...CRITICAL ASSIGNMENT There are several theoretical approaches to consider when discussing geopolitics. Three of these approaches are the Realist approach seen by Michael Klare; the Balance of Power theory outlined by Robert Skidelsky; and Social Constructivism theory used by Gearoid Ó Tuathail. After analysis of these three geopolitical theories, it becomes clear that the Realist approach and incorporated application of Halford Mackinder’s Heartland Thesis, demonstrated by Michael Klare, is the most persuasive and applicable in a contemporary setting. Klare’s Realist Theory Michael Klare applies realist theory to explain contemporary American international relations. In this explanation, Klare draws on the geopolitical thesis of Halford Mackinder. Mackinder’s theory explains that the state that controls the Heartland, which is land seen to be of geopolitical importance, will inevitably become a global superpower as they amass economic and political strength from that territory. Mackinder states “Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland; Who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island; Who rules the World-Island commands the World.” (Mackinder 1919: 150) Klare’s incorporation of a realist approach lies in the way he explains America adherence to the Heartland thesis. Klare demonstrates America’s desire to control the Heartland by overtly militaristic foreign policies in areas of great geopolitical competition. America had been involved in conflict in the resource rich...
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...GEOPOLITICS IN EURO-MEDITERRANEAN AREA Introduction Since several centuries, The Euro-Mediterranean Area has always been the center of the world, geopolitically speaking, representing a major hub when it comes to political interactions, commercial alliances, diplomatic communication and socio-cultural connections. The appellation of United States of Europe can highlight the crucial importance of these nations and the impact of its cooperation and interactions at the international level. In July 13th 2008, Nicolas Sarkozy had triggered a process that led to the Union for the Mediterranean that became today a huge union between countries all around the world, over and above the Mediterranean Sea, attesting of the tremendous magnitude of its geopolitical power. To me, the major objective of this Union should be conducted by a real long-term geopolitical, economic and socio-cultural strategy aiming the promotion of the economical integration and democratic reforms among and between Euro-Mediterranean nations. Since this geopolitical area is highly characterized by an ambient heterogeneity, between North Nations and South Nations in one hand, between wealthy powers, and more underprivileged countries on the other hand, economical and socio-cultural disparities between different geopolitical regions seems to me that they represent the 1st major problem and geopolitical challenge. Indeed, this inevitable battle for a homogeneous united geopolitical area can be a capital step...
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...What is human geography ? Nature of place Meanings Assumptions and expectations Disciple and power relations Developing Location.. whats here why is it here Region (imaginary- formal, function and perceptual) Place Landscape 2.1 What is globalization 2.2 what are the connections between globalization and geographical ? 2.3 why do some people or groups oppose globalization Political geography 3.1 spiritual organization-states nations 3.2 the modern nation-state 3.4 Geopolitics and critical geopolitics. 3.5 supranational organizations and the future of the state Understanding the current world map POLITICAL GEORAPHY study the effect of political actions on humans geography. spatial analysis of political phenomenon moving around people are going around. Ex china going to Afghanistan for resources The study of states- their groupings and global relations. France cannot stand the US.. their relationship is lost Territory, sovereignty, and boundaries TERRITORITALITY a country’s or local community’s sense of property and attachment toward its territory, as expressed by its determination to keep it inviolable and strongly defended (text pg 53) it’s a space of something its our natural action to protect or control our territory.. and meaning of territory. Must all the land be owned? Ex even when we went to the moon we had to plant a flag and say it was ours SOVEREIGNTYexclusive control over territory a principle of international relations(all...
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...Chapter 8 Outline -In 1997, the newly elected Labor party in London gave the Scots (and the Welsh) the opportunity to vote- not for independence, but for devolution. They both voted in favor, taking a major devolutionary step in one of Europe’s oldest and most stable unitary states. - Scotland’s new autonomous status has not necessarily fueled greater calls for independence. - At the heart of most devolutionary moments however, is a strong sense of ethnocultural or economic difference and when sense of difference coincide with conflicting senses of territory, the results can be explosive. - Devolutionary pressures often arise from a combination of sources. - Catalonia produces some 25% of all Spanish exports by value and 40% of its industrial exports. - Economic forces play an even more prominent role in Italy and France. - Italy faces serious devolutionary forces on its mainland peninsula as well one is the growing regional disparity between north and south. The wealthier north stands in sharp contrast to the poorer south. - The most recent of Italian politicians was the Northern League which raised the prospect of an independent state called Padania. The Northern League’s Efforts fell short. - Devolutionary events most often occur on the margins of states. - Distance, remoteness, and marginal location are allies of devolution. - The regions most likely to seek devolution are those far from the national capitol. Many are separated by water, desert, or mountains...
