Maps are ubiquitous—on phones, in-flight and car displays, and in textbooks the world over. While some maps delineate and ...

after World War I to advance their empires’ economic and political interests. They carved up the Middle East map with the stroke of a pen, and we have lived with the consequences ever since.

But no matter the purpose, all maps have something in common: They are political. Making maps is ... This is not exclusive to the Middle East – “map wars” are underway across the globe.