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Competing Views of Geopolitics

Old map, courtesy of the national library of France


As an explanatory construct used by overworked foreign policy establishments, geopolitics has historically taken pride of place in directing their responses to events. Indeed, the vocabulary of international relations is saturated with long-familiar geopolitical terms. While reports of its demise are exaggerated, in a supposedly post-modern world geopolitics can seem passé. Critics argue that in its classical form it merely provided a self-justifying language for empire, and that it ultimately can tell us little about how to confront the new challenges we face today.

Such critiques conveniently ignore that there are several schools of thought when it comes to geopolitics. To illustrate this point, our discussion begins with a look at the classical school founded by the likes of Friedrich Ratzel and Sir Halford Mackinder, which current enthusiasts such as Robert Kaplan and George Friedman argue still have great relevance, especially in relation to the rise of China. The second approach we consider is the increasingly popular 'critical' one associated with Gerard Toal and Simon Dalby, which highlights the importance of how we represent geographies in international politics. (We accompany this discussion with a tongue-in-cheek look at some of the "alternate geographies" available to us today.) Finally, in our third approach we look at geopolitical world-systems analysis, as proposed by Immanual Wallerstein and others.

Through The Earth's Core, courtesy of A Strakey/flickr

Geopolitical Approach Number One – Current Justifications of Classical Geopolitics

28 Nov 2011 / Special Feature

Today we ask whether 'classical' geopolitics still has sufficient explanatory power to help characterize and navigate the major structural changes occurring in the international environment. To that end, we examine the theories of Colin Gray and Zbigniew Brzezinski. More on «Geopolitical Approach Number One – Current Justifications of Classical Geopolitics»

Warship and red boat in front of a city, courtesy of Felix Garza/US Department of Defense

Classical Geopolitics Today – A Case Study

29 Nov 2011 / Special Feature

There is widespread international debate on the extent to which China’s naval expansions pose a threat to US dominance of the world’s oceans. In this STRATFOR Conversation, George Friedman and Robert Kaplan agree on China’s ambition, but have very different views on its geopolitical impact. More on «Classical Geopolitics Today – A Case Study»

Sunset over Registan in Uzbekistan , courtesy zz77/flickr

Geopolitical Approach Number Two – Critical Geopolitics

30 Nov 2011 / Special Feature

Though practitioners of classical geopolitics remain among us, they do not represent the only approach to this type of analysis. Critical geopolitics, which we discuss today, is an entirely different kettle of fish. More on «Geopolitical Approach Number Two – Critical Geopolitics»

A raised-relief globe, courtesy of Mr iMaax/flickr

Critical Geopolitics – A Case Study

01 Dec 2011 / Special Feature

In today's slideshow of ‘alternative geographies,’ we gently suggest that nothing about the geopolitical maps we use today is natural or inevitable. Our selection of maps make an entertaining case that they are indeed the product of human choices and that those choices can have policy-related consequences, for better as well as for worse. More on «Critical Geopolitics – A Case Study»

Seaport painted by Claude Lorrain in 1638, courtesy of Wikimedia

Geopolitical Approach Number Three – Geopolitics and the Rise of the Rest

02 Dec 2011 / Special Feature

Thus far this week we have examined the beliefs and assumptions associated with classical and critical geopolitics. To round out our general discussion this week, let’s look at a third approach to geopolitics – the world-systems model developed by Immanuel Wallerstein. More on «Geopolitical Approach Number Three – Geopolitics and the Rise of the Rest»

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