1. Geopolitics The interplay between geography, power,
politics & international relations
G8 Meeting in Italy, 2009

2. A. Boundary Disputes
Positional Dispute – disagreement over older antecedent boundary (Peru-Ecuador)
Territorial Dispute – disagreement over the possession/control of land (i.e.: Kasmir; Somalia; Israel; Kurds; Basques; Spratly Islands)
irredentism: territorial expansion (i.e.: Nazi Germany)
III. Resource Dispute – over water, oil, sea (i.e.: Rio Grande between the U.S. and Mexico; Iraq-Kuwait)
IV. Functional Dispute – problem over use of land today (i.e.: illegal immigration)

3. The “Iron Curtain”

4. Major area of dispute w/ Iraq in the Persian Gulf War (1990)

5. South China Sea – area of major territorial & resource disputes
Spratly Islands (rich in oil, claimed by six states)

8. Spratly Islands

9. B. Centripetal & Centrifugal Forces
Centripetal Forces: promote unity & cohesion
(i.e.: building roads, schools, armed forces, hospitals)
Centrifugal Forces: destabilize or weaken a state
(i.e.: separatist/autonomous movements; devolution; regionalism; tribalism)
Is nationalism a centripetal or centrifugal force?
“balkanization”?
The fragmentation of a region into smaller, hostile political units

10. ethnonationalism– where the “nation” is defined in
nationalism– creating a the concept of allegiance to one single country or nation
ethnonationalism– where the “nation” is defined in
terms of ethnicity
Exs:
Scotland
Spain– Basques, Catalonia
Belgium– Flemish (Dutch) vs. Walloon (Fr.)
Former Yugoslavia
Russia– Chechnya
Quebec

11. Ethnic Regions in the Former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia’s six republics until 1992 included much ethnic diversity. Brutal ethnic cleansing occurred in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo during the civil wars of the 1990s.

12. “Ethnic Cleansing” in Rwanda & Yugoslavia

13. Former USSR

14. Chechnya (Russia)

16. devolution: movement of power from the central government to regional governments within the state
What causes devolutionary movements?
Ethno-nationalism
Economic forces
Spatial forces

17. Devolution of States: Sri Lanka
The Sinhalese are mainly Buddhist and speak an Indo-European language,
while the Tamils are mainly Hindu.

18. Economic Devolutionary Movements
Catalonia, Spain
Barcelona is the center of banking and commerce in Spain and the region is much wealthier than the rest of Spain.

19. Spatial Devolutionary Movements
Honolulu, Hawai’I
A history apart from the United States, and a desire to live apart in order to keep traditions alive.

20. European Devolutionary Pressures: Regions Seeking Autonomy

21. Regions of European devolution due to ethnonationalism –
Scotland, Belgium, & Bosnia

22. South Asia: India-Pakistan
At independence in 1947, British India was divided into India and Pakistan, resulting in the migration of 17 million people and many killings. In 1971, after a brutal civil war, East Pakistan became the country of Bangladesh.

23. India-Pakistan (Kashmir border)

24. Geopolitics:
the interplay between geography, power, politics, & international relations

26. Classical Geopolitics
German School:
Ratzel’s “organic state theory”
the state is a living organism, surviving by “eating” less powerful neighbors
British/American School:
Mackinder’s “Heartland Theory”
Spykman’s “Rimland Theory”

27. Geopolitical Strategies during the Cold War:
Mackinder’s view: a unified heartland land-based empire
Spykman’s view: a rimland sea-based power

28. Mackinder’s Heartland Theory
Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland
Who rules the Heartland commands the World Island
Who rules the World Island commands the World

29. D. post-WW II World Order:
Bipolar World ( ):
U.S. vs. Soviet Union
The “Cold War”
Multipolar World ( )
international cooperation
“New World Order”
Unilateral World ( )
states taking individual action

30. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Singh of India
The Obama Doctrine?
“… unafraid to deploy American power but mindful that its use must be tempered by practical limits & a dose of self-awareness.”
President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Singh of India