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...(and prevalent) error in discussing Fukuyama's work is to confuse 'history' with 'events'. Fukuyama does not claim at any point that events will stop happening in the future. What he is claiming is that all that will happen in the future (even if totalitarianism returns) is that democracy will become more and more prevalent in the long term, although it may have 'temporary' setbacks (which may, of course, last for centuries). He believes that the European Union more accurately reflects what the world will look like at the end of history than the contemporary United States HUNGTINGTON’S FUTURE The Clash of Civilizations In 1993, Professor Huntington provoked great debate "The Clash of Civilizations?",. Its description of post–Cold War geopolitics contrasted with the influential End of History thesis advocated by Francis Fukuyama. Huntington expanded "The Clash of Civilizations?" to book length and published it as The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking...
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...Globalisation, of course, is therefore a manifestation of a neo-liberal economic ideology. Globalization is a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology. This process has effects on the environment, on culture, on political systems, on economic development and prosperity, and on human physical well-being in societies around the world. : all those processes by which the peoples of the world are incorporated into a single world society. : Globalization can thus be defined as the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa. For eg. Recession US eg The International Monetary Fund (IMF) identified four basic aspects of globalization: trade and transactions, capital and investment movements, migration and movement of people and the dissemination of knowledge. Further, environmental challenges such as climate change, cross-boundary water, air pollution, and over-fishing of the ocean are linked with globalization. Globalizing processes affect and are affected by business and work organization, economics, socio-cultural resources, and the natural environment. Globalization is deeply controversial, however. Proponents of globalization argue that it allows poor countries and their citizens to develop economically...
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...Fiches géopolitique Session 1 Geo-determinism : * Friedrich Ratzel : Struggle for space; * Georgi Plekhanov: Russia expensiveness: move on the territory. * F.J Turner: “The frontier theory” > the frontier as formative to American identity. Geographic themes: * Borders and Territory. * Nations and States. * Landscape and resources. * Location and neighborhood. * Built geography. * A.T Mahan: Influence of sea power upon history. * Sir Halford John Mackinder: Russia was the pivot area. * Conflicting narratives: * Socially constructed geographies. * Sir Halford John Mackinder: Russia was the pivot area. * The construction of geopolitical representations. Session 2 * Geopolitical codes. * Alexander George: the personality of your state affects the way you interpret the world. * Content of geopolitical codes. * Popular and elite codes. * Scale of geopolitical codes. * Modelski’s World Leadership. * Critiques. * Regional power. * Regional power hierarchies. * Regional power characteristics. * Components of power: * Indicators of military power. * Indicators of economic power. * Importance of economic power. * Indicators of demographic power. * Indicators off soft power. * Indicators of willingness to act. * Yalta February 1945. * Post-war geopolitical representations. * Kennan on containment. * Truman doctrine. * Soviet geopolitical...
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...Political Science is a vast study. It can correlate to other blanches of learning just like History, Economic, Geography, Sociology and Anthropology, Psychology, Philosophy, Statistics and Logic, and Jurisprudence. But, what i would like to reflect is the study of Geography. It is very important for me to be able to understand the interrelationship of political science and geography, since I am currently taking up a major subject which is geopolitics. As i have undergone the learning process of my degree program, International Studies and this subject, Political Science 2, I have realized that it is necessary for a concerned citizen, an IS student, a diplomat, and most especially a political scientist to know how geography affects the arising of global issues and international politics. It is the simplest way, the actions of individuals and societies are influenced by the physical environments, particularly climate, food, soil, etc. The geographical and physical factors greatly affect or influence the character, the national life of the people, and their political institutions. Without geography, I think the political concept can't go this far. This branch of learning is just so important to explain why such phenomena happened in the past and are happening today. Say for example those nations that are rich in natural resources may become more powerful in world politics. Another concrete example in the issue in recent months with regards to the tension between...
