Geopolitics

Geopolitics is the art and practice of using international political power.

Traditionally, the term has applied primarily to the impact of geography on
politics, but its usage has evolved over the past century to encompass a
wider connotation.

In academic circles, the study of Geopolitics involves the analysis of

geography, history and social science with reference to spatial politics and
patterns at various scales (ranging from the level of the state to
international). It examines the political, economic (see geoeconomics) and
strategic significance of geography, where geography is defined in terms of
the location, size, function, and relationships of places and resources.

The term was coined by Rudolf Kjellén, a Swedish political scientist, at the
beginning of the 20th century. Kjellén was inspired by the German
geographer Friedrich Ratzel, who published his book Politische Geographie
(political geography) in 1897, popularized in English by American diplomat
Robert Strausz-Hupé, a faculty member of the University of Pennsylvania.

Various doctrines of Geopolitics

Sir Halford Mackinder's Heartland concept showing the situation of the "pivot
area" established in the Theory of the Heartland.

The concept of Geopolitics initially gained attention through the work of Sir
Halford Mackinder in England and his formulation of the Heartland Theory in
1904. Mackinder's doctrine of Geopolitics involved concepts diametrically
opposed to the notion of Alfred Thayer Mahan about the significance of
navies (he coined the term sea power) in world conflict. The Heartland theory
hypothesized the possibility for a huge empire being brought into existence
in the Heartland, which wouldn't need to use coastal or transoceanic
transport to supply its military industrial complex but would instead use
railways, and that this empire couldn't be defeated by all the rest of the
world against it.

The basic notions of Mackinder's doctrine involve considering the geography

of the Earth as being divided into two sections, the World Island, comprising
Eurasia and Africa; and the Core, including the Americas, the British Isles,
and Oceania. Not only was the Periphery noticeably smaller than the World
Island, it necessarily required much sea transport to function at the
technological level of the World Island, which contained sufficient natural
resources for a developed economy. Also, the industrial centers of the
Periphery were necessarily located in widely separated locations. The World
Island could send its navy to destroy each one of them in turn. It could locate

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its own industries in a region further inland than the Periphery could,so they
would have a longer struggle reaching them, and would be facing a well-
stocked industrial bastion. This region Mackinder termed the Heartland. It
essentially comprised Ukraine, Western Russia, and Mitteleuropa. The
Heartland contained the grain reserves of Ukraine, and many other natural
resources. Mackinder's notion of geopolitics can be summed up in his saying
"Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland. Who rules the Heartland
commands the World-Island. Who rules the World-Island commands the
World." His doctrine was influential during the World Wars and the Cold War,
for Germany and later Russia each made territorial strides toward the
Heartland.

Ratzel's geopolitical theory has been criticised as being too sweeping, his
interpretation of human history and geography too simple and mechanistic.
In his analysis of the importance of mobility, and the move from sea to rail
transport, he failed to predict the revolutionary impact of air power. Critically
also he underestimated the importance of social organization in the
development of power[1]. The theories of Mackinder fall into the category of
geo-strategy which is no more than a single sub-component within the
broader study of contemporary Geopolitics and Geopolitical change.

After World War I, Kjellen's thoughts and the term were picked up and
extended by a number of scientists: in Germany by Karl Haushofer, Erich
Obst, Hermann Lautensach and Otto Maull; in England, Mackinder and James
Fairgrieve; in France Vidal de la Blache and Camille Vallaux. In 1923 Karl
Haushofer founded the Zeitschrift für Geopolitik (Journal for Geopolitics),
which developed as a propaganda organ for Nazi Germany. However, more
recently Haushofer's influence within the Nazi Party has been questioned
(O'Tuathail, 1996) since Haushofer failed to incorporate the Nazis' racial
ideology into his work.

Following World War II, the study of Geopolitics and, by association Political
Geography, was blackballed by most universities. It started to return from
the 1980's onwards, firstly through the study of Critical Geopolitics, and later
with the publication of an academic journal, initially known as Geopolitics
and International Boundaries and published by Frank Cass, later to be taken
over by Taylor & Francis (Routledge) under the name, Geopolitics [2]. This is
now published as a peer reviewed quarterly journal and is edited by David
Newman at Ben Gurion University in Israel, and John Agnew at UCLA in the
United States.

Anton Zischka published Afrika, Europas Gemeinschaftsaufgabe Nr. 1 (Africa,

Complement of Europe) in 1952, where he proposed a kind of North–South
Empire, from Stockholm to Johannesburg.

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Since then, the word geopolitics has been applied to other theories, most
notably the notion of the Clash of Civilizations by Samuel Huntington. In a
peaceable world, neither sea lanes nor surface transport are threatened;
hence all countries are effectively close enough to one another physically. It
is in the realm of the political ideas, workings, and cultures that there are
differences, and the term has shifted more towards this arena, especially in
its popular usage.

Definitions

“ The study of geopolitics has undergone a major renaissance during

the past decade. Addressing a gap in the published periodical
literature, this journal seeks to explore the theoretical implications of
contemporary geopolitics and geopolitical change with particular
reference to territorial problems and issues of state sovereignty .
Multidisciplinary in its scope, Geopolitics includes all aspects of the
social sciences with particular emphasis on political geography,
international relations, the territorial aspects of political science and
international law. The journal seeks to maintain a healthy balance
between systemic and regional analysis. (Geopolitics Journal home
page - http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/14650045.asp)

In the abstract, geopolitics traditionally indicates the links and causal

relationships between political power and geographic space; in
concrete terms it is often seen as a body of thought assaying specific
strategic prescriptions based on the relative importance of land
power and sea power in world history... The geopolitical tradition had
some consistent concerns, like the geopolitical correlates of power in
world politics, the identification of international core areas, and the
relationships between naval and terrestrial capabilities. —Oyvind
Osterud, "The Uses and Abuses of Geopolitics", Journal of Peace
Research, no. 2, 1988, p. 192 ”
“ By geopolitical, I mean an approach that pays attention to the
requirements of equilibrium. Henry Kissinger in Colin S Gray, G R
Sloan. Geopolitics, Geography, and Strategy. Portland: Frank Cass
Publishers, 1999. ”
“ Geopolitics is studying geopolitical systems. The geopolitical system
is, in my opinion, the ensemble of relations between the interests of
international political actors, interests focused to an area, space,
geographical element or ways.—Vladimir Toncea, Geopolitical
evolution of borders in Danube Basin, PhD 2006. ”

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“ Geopolitics as a branch of political geography is the study of
reciprocal relations between geography, politics and power and also
the intractions arising from combination of them with each other.
According to this definition, geopolitics is a scientific discipline and
has a basic science nature. (Hafeznia, M.R. 2006. Principles and
Concepts of Geopolitics. Popoli Publications: Iran, pp 37–39.) ”

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