotten.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLooking afresh at the histories of important types of empires that are often ignored, \u003cem\u003eShadow Empires\u003c\/em\u003e provides an original account of empire formation from the ancient world to the early modern period.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46849958084844,"sku":"9780691181639","price":69.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/1803533482434.jpg?v=1759067284"},{"product_id":"shadow-empires-by-thomas-j-barfield-9780691278308","title":"Shadow Empires","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn original study of empire creation and its consequences, from ancient through early modern times.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe world's first great empires established by the ancient Persians, Chinese, and Romans are well known, but not the empires that emerged on their margins in response to them over the course of 2,500 years. These counterempires or shadow empires, which changed the course of history, include the imperial nomad confederacies that arose in Mongolia and extorted resources from China rather than attempting to conquer it, as well as maritime empires such as ancient Athens that controlled trade without seeking territorial hegemony. In \u003cem\u003eShadow Empires\u003c\/em\u003e, Thomas Barfield identifies seven kinds of counterempire and explores their rise, politics, economics, and longevity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat all these counterempires had in common was their interactions with existing empires that created the conditions for their development. When highly successful, these counterempires left the shadows to become the world's largest empires—for example, those of the medieval Muslim Arabs and of the Mongol heirs of Chinggis Khan. Three former shadow empires—Manchu Qing China, Tsarist Russia, and British India—made this transformation in the late eighteenth century and came to rule most of Eurasia. However, the DNA of their origins endured in their unique ruling strategies. Indeed, world powers still use these strategies today, long after their roots in shadow empires have been forgotten.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLooking afresh at the histories of important types of empires that are often ignored, \u003cem\u003eShadow Empires\u003c\/em\u003e provides an original account of empire formation from the ancient world to the early modern period.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47487525454060,"sku":"9780691278308","price":44.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780691278308-shadow-empires.jpg?v=1775742511"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/thomas-j-barfield.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}