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...The Geopolitics of China China is a land shaped by its history; a country that has suffered great calamities and more than anything else, has grown. China “boasts a civilization at least three thousand years old” (Hutton, 2007) and is a home for more than 1.3billion people. It covers over 5,000 kilometres of land in East Asia, and is surrounded by powerful neighbours – Vietnam, India, North Korea, Russia and more. While Northern China is subarctic, South China experiences sub-tropical climates. The Eastern side of the country, following the East China Sea, as well as the Yellow Sea, is comprised of mainly low lands; China is much more heavily industrialised towards the north-east (Hutton, 2007), whereas, the West hosts more mountains. Most countries are historically known for using their boarders and coast lines as defensive mechanisms, conversely though, China is known for tactfully moving in-land and using its terrain for defence; which form up to two thirds of China’s land (Gaddis, 2005). Will Hutton argues that China has “burst back on to the world scene in a manner parcelled in scale and speed in world history only by the rise of the United States.” It first endured a “century of humiliation” (Lecture). Opium Wars dominated China in the 1840s until 1860, after which the Taiping Rebellion – a civil war, revolting against the Quing Dynasty took place, closely followed by the Boxer Uprising – a rebellion provoked by imperialist expansion (Gaddis, 2005). Looking at this...
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...Geopolitics of Thailand TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 2 Geographic location in Asia 2 Economy of Thailand 2 Demographic 2 Culture 3 China and Thailand 3 What China would want from Thailand 3 What are the Chinese needs ? 3 What can Thailand provides to China in this optic ? 4 China and Thailand relationships 5 Thailand and its neighbours 7 ASEAN7 Myanmar8 Laos 8 Cambodia 8 Vietnam 9 Thailand and USA9 Relations threw the history9 Economic relations10 Current bilateral issues 11 Strategies11 Geopolitical imperatives11 Strategies with historical evolution 12 Conclusion 15 Bibliography 15 I. Introduction 1.1 Geographic location in Asia Totaling 513,120 km² Thailand is the world's 51st-largest country by total area. 1.2 Economy of Thailand Thailand is an emerging economy and considered as a newly industrialized country.It exports an increasing value of over $105 billion worth of goods and services annually.> Thai rice, textiles and footwear, fishery products, rubber, jewellery, cars, computers and electrical appliances. Its Substantial industries are : electric appliances, tourism (6%), sex tourism and prostitution…It also has a GDP worth US$602 billion. This classifies Thailand as the 2nd largest economy in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia.It is the 4th richest nation according to GDP per capita, after Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia. Finally the IMF has predicted that the Thai economy will...
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...Islamisme : l’erreur stratégique américaine L’alternative islamiste aux régimes autoritaires arabes devient une option sérieuse pour la diplomatie américaine dès la fin de la première guerre du Golfe. Aussi bien au niveau de leurs chancelleries qu’à travers leur réflexion stratégique , les Etats Unis sont arrivés à la conclusion que les courants religieux dans les pays arabes seraient, à l’avenir, l’incarnation d’une légitimité populaire qui leur ferait inéluctablement conquérir le pouvoir politique .Cette conviction trouve son argumentaire dans les origines mêmes de la société américaine fondée sur un corpus de principes panachant éthique religieuse, démocratie libérale et conservatisme moral .Les USA considèrent, en effet , qu’ils peuvent , non seulement co-exister, mais encourager « une identité musulmane positive , pro- occidentale et pacifique ». La marche triomphale des néo-islamistes turcs vers le pouvoir allait définitivement faire taire les plus récalcitrants . Parmi ces derniers figure S.Huntington qui estimait que par un « paradoxe démocratique » le suffrage universel ne pouvait porter au pouvoir que des forces fondamentalistes hostiles aux Etats Unis . En réalité , le résultat du suffrage universel n’est que le reflet de la désastreuse image de marque des Etats Unis dans le monde arabo - musulman et cela quelle que soit la forme du régime en place .Les révolutions qui ont récemment eu lieu dans certains pays arabes, en libérant certaines forces déstructurées...
