Framework for Studying Geopolitics

• Framework for Studying Geopolitics by Rich Picate

Geopolitics in Human Geography

• Geopolitics is a contested discipline with varying interpretations for students.
• Human geography is key to understanding geopolitics because, unlike other disciplines it has no claims to any subject matter

Conventional Perspective: Spatial or Geographic Perspective

• The shared trait of studying geopolitics involves using perspective to analyze subjects.
• Geographers analyze the world through a "spatial perspective", providing insights to related disciplines.
• Geopolitics emphasizes geography as a description and synthesis of the physical/social aspects of a region.

Timeline of Geopolitics

• 20th-century studies focused on spatial perspective, later shifting to the mathematical understanding of spatial relationships and city interactions.
• The framework has evolved from a single vision to multiple theoretical perspectives.

Geography

• Human geography studies what makes places unique and their connections/interactions.
• Geographers study specifics like location and characteristics.
• Space is emphasized rather than place when geographers examine human activity.

Geography in Daily Practice

• Geography is embedded and oriented to people through socialization, often unconsciously.

Place

• Place provides the settings for daily life, employment, education, and conversation.
• Actions, awareness, and thoughts are functions of places.

Key Authors

• John Agnew
• Doreen Massey

John Agnew

• Location is the role a place that plays where the place exists.
• Locale refers to the institutions organizing the activity, politics, and identity of a place
• Sense of place refers to the identity of people as members of a certain place and guides the actions of place members.

Cosmopolitanism in Geopolitics

• Cosmopolitanism means attachment to no particular place.
• Globalization causes global citizens to travel for leisure.

Role of Diasporas

• Migrant networks establish connections between places globally.
• A person can be attached to multiple places, but may not feel completely "at home" anywhere.

Doreen Massy

• Places are networks of socially constructed social relations.

Factors to Consider a Place

• Products of human activity
• Dynamic/change over time
• Interaction to Others

Product of Human Activity

• Places are socially constructed; their functions, institutions, and character stem from what people do.

Dynamic or Change Over Time

• Actions, desires, and thoughts change over time, translating into projects that remake places.
• An example is The Philippines before and after the EDSA revolution

Interaction of a Place to Another

• The most common understanding of Geopolitics.
• Examples include the negotiation between places (like in the WEST PHILIPPINE SEA) or actions of resistance.

Agnew & Massey

• Massey's emphasis on the dynamics of place and Agnew's focus on institutional politics/sense of place highlight the central role of contest or defined conflict.
• Contests or conflicts that challenge the characteristic/function of a location is a political act with conflict

Politics of scale

• Scale is defined as the scope and reach of individuals
• Things that bring people to the global level are narrow
• Political acts negotiate scale.
• The hierarchy of scales are connected.

Bigger scope

• Geographic scales are socially constructed, and as the scope increases, it is difficult to envision how they are socially constructed -Klint
• Everyday practicess ensure a national identity.

Geopolitics

• Geopolitics is the practice of states controlling and competing for territory -Colin Flint
• It creates images through theory, language, and practice.
• The Cold War was a conflict over the control of territory, provoked/justified through geographically based images (free world, communism, imperialism).

The necessity of multiple definitions and frameworks

• It is necessary for better analysis and understanding in contemporary times

• Understanding, analyzing, and critiquing the world requires more than one definition

• the connection between geopolitics and statesmanship must be noted.

• Countries compete for the control of resources and/or territory, and alliances are produced-Scramble for Africa.

• Geopolitics goes beyond just territory competition and justifying actions.

Geopolitical Theoreticians

• Geopolitical theoretical world viewed as a transparent space knowable from the POV of white, male higher classes.
• Feminist critiques lies on the partiality of knowledge

Girlmartin & Kofman (2004)

• Geopolitics are not just competitions of countries; there are many situations.

• Situations within countries are also considered, like restrictions upon the movement of trans individuals and women.

• Geopolitics encompasses multiple practices/representations.

• Identifying power are the key to geopolitical statements Included is the presence of critical geographers lying on the idea of who gets what and who suffers.

• State practices (free Market)scrutinized to see how they restrict our views and promote a limited number of policies.

Classic geopolitics

- It is connected to the end of the 19th Cent, a time during a increasing competition between most powerful states
- Realm of interstate conflict.
- There were theoritical attempts made for separation of imperialism for geopolitics

Sir Halford Mackinder

• Member of the parliament in United Kingdom

• His core ideas was used in justifying the nuclear policy of President Reagan and introduced the Heartland Theory

• Was also focused of the decline of Great Britain’s power against the challenge of Germany

• Conservatism was challenged by industrialization.

• He was influenced by Alfred Thayer Mahan.

• Global politics as a ‘closed system’

• He saw defined the core Geography by defining of Eurasia as the Heartland (or the Pivot Area)

Pivot area

• The history of the pivoted due to areas that had invasions outside a certain region into its surrounding areas that had to be more located to seas

• The theory was changed from sea to land power giving connection to inaccessible areas EASTERN EUROPE=HEARTLAND= WORLD ISLAND=THE WORLD

• Mackinder proposed to the US THE MINLAND OCEAN ALLIANCE to counter possible alliance of Germany as well as the Soviet Union and to maintain its power dispute of the challenge of germany

• Classic Theory Features Western-centric theory and the crossover between formal to practical geopolitics

Naval theory Alfred.Thayer

• His Goal was to increase US global power while avoiding conflict with British Navy
• He belived great powers such as countries who were couple with ( 1) defensible coastline (2) a secure base to aid network of bases (3) sea power develop

Works of Mahan

• Seapower upon history
• The president interest for seapower It was highly influential to president Mckinley and Theodore Roosevelt

Germany Theory

• 1. Friedrich Ratzel
  • Instrumental in establishing geography as an academic discipline
  • ‘Laws of the Spatial Growth of the States’ laying the foundation to it as well
  • Kjellen
    • Dynamic entities naturally grew as state’s cultural engine
• General Karl Houshofer* - Through Journals - Skillful creating united vision competing the political camps - Landed and new industries

Pan-regions

• regions dominated by core powers, US dominated Americas and Germany dominated Eurasia and Africa
• Theory : Vision allowed growth without US conflict, view on geographic versus racism His Suicide story

German+British

• Key differentce writing and Britishnaval strength in the German, challenge with wary eye and sea-power

• The the vilification of’‘geopolitics’ cause for its disappearance

• The united starties developed in the world power a strategic view

American geopolitcs

• ISAIAH BOWMAN: A pargmatic approach to gobal role, Treaties Versailles and world war I
• NICHOLAS SPYKMAN Power Diplomacy and world division

Old world vs the new American one

• Non Isolationist Power and construction
• Aleander devensky the polar isolation for regions
• All views took statements, absence made status, lack acedemi caused a policy, third world theory
• Cohe Supports and Critical geograherphies theories
• Long State emphasis, system inseparable andspheres