As the US and UK are set to again commit to military involvement in the Middle East, this interactive visualises the intricate, complex and sometimes hidden relationships and alliances across the region.

Its tangled, opened state is meant as a kind of visual joke, showing how its fabric defies simple solutions. You can filter relationship types ‘on’ and ‘off’ in the bottom left and also rollover and click on different players to get a clarified view.

Understandably, this is an ongoing, evolving diagram which we hope to add to. So feel free to help us make this diagram more accurate. Please comment below or email your ideas and corrections.

This is a guest interactive taken from the new book, Knowledge is Beautiful (find out more: UK & US), the sequel to Information is Beautiful