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...The Crimean war is one of the most memorable and significant wars fought in 19th century Europe. It was a conflict that affected all of Europe from a geographical standpoint since Russia came to war with Britain, France, and Turkey after the decay of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire called upon the aid of the British and French to help them in repelling the Russians, who wanted to expand their geopolitical interests as well as financial dependence. The result of every war has its winners and casualties, who suffer the consequences of the aftermath. Russia strived to gain territory in its attempt for even greater European conquest, but failed and lost its dominating title and leading position in Europe as well as Asia. The Crimean War is a pertinent historical event that marked Russian attempt to conquer in order to become a dominant hegemony in Europe and where the outcomes of the war geographically changed Europe as well as affected people’s nationalistic/identity beliefs. Often times named one of the bloodiest battles, yet technologically advanced wars of the nineteenth century; the Crimean war was a vital event in European history. It was a conflict where Russia lost to an alliance of France, the United Kingdom, the Ottoman Empire, after Russia’s attempt to expand commercial and strategic designs as the Ottoman Empire was slowly deteriorating . The fall of the Empire would allow Russia to gain control and obtain the Dardanelles, as well as naval access to the Mediterranean...
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...Geopolitics and International Affairs “What are the key factors in contemporary redistributions of Geopolitical Power?” The Encyclopaedia Britannica describes Geopolitics as “analysis of the geographic influences on power relationships in international relations” (2010); therefore Geopolitical Power is the power certain nations have over other nations, based upon Geographic influences and advantages. Across the world the geographies of power shift from nation to nation over time (such as the shift in power from Britain to the USA after WWII) and the hegemonic structure has a huge effect on world dynamics such economy, politics, society and culture. The nation with the most power tends to have the greatest influence over these and other factors. Currently, and in recent years there has been a notable rise in power from nations in the geographic east (most notably China) simultaneous to the apparent decline in power by the worlds current top geopolitical power (the USA). This is raising serious questions as to the future of the current hegemonic structure. There are a number of key factors which are driving this shift in power and here I aim to address and analyse these so that I may answer the question “What are the key factors in contemporary redistributions of Geopolitical Power?” The USA is currently the world's dominant geopolitical power and has been since World War II. According to Fareed Zakaria (2008) “...the United States' [unrivalled economic status] has lasted more...
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...May 12th, 2013 GEOPOLITICS OF SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Borders in South and Central Asia INTRODUCTION While some seem to care above all about the economic growth of several booming economies (or as they are often called “emerging markets”, such as China, Russia or India), it is legitimate for others to worry more about the borders of some states in the very same region. A border is the very line separating two political or geographical areas, more commonly called countries. Whereas in some parts of the world, the borders between two countries are not even a marked and are seen as simple trade corridors, the issue is raised in a totally different way when it comes to both South and Central Asia. The question of borders presents a major problem for several countries, especially given all it symbolizes: the stability of a state and its legal territory, a politically controlled and delimited zone and a corridor between two nations. Were it after the end of the British Empire or that of the Soviet era, the borders keep being a matter of dispute and the cause of severe contentiousness in South and Central Asia nowadays. Drug trafficking and the circulation of energy are not the only problems. The border disputes mostly jeopardize the transnational security and the ethnical conflicts at stake. A territorial dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of land between two or more states, or over the possession and control of land by a new state that is...
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...Geopolitics, International Environment and Business International risk management 1 Geopolitics, International Environment and Business Risks identification Are we leading towards economic war? 2 Geopolitics, International Environment and Business Several agencies seem to reinforce this idea, particularly regarding international trade 3 “Public economic warfare” Japan JETRO, Japan External Trade Organization (www.jetro.go.jp) Created in 1958 to promote Japanese exports From the 80s it expands to developing countries. 21st century: To promote FDI into Japan To help small & medium sized companies to export. 4 USA (1992, 1993): Bill Clinton Policy "Putting People First, A National Economic Strategy For America" Governor Bill Clinton June 21, 1992 Opening up world markets. […] we will move aggressively to open foreign markets to quality American goods and services (for instance, NAFTA) Economic security council / Advocacy Center / CIA / FBI –Economic Counterintelligence Program The stakes in this game are high! 5 FRANCE: UBIFRANCE -Offices in France (partnership with chambers of trade) -80 offices in 60 different countries (156 in 120 countries if Economic Missions considered) -More than 1,400 collaborators MISSION: to make French exports easier, to support and to monitor French companies abroad. 6 7 “Private economic war” International competition Is it replacing military conflicts? Competitive...
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