Never

As an author, Follett is universally commended for his meticulous research. This has proven key to his success in his historical epics, whether focused on the building of a cathedral in Medieval England or on world history seen through multiple generations of families. This epic-length thriller is no exception. While Follett states in interviews that his characters are fictional, the history leading up to the conflict and details of weapons are accurate and based on research. Some examples found in this section of the novel include the tensions between Chad and Sudan, which date back to the establishment of the first border between the countries during the European Scramble for Africa in the late 19th century. Illegal gold mines in the failed state of Libya is another reality that appears in the novel. These mines are a concern for money laundering as well as terrorist financing, the latter of which the novel includes. While North Korea and Libya established formal diplomatic relations in 1974 under Qaddafi, it does not recognize the current transitional government there as legitimate. It is unlikely that any activities engaged in by North Koreans do not have the implicit approval of their government. And North Korea has sold weapons to Libya as well as assisted them in the now-defunct Libyan nuclear project. The naming of each part of the novel by an actual US DEFCON level also adds to its veracity, as well as increasing the tension felt by the reader.

These interconnected networks between countries speak to The Ethics and Counterproductivity of Diplomacy and International Relations. As the world becomes increasingly connected, and countries ally with each other and sell resources to each other, the world only seems to become more dangerous, as the novel suggests. The novel does not view these ally networks as particularly safe or helpful against world war but instead views diplomacy and international relations as being counterproductive and corrupted, veering toward making war an inevitability. The international relations themselves do not seem to accomplish much but rather only bolster one side against the other, leading to a more severe standoff and threat. This also speaks to Globalization and the Threat of Nuclear War in the 21st Century, as the increasing globalization only seems to worsen the threat of nuclear catastrophe in the modern era. North Korea, which possesses nuclear weapons, increasingly becomes involved in conflicts in the Middle East and Africa; in the novel, it is a concern that their weapons might make their way to an unstable country, leading to a launched nuclear missile and nuclear war. The interconnectedness could be seen as entanglement, much like the entanglement of allies and treatises that led to World War I.

China’s investments in Africa have been likened to neo-colonial projects. The opening section of the novel first raises them in the mention of canals and Lake Chad. Chinese advances are further exposed in the bombing incident of the Port Sudan project. While China’s interest in Sudan traces back to 1959, it grew considerably after the US imposed sanctions on Sudan in 1998. More generally, China became interested in investing in African countries when communist Mao Zedong governed the country (1949-1976). Not only was this during the Cold War (1947-1991), but it was also the period of anticolonial struggles against European imperial rule. Many of these newly independent countries were part of the Non-Aligned Movement. This meant that they supported neither the US nor the USSR during the Cold War. Although China was not officially a member of this movement, it often supported anti-colonial movements, for example through investment in infrastructure. Some critics have argued that the war in Ukraine might be leading toward a new Cold War between the US and Russia and that China is encouraging a resurgence of the Non-Aligned Movement.

This novel was published before the conflict in Ukraine, and the major struggle depicted is between the US and China and their respective spheres of influence. China’s investment in Africa is a way to counter reliance on US military and financial support while also giving China a means of expanding into these regions. Scholars view this as a form of neo-colonialism. Not only do these infrastructure projects encourage exclusive trade, but they also allow for Chinese incorporation of military and security components within economic development projects in the region.

The forms that foreign relations take in the 21st century are no longer international but global. Weapons, drugs, and people circulate across borders, often controlled by non-state actors like smugglers, terrorists, or rogue nations like North Korea. While North Korea does belong to international organizations like the UN (since 1991) and has signed a number of international treaties, it is the only country to have withdrawn from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), doing so in 2003. In the novel, North Korea is seen as disregarding many of the treaties it has signed concerning things like financing international terrorism or arms sales, although many other countries have found ways to do the same, such as the US did during the 1981-1986 Iran-Contra affair.

This section also continues to investigate the theme of Stereotypes of Women and Power. Some women, such as Kiah, show an increased engagement in dangerous situations and an increased skill-level in dealing with them. Kiah subverts her image as a widow and a young woman in this kind of novel by showing tremendous agency within her situation and resisting the stereotype of a female love interest cliché. She helps Abdul and shows skill in rescuing them both, even though she continues to develop her romance with him. Other female characters, however, who are in professional roles increasingly become focused on romantic situations. This engages in the stereotype of women in power not being able to focus solely on the professional responsibilities at hand and having to focus, at least in part, on men and romantic interactions.