Abstract
Geopolitics belongs to the group of social-geographical sciences and is a part of political geography. They distinguish between traditional, new (geo economics), and the latest (geo philosophy) geopolitics. Traditional geopolitics emphasizes the military-political power of the state and the dominant role of geographical factors in the conquest of foreign territories. The new (geo-economics) focuses on the economic power of the states in contrast to the traditional one. The latest geopolitics, in which spiritual power dominates military and economic power, helps states to overcome traditional and economic determinism at the expense of expanding the basic factors in determining behavior in international relations.
TopIntroduction. Geopolitics As A Science. The Concept And Subject Of Geopolitics
Even scientists of the Ancient World noticed a natural connection between political activity (by which they primarily understood the acts of rulers) and the space of the Earth, where this activity unfolded. Indeed, is it possible to plan and even more so to carry out political measures without knowing the extent, area, topography, vegetation, climate, rivers - as water barriers and means of communication, the sea - as a special geographical factor in politics, etc.? Is it possible to achieve victory in a war, or even in one battle, without knowing and not using at least the main characteristics of the spatial factor and the specific terrain on which the opposing armies will fight, without having information about the economic power of the country and the military strength of the army? Moreover, one cannot count on retaining the occupied territory, Moreover, one cannot count on retaining the occupied territory, if there is no information about population – what is the number of people, density, other demographic characteristics, national character, etc.
Thus, geopolitics is a determination of the success of political activity (peaceful and military) by geographical, historical, socio-psychological, ethnographic, and economic factors, as the relationship between the political and the Spatial-social, has existed for a long time. The term consists of two parts: “geo” means geographical in general, that is, the influence of geographical factors in the broadest sense of the word on the policy of the state. The main among these factors are:
¨ territory;
¨ geographical location, ie the location of the state on the continent;
¨ extent of borders, their position on natural or artificial borders;
¨ the presence of rivers as water barriers and means of communication;
¨ the position of the country about the sea, the length of the coastline, and the conditions for navigation;
¨ climate (cold, temperate, hot, arid, etc.);
¨ soils (to what extent they favor the development of agriculture, infrastructure, and industry);
¨ bowels, their wealth, the ability to ensure economic growth and social needs of the population;
¨ population, its size, density, social composition, and other characteristics (Heffernan, 1998).
At the end of the XX - the beginning of XXI century. the root “geo” acquired a second meaning. Now it is increasingly interpreted as a “planetary”, “global” dimension of politics, characterizing the relationship of superpowers or military blocs (USA and the USSR, NATO and the Warsaw Pact), as a “clash of civilizations” (A. Toynbee, S. Huntington) or as a change the general configuration of the world system, for example, from bipolar to mono- or polycentric.
The second part of the term - “politics” - in this context means the exercise of domination, the conquest of power, space, and its development. Recently, it has also been undergoing significant changes in the sense that modern actors of geopolitics are not so much eager to conquer and develop new territories, but rather strive to control the maximum possible spaces, and - and this is also a feature of modern geopolitics - to control not territories as a whole, but for the most part, the communication lines of these territories and flows (financial, commodity, labor, etc.), thereby maintaining the most favorable conditions for their development and prosperity (Chitadze, 2011).
In the classical period of development of the discipline (late 19th - early 20th century), when it acquired the characteristic features of science, emphasis was placed on the knowledge of the state as a living organism embodied in space (F. Ratzel, R. Kjellen). Modern geopolitics continues the study of states as actors in the geopolitical process, but taking into account the declining role of state bodies in modern international relations and the increasing importance of the UN, military-political blocs, regional international organizations, and economic and cultural international structures. Modern geopolitics includes both geopolitical statics (world hierarchy, statuses, and roles of subjects of world politics) and geopolitical dynamics (geopolitical processes, the changes of the geopolitical actors at the “chessboard” of the world) (Chitadze, 2011).
Key Terms in this Chapter
National Interests: A sovereign state 's goals and ambitions (economic, military, cultural, or otherwise), taken to be the aim of government.
Political Geography: Concerned with the study of both the spatially uneven outcomes of political processes and how political processes are themselves affected by spatial structures. Conventionally, for analysis, political geography adopts a three-scale structure with the study of the state at the center, the study of international relations (or geopolitics ) above it, and the study of localities below it. The primary concerns of the subdiscipline can be summarized as the inter-relationships between people, state, and territory.
Geostrategy: A subfield of geopolitics , is a type of foreign policy guided principally by geographical factors as they inform, constrain, or affect political and military planning. As with all strategies , geostrategy is concerned with matching means to ends Strategy is as intertwined with geography as geography is with nationhood , or as Colin S. Gray and Geoffrey Sloan state it,” (geography is) the mother of strategy.”
Atlanticism: Also known as Transatlanticism , is the belief in or support for a close relationship between the peoples and governments in Northern America (the United States and Canada ) and those in Europe (the countries of the European Union , the United Kingdom , Switzerland , Norway , Iceland , and the European microstates outside the European Union) on political , economic , and defense issues. It seeks to maintain the security and prosperity of the participating countries and protect liberal democracy and the progressive values of an open society that unites them. The term derives from the Atlantic Ocean , which is bordered by North America and Europe.
Eurasianism: A political movement in Russia that states that Russia does not belong in the “ European ” or “ Asian ” categories but instead to the geopolitical concept of Eurasia dominated by the “ Russian world ” ( Russian : ??????? ???), forming an ostensibly standalone Russian civilization . Historically, the Russian Empire was Euro-centric and generally considered a European/Western power.
Geoeconomics: The study of the spatial, temporal, and political aspects of economies and resources. Although there is no widely accepted singular definition, the distinction of geoeconomics separately from geopolitics is often attributed to Edward Luttwak , an American strategist and military consultant, and Pascal Lorot , a French economist and political scientist.
Geopolitics: The study of the effects of Earth's geography (human and physical) on politics and international relations . While geopolitics usually refers to countries and relations between them, it may also focus on two other kinds of states : de facto independent states with limited international recognition and relations between sub-national geopolitical entities , such as the federated states that make up a federation , confederation , or a quasi-federal system. At the level of international relations, geopolitics is a method of studying foreign policy to understand, explain, and predict international political behavior through geographical variables. These include area studies , climate , topography , demography , natural resources , and applied science of the region being evaluated.
Geography: A field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth .
National Security: or National Defense : The security and defense of a sovereign state , including its citizens , economy , and institutions , which is regarded as a duty of government . Originally conceived as protection against military attack , national security is widely understood to include also non-military dimensions, including security from terrorism , minimization of crime , economic security , energy security , environmental security , food security , and cyber-security .
Foreign Policy: A state 's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy ) is its objectives and activities regarding its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities , whether bilaterally or through multilateral platforms