THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD
PRE-FINALS LESSONS
LESSON 1:
“GEOPOLITICS”
WHAT IS GEOPOLITICS?
 Study of the relationships between
demography, economics, environment,
geography, and politics and how they
influence countries foreign and national
security policies.
GEOPOLITICAL SCHOOL OF THOUGHT:
1. CLASSICAL GEOPOLITICS
 Methodologically traditionalist
interpretation of the roles played by
geography, natural resources, and
transportation in formulating and
implementing national and
international political, economic,
diplomatic, and military strategies.
2. CRITICAL GEOPLITICS:
 Leftist political and methodological
approach heavily influenced by
deconstructionist and postmodern
political theories. Seeks to expose
what it claims are deterministic,
exceptionalist, geographic,
ideological, and other flaws it claims
exist in traditional politics.
MODERN HISTORY OF GEOPOLITICS AND KEY
FOUNDERS
Geopolitics first used by Swedish political
scientist Rudolf Kjellén (1864-1922) in 1899 article in
Swedish journal Ymer.
A. KJELLEN CONTRIBUTIONS
 Influenced by German idealist
philosophy, social Darwinism, and
prevailing imperialist views
 Believed nation-states were more
important than individuals
 Asserted states should be studied as
geographical organisms or spatial
phenomena with particular emphasis
on a state’s location to other states in
its territorial form or size.
 Believed states possessing the
greatest power resources would win
wars
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 Supported many German WWI
objectives and believed the U.S. and
Russia were the only two countries
capable of becoming world powers.
B. ALFRED THAYER MAHAN (1840-1914)
 Professor at U.S. Naval War College
whose work continues influencing the
U.S. and other navies.
 Seminal work is The Influence of Sea
Power Upon History, 1660-1783 (1890)
 This work asserted naval and
merchant marine assets were the key
reasons England, France, Holland, and
Spain won wars enabling them to seize
overseas colonies, eliminate enemy
access to these colonies, and exploit
their natural resources.
C. MAHAN-INFLUENCE OF SEAPOWER
 Its publication came at a time of
European and Japanese expansion in
Africa and Asia. They soon would be
joined by the U.S.
 Influenced pro-expansionist
Americans such as Secretary of State
John Hay; Senator Henry Cabot Lodge;
and Theodore Roosevelt.
 Mahan advocated a larger navy to
patrol and defend the Gulf and
Caribbean coasts; believed there
would be a Central American canal;
and favored establishing an eastern
Pacific naval perimeter to keep Japan
and any other country from getting
within 3,000 miles of San Francisco.
D. FRIEDRICH RATZEL 91844-1904)
 German regarded as founder of
modern human and political
geography
 Political Geography (1897) credited
with establishing the foundations of
geopolitics and saw him introduce
lebensraum to German political
rhetoric.
 Believed state space increases with
territorial growth; that states grow by
absorbing other smaller units; and that
frontiers are peripheral state organs
reflecting a states strength and growth
and aren’t permanent.
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 The Sea as the Source of the Greatness
of a People (1900) stressed German
commitment to Weltpolitik and
maritime expansion .
 Ratzel was also interested in the
importance of environmental
influences such as climate, resources,
terrain, and vegetation.
E. HALFORD MACKINDER (1861-1947)
 Preeminent British promoter of
geopolitics
 Stressed the strategic importance of
the British Isles physical location and
natural resources endowment.
 “The Geographical Pivot of History”
(1904) published by the Royal
Geographical Society’s Geographical
Journal stressed his concern that one
power or alliance of powers could gain
control of Eurasia and use that region’s
resources for global domination.
F. MACKINDER
 Believed Russia’s geographic position
made it possible for it to expand its
power and saw China and Japan as
future challengers to Russia.
 Democratic Ideals and Reality (1919)
contended power was becoming more
centralized in all large states and that
populations would be susceptible to
government manipulation.
SELECTED COUNTRIES & GEOPOLITICAL INTERESTS/
 Supported the League of Nations and
PRACTICES
established the concept of the
heartland including all of Eastern
Europe saying that Germany and
Russia would seek to control this
region contending:
a. Who rules East Europe commands
the Heartland
b. Who Rules the Heartland
Commands the World Island
c. Who Rules the World Island
commands the world.
d. This work had limited immediate
impact in the U.S. and UK, but
stronger impact in Germany.
G. SERGEI GORSHOV (1910-1988)
 Admiral and commander-in-chief of
the Soviet Navy (1956-1985)
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 Transformed the Soviet navy from a
coastal force to a blue water maritime
power with aircraft carriers and
submarines capable of challenging U.S.
naval supremacy globally.
 Wrote books such as Red Star Rising at
Sea (1974); Seapower of the State
(1983); and articles in the journal
Military Thought
H. GOLBERY DO COUTO E SILVA (1911-1987)
 Brazilian military figure involved with
that country’s Superior War College.
 In works such as Brazilian Geopolitics
(1981), advocated exclusive Brazilian
leadership in South America.
 Favored an anti-Communist
partnership with the U.S. to protect
South Atlantic maritime waters from a
Soviet attack between the Atlantic
Narrows and West African bulge.
 Distrusted adjacent Spanish-speaking
countries such as Argentina,
Colombia, and Peru whom he believed
wanted to encircle Brazil.
 Advocating expanding internal
Brazilian frontiers by developing the
Amazon and Brazil’s northeastern and
southern regions.
 Incorporated Mackinder and Mahan
into his writings.
A. AUSTRALIA
 Maintaining close security ties with the
U.S., concerned with access to Persian
Gulf; desires unfettered access to
Antarctica; has growing trade
relationships with China and other East
Asian countries; concerned with
political and security developments in
Indonesian archipelago; has intervened
militarily in Iraq, Afghanistan, East
Timor, Papua New Guinea, and
Solomon Islands.
B. CANADA
 Cooperates with U.S. to prevent
ballistic missile attacks against North
America; has military forces in
Afghanistan; seeks to protect national
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sovereignty in Arctic region though it
hasn’t put significant military forces in
that region until the current Stephen
Harper Conservative Government;
concerned with how climate change
may affect Arctic populations and how
this may increase international shipping
traffic and natural resources
competition (oil and natural gas) with
nations such as Russia, the U.S. et. al.
C. CHINA
 Seeks to reclaim Taiwan; increasing the
size of its conventional and nuclear
military forces; seeks to provide
maritime security for its growing
demand for natural resources from as
far away as Latin America and Africa;
interested in South China Sea natural
resources and has disputes with
countries such as Japan; has close ties
with Pakistan and may compete with
India for Indian Ocean control; seeks to
challenge U.S. Western Pacific naval
preeminence.
D. INDIA
 Developing military capability to enable
it to expand beyond the South Asian
subcontinent; its population is
expected to surpass China’s around
2025; has nuclear weapons and a
nuclear agreement with the U.S. giving
it access to nuclear fuel and technology;
has challenging relationship with
Pakistan including their dispute over
Kashmir; hydropolitics challenges with
neighboring countries over the Ganges
and Indus rivers; will increase security
cooperation with the U.S. to hedge
against China; may adopt an Indian
Ocean Monroe Doctrine to ensure no
power(s) can restrict its access to the
Indian Ocean or natural resources
E. UNITED STATES
 Remains world’s preeminent military
power though facing acute financial
challenges such as $14 trillion national
debt; concerned with maintaining
freedom of the seas; working
collaboratively with other nations but
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taking preemptive military action if
needed; concerned with Chinese
challenges in the Western Pacific,
Indian Ocean, Africa etc.; competition
for natural resources and reducing
dependency on foreign imports;
Islamist terrorism (Afghanistan, Iraq);
Iran’s and North Korea’s nuclear
weapons aspirations.
GEOGRAPHY OF U.S. COMBATANT MILITARY
COMMANDS
 Northern Command (NORTHCOM)-Covers N.
America & Arctic
 Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)-Covers
Central & S. America
 Africa Command (AFRICOM)-Covers Africa-
established 2007
 Central Command(CENTCOM)-Covers
Mideast from Egypt to Kazakhstan)
 European Command (EUCOM)-Covers
Europe, Turkey, & all of Russia)
 Pacific Command (PACOM)-Covers India,
China, SE Asia, Oceania, & most of the Pacific
Ocean
CURRENT AND EMERGING GEOPOLITICAL “HOT
SPOTS”
 Afghanistan/Pakistan
 Arctic Natural Resources esp. oil/natural gas-
Russia flag planting North Pole 2007-Denmark
expects to claim North Pole seabed by 2014
 China in Africa
 China’s “String of Pearls Basing Strategy” and
Future Military Objectives-Has support
facilities in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan-
participates in antipiracy efforts in Indian
Ocean
 Climate Change
 Cyberwarfare
 Energy Policy and Competition (e.g. European
dependence on Russia for oil and natural gas-
Dec. 2005 Russia cuts off natural gas supplies
to Ukraine-affects EU)
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GEO POLITICAL HOT SPOTS
 Failed States e.g. Somalia
 Global Immigration/Migration incl.
U.S./Mexico border
 Global Pandemics
 Iran-nuclear weapons program
 Islamic Integration in Europe (Current
population estimated 15-18 million; estimated
to reach 10% of Europe’s population by 2020)
 Israel/Palestine
 Latin American Geopolitics (Drug wars; Iran’s
desire to use Hezbollah; Hugo Chavez, Charcas
Triangle-resource rich region involving
surrounding countries Argentina, Bolivia,
Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay)
 Maritime Piracy
 Mexican Drug Wars and Central American
Gangs
 Nigeria’s Delta Region
 Russian Foreign Policy toward “Near Abroad”
Countries (e.g.) 2008 war with Georgia
 South China Sea/Strait of Malacca
 Sovereign Debt e.g. Greece, Ireland, Portugal,
potentially U.S i.e high borrowing from China
et. al.
 Terrorism, Turkey, Yemen & Bab el Mandeb
Strait
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 We need to be able to read and understand
political, geographic, topographic, and other
kinds of maps.
 Need to understand the critical importance of
strategic chokepoints such as Panama Canal,
Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal, Strait of Malacca,
Bab el Mandeb Strait to national and
international economies and security.
 Recognize how geography has always affected
and will always affect international economic,
political, and security relationships.
 Recognize how international political power
always has been and always will be
characterized by conflict, including military
conflict, and access to resources and economic
markets.
 Geopolitics is the ultimate interdisciplinary
subject with unlimited research possibilities
 Importance of U.S. restoring fiscal solvency so
it can successfully defend its global economic
and strategic interests through military
strength and prudent collaboration with allied
nations.
YEMEN AND STRAIT OF BAB-EL MANDEB

INFORMATION RESOURCES

 Militaries; especially war colleges and

research centers
 Foreign ministries; finance departments;
energy, environmental, natural resources
departments
 Congressional and parliamentary
committees
 International government organizations
and non-government organizations
 Scholarly books, journals,
dissertations/theses blogs, Facebook,
twitter

CONCLUSIONS

 Understanding geography is critical for

understanding and analyzing domestic and
international economic, environmental,
diplomatic, political, and security
developments.
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SPARATLY ISLAND CHINA’S DISPUTED TERRITORIES

CHINA IMPORT TRANSIT ROUTES/ CHOKEPOINTS

STRAIT OF MALACCA

CHINA MARTIME ACTIVITY

• China is increasing its naval spending and

maritime security activities and is increasingly
interested in developing its power projection
capabilities to cover the two Pacific Island
chains as the map in the next slide
demonstrates.
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CHINA’S 1ST & 2ND ISLAND CHAINS MARITIME

PERIMETER