The Hidden Globe

The Hidden Globe: How Wealth Takes Over the World of Atossa Araxia Abrahamian

Borders draw a map of the world; money attracts another. The fascinating story of a journalist exposes a parallel universe that has become a paradise for the rich and powerful.

Atossa Araxia Abrahamian is an intrepid journalist whose many writings on the cracks in the nation-state system have appeared everywhere from the New York Times and the New York Review of Books to the London Review of Books and other publications.

Now his latest book, The Hidden Globe (River Network Books), will forever change the way we perceive the world in which we live, work, travel and drive. We may think that we exist in clearly separate nation states, but Abrahamian exposes many places where this perception is more fiction than reality. A globe shows the world we think we know: clearly defined sovereign nations that grant or limit the rights of their citizens. But below, above and within its boundaries, another universe was created to exist. It consists of thousands of extraterritorial zones that operate largely autonomously and increasingly for the benefit of wealthier individuals and corporations.

From Switzerland to Singapore, from Honduras to Dubai, from Mauritius to Laos, from the Arctic to space, Abrahamian guides readers through the special economic zones that support global trade, the oceans where ships sail under flags of convention that often belong to landlocked countries. , micro-states that rewrite the laws of space and polar archipelagos that redefine the idea of national sovereignty.

Combining history, political analysis and legal theory with field reports and profiles of a colorful variety of consultants, entrepreneurs, theorists, lawyers and ideologues, it shows how greed, idealism and opportunism led to the 'invention of radical forms of new politics. and the economic space. The book has already received great acclaim.

"A season of turmoil is upon us and The Hidden Globe exposes the unvarnished truth in an illuminating report. — Hamilton Cain, Minneapolis Star Tribune

"A carefully observed descent into the labyrinth of finance and semantics by which nations and the super-rich secure their wealth... A multi-layered narrative of how privilege works to protect us." » — Kirkus Reviews

"A revealing look at a global collection of 'offshore jurisdictions', 'legal black holes' and 'free zones' ... Abrahamian begins by delving into the history of contemporary tax havens ... but his scope is much broader ...an impressive feat.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review

Hidden Globe provides essential context for headlines on globalization, deportation, international money laundering and cryptocurrencies. While much of the political discourse surrounding the US presidential election has been framed as a showdown between nationalism and globalism, Abrahamian astutely points out that nationalism is not the binary opposite of globalism. , but whatever the rhetoric, it is deeply intertwined with him on this.