3 – Practicing Critical Geopolitics Flashcards
What are the different geopolitical discourses?
Formal Geopolitics, Practical Geopolitics & Popular Geopolitics
It represents international politics as a ‘world’ characterised by particular types of places, peoples, and dramas.
What is Formal Geopolitics?
The study of the discourses produced by academics, intellectuals & think tanks - exemplified by classical geopolitics e.g. Mackinder’s Heartland thesis(1904)
Exemplified by classical geopolitics, such as Mackinder’s ‘The Geographical Pivot of History’ (1904).
What is Practical Geopolitics?
The study of discourses produced by politicians - political documents and speeches by scholars of critical geopolitics e