GEOPOLITICS

-CONCEPTS & THEORIES-

Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI

 RECAP

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 2

 GEOPOLITICS: A BRIEF INTRODUCTORY HISTORY

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Degl
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Fo u n Deco

1914-1918 1920 1939-1945 40s-60s 50s-70s 50s-91 1990s 2010s-present

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 3

 SESSION I OVERVIEW

SESSION 1 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER

SESSION 2 CONCEPTS & THEORIES OF GEOPOLITICS
SESSION 3 SOFT POWER & INFLUENCE
SESSION 4 INTERNATIONAL ACTORS & DIPLOMATIC STRATEGIES
SESSION 5 MIDTERM EXAM
SESSION 6 GROUP PRESENTATIONS
SESSION 7 CASE STUDY
FINAL EXAM

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 4

 PLAN

I. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF GEOPOLITICS

II. HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF GEOPOLITICS

III. CLASSICAL THEORIES OF GEOPOLITICS

IV. TYPOLOGY OF CONFLICTS

V. GEOPOLITICAL ANALYSIS: AN INTRODUCTION

VI. EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 5

 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

GEOPOLITICS

DISCIPLINE AT THE INTERSECTION OF

GEOGRAPHY HISTORY POLITICAL SCIENCE

LAND TERRITORY

TERRITORIAL WATERS

AEROSPACE

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 6

 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

GEOPOLITICS

2 DEFINITION TRENDS

SCIENCE OF SPATIAL DETERMINANTS POLITICAL THEORY THAT JUSTIFIES

OF POLITICAL PROCESSES POLITICAL OBJECTIVES

REFLECTION THAT PRECEDES

POLITICAL ACTIVITY

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 7

 GEOPOLITICS: DEFINITION

GEO + POLITICS

Geography Politics

Territorial space Governance & Power

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 8

 GEOPOLITICS: DEFINITION

Geopolitics: Interdisciplinary field that explores how a country’s geography and

policies affect its situation and the manner that other foreign countries, organizations
and individuals relate to it.

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 9

 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

GEOPOLITICS

interplay between

GEOGRAPHICAL FACTORS NON GEOGRAPHICAL FACTORS

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 10

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

GEOPOLITICS

INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL POWER

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 11

 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

GEOPOLITICS POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 12

 HISTORICAL ANALYSIS

TERM OF “GEOPOLITICS”

COINED & USED FOR THE 1st TIME IN 1899 BY

Rudolf Kjellén
Swedish historian and political scientist

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 13

 HISTORICAL ANALYSIS

TERM OF “POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY”

COINED & USED FOR THE 1st TIME IN 1897 BY

Friedrich Ratzel
German Geographer and Ethnographer

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 14

 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

GEOPOLITICS POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY

GEOGRAPHY => POLITICS POLITICS => GEOGRAPHY

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 15

 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

GEOPOLITICS GEOSTRATEGY

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 16

 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

GEOPOLITICS GEOSTRATEGY

GEOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVES
PLANNING/DIRECTING/EXECUTING
&
THE GEOPOLITICAL THRUST
POLITICAL PROCESSES

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 17

 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

GEOPOLITICS GEOECONOMICS

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 18

 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

GEOPOLITICS GEOECONOMICS

GEOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVES GEOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVES

& &
POLITICAL PROCESSES ECONOMIC PROCESSES

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 19

 GEOECONOMICS: DEFINITION

Geoeconomics: Interdisciplinary field that explores how a country’s economic

policies affect its situation and the manner that other foreign countries, organizations
and individuals relate to it.

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 20

 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

GEOPOLITICAL ‘’CHESSBOARD’’

Metaphorical concept
States are like players on a chessboard, making strategic moves to secure:
advantageous positions, resources, and geopolitical influence.

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 21

 CLASSICAL THEORIES

Theories of Mahan (1890), Mackinder, (1904) and Haushofer (2000)

Rooted in the realities and experiences of the 19 th century and the 1st half of the 20th century.

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 22

 CLASSICAL THEORIES

Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914)

“ROLE OF THE SEA IN POLITICAL SPACE”

 The struggle for global domination is related to the sea.

 The sea is a path that connects various parts of the lands.

 Main factors determining the naval power:

-Geographical position
-Physical conformation/Infrastructures
-Extent of territory
-Population size
-Involvement of the population
-Character of the government

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 23

 CLASSICAL THEORIES

Halford J. Mackinder (1861-1947)

“HEARTLAND THEORY: WORLD DOMINANCE”

(Most influential geopolitical theory of the 20 th Century)

 Divided the world map into 3 areas:

-World-Islands (Europe-Asia-Africa)
-Offshore islands (British isles and islands of Japan)
-Outlying islands (North America, South America and
Australia)

 Whoever rules the heartland (eastern Europe), could easily

gain control the rest of the world.

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 24

 CLASSICAL THEORIES

Halford J. Mackinder (1861-1947)

“HEARTLAND THEORY”
(Most influential geopolitical theory of the 20 th Century)

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 25

 CLASSICAL THEORIES

Karl Haushofer (1869-1946)

“AXIS POWERS – PAN REGIONS”

 Attempted to fit the Axis powers by uniting the potentials of

countries to gain a global position.

 Advocated the Berlin-Moscow-Tokyo (and the USA) axis as

the best political division of land potential to augment the
German strategic control of eastern Europe (Eurasia).

 Formulated a thesis of four pan-regions:

-Pan-European
-Pan-Russian
-Pan-American
-Pan-Pacific

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 26

 CLASSICAL THEORIES

CLASSICAL GEOPOLITICAL THEORIES

MAKE THE LINK BETWEEN THE THEORY AND THE POLITICAL

OBJECTIVES OF A STATE

USED TO JUSTIFY THE EXPANSIONIST POLICIES

CONTROVERSIAL ASPECT OF THE CLASSICAL THEORIES

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 27

 TYPOLOGY OF CONFLICTS

TYPES OF CONFLICTS

TERRITORIAL ETHNIC AND CULTURAL ECONOMIC

GLOBAL POWER COMPETITION IDEOLOGICAL RESOURCE SCARCITY

ARMS PROLIFERATION PROXY CYBERSECURITY

REFUGEE AND DISPLACEMENT

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 28

 GEOPOLITICAL ANALYSIS: AN INTRODUCTION

GEOPOLITICAL ANALYSIS

DESCRIPTIVE PRESCRIPTIVE PREDICTIVE

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 29

 HOMEWORK 1

Classical Geopolitics
vs
Modern Geopolitics

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 30

 HOMEWORK 1I

 Pick (1) theory of Geopolitics and explain it in (1) page.

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 31

 HOMEWORK 1II

 Describe how global capitalism influences geopolitics.

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 32

EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY

vs

CASE STUDY

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 33

 EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY

 Nature
Specify the nature of the conflict
 Context
Major events or turning points that have influenced the dynamics of the conflict over time
 Actors (SWOT)
Identify the key actors involved in the conflict and conduct a SWOT analysis for each one
 Actions/Actor
Describe the actions taken by each key actor involved in the conflict
 Result(s)
Examine the short-term and long-term outcomes of the conflict

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 34

 RECAP

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 35

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 CONTACT

Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI

airaqi@esca.ma
/profahmediraqi

Geopolitics I Chapter II I Prof. Dr. Ahmed IRAQI 38