Borders draw one map of the world; money draws another. A journalist’s account exposes a parallel universe that has become a haven for the rich and powerful.
Abrahamian’s interviews with the people — the vast majority of them men — who helped develop and run these special economic zones provide a window into how just a few economists and consultants could change the way countries around the world operate. But her accounts of the conversations can be meandering, and sometimes divert her from a focus on the final product: the unusual jurisdictions her book seeks to illuminate ... Finding solace in a place without borders makes for a nice conclusion, but it skips over the question of what to do about the rest of the world — the hidden globe of Abrahamian’s title. The answer might require another book.
Sharply observed descent into the labyrinth of finance and semantics with which nations and the superrich secure their wealth ... Her well-researched, engrossing work manages the minutiae of several fields, including telecommunications, maritime law, and fine art, to stitch together a multilayered tale of how privilege works to protect itself.
