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Geopolitics examines (studies) the geographic and political features of

different regions, especially the impact of geography on politics.

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After Poland declared an end to communism East Germany followed. The

collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marked the beginning to the end of

Communism in Eastern Europe. Although there were attempts in China for

democratization in 1989 as well they were not as successful.

The protest in Tunisia sparked a democratization movement that spread

throughout the middle East and North Africa.

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For example when NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was created the

Soviet satellite nations and the USSR came together under the Warsaw Pact.

Both organizations are military alliances.

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In other words shatterbelts are countries that are in between two spheres of

influence that are under stress because of this. For example during the Cold

War many countries of Eastern Europe were considered in the shatterbelt

between the Soviet realm and western realm. The middle east today is

considered a shatterbelt with the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the wars in Iraq,

Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Syria.

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EX: Ukraine lies between Western Europe and Russia.

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It is important to remember the context of time and available technology when

looking at the geopolitical theories.

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Mahan was an American Navy officer. He believed that the most powerful

navy would control the globe.

Real World Implications:

-Expansion of the U.S. Navy

-Building of the Panama Canal

-Sending of the “Great White Fleet” (U.S. navy Battle Fleet that sailed around

the world)

-Control of waterways/choke points

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1844-1904

He was a member of the German School and a zoologist by training.

He was the 1st to study the issue of why countries were powerful and how they

became powerful.

Organic Theory: He compared the growth of the state with the growth of an

organism. He was influenced by the writings of Darwin (survival of the fittest).

He proposed that a state resembles a biological organism whose life cycle

extends from birth through maturity and ultimately decline and death. He

believed that in order for the state needs to grow to survive or it will

disintegrate. A state needs sustenance in the form of resources and room to

grow. (Social Darwinism as applied to foreign policy). In order for states to

grow stronger they ne3ed to add new territory.

Nazi Germany used this theory to justify expansionism.

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He was an Oxford University Geographer (1861-1947). He belongs to the

British/American School.

Mackinder linked geopolitical stability with the maintenance of balance of

power among states. He said that if the balance of power is upset a state or

combination of states could become the dominant world power. He argued that

land based power, not sea, would rule the world. It’s important to remember at

the time to many people the oceans (Navy) was the path to domination.

Mackinder came up with the Heartland theory. He was looking at Eurasia and

stated that he who rules Eastern Europe commands the heartland and he who

rules the heartland commands the world island. He who rules the world island

commands the world. When he proposed this (post WWI) there was little to

foretell of the rise of superpower in the heartland. Russia was in disarray.

Eastern Europe was fractured. Germany was gaining power not Russia. But,

when the Soviet Union emerged and gave Moscow control over much of

Eastern Europe the Heartland Theory attracted renewed attention.

Real World Implications:

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-The German-Russian Alliance is to be feared

-There is a need to maintain a balance of power on the mainland

-system of entangled alliances. This idea led to NATO for example.

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Now we move towards Cold War Geopolitics.

Spykman (Professor at Yale)

In 1942 he proposed a theory that countered Mackinder's Heartland theory. He

stated that Eurasia’s Rimland (coastal area or buffer zone) is the key to

controlling the world island, not the heartland. This was an age of Air Power

and the East-West Cold war perspective. He stated that the key is to prevent

any one power from gaining control of the historically fragmented rimland.

Real World Implications:

-The Domino Theory in which the war in Vietnam was a result

-The Marshall plan which was to aid Europe at the end of WWII and combat

the spread of Soviet Communism.

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Kennan was an American diplomat on the Soviet front. IN 1946 he wrote the

“Long Telegram”. This was a 8000 word telegram in which he proposed a

policy of containment. This led to the Cold War Containment policy to keep

communism from spreading. The idea was to have levels of engagement but

never an all-out war

Real-World Implications:

-. We moved to a Bi-Polar World (Communist and Democracy).

-Korean and Vietnam Wars

-During much of the 20th Century many countries in Eastern Europe were

satellite states of the Soviet Union

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Kissinger was sent by Nixon to re-establish contact with China.

Real World Implications:

-Our Bi-Polar World moved to a tri-polar world. Our attention shifted to not

only the USSR but to China as well. There was recognition of China in order

to exploit the differences between China and Russia.

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1998

The Collapse of the USSR brought a re-evaluation of the world.

Real-World Implications:

He takes a more “world-systems” approach; The world was a grand chessboard

and we need to deal with each area separately based on own perceived

interests.

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September 1991 (During the 1st Gulf War)

The Soviet Union was no longer. We are not in a post-cold war society.

Liberal democracy (Free elections, competitive political process, multiple

political parties)

Real World Implication:

Has led to instability in some parts of the world

More conventional forms of warfare and political practices have been replaced

by more radical ones (asymmetrical warfare, terrorism, cyber attacks)

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Dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

He said the world was like a 3 dimensional Chessboard with the following

parts:

1.Military Power in which the U.S. was hegemonic (dominates influence)

2.Economic Power

3.Transnational relations outside of the government ( for example war on

drugs and terrorism)

He pioneered the theory of “Soft Power” (1990) which is the ability to obtain

what one wants through co-operation and attraction.

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This slide shows the change in our focus over time moving from the Heartland,

to the Rimland, and now towards the Middle East.

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The capitlaist world economiy has 3 fundamental structural features (The

World Systems Analysis).

1.One World Market that dominates economic decisions

2.A multiple state system in which no state is able to totally dominate

3.Three broad geographic regions (core, periphery, semi-periphery)

Countries cannot be analyzed independently. They must be viewed in terms of

their place within the world system. Today there’s a great deal of

interdependence. This system shows/describes the global economic

disparities.

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The Core and Periphery are not just places but they are processes. Core

processes incorporate higher levels of education, salaries, and technology.

They generate more wealth in the world economy. Periphery processes have

lower education, salaries, technology and less wealth. In the middle are the

semi periphery. These are places where core and periphery processes are both

occurring. They are exploited by the core but in turn exploit the periphery.

The World Systems theory helps explain how colonial powers were able to

amass great concentrations of wealth.

Just as with every thoery some people argue against the World Systems

Analysis and state that there is an overemphasis on economic factors in

political development.

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Core areas have the largest population center, economic power, and well

developed infrastructure.

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The United States has multiple core areas. The primary core is the NE

corridor (BOSNYWASH). The 2nd core would be California.

In this image our national core can be easily seen.

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Nigeria has 3 core areas marking the religious and ethnic differences.

The northern core is the Muslim heart of the country.

The southern core has 2 major population clusters.

A well developed core gives a good focus for a state. Multicore states can

reflect ethnically or culturally diverse areas and conflict can results.

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The core is the downtown area. The periphery the hinterland, and the semi-

periphery is the suburbs.

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Think about colonialism….economic growth in the core (colonizing countries)

occurs at the expense of the peripheries (colonies)

Backwash is the negative effects of colonialism and spillover occurs when the

colonies gain benefits (education, technology, organizational abilities,

investment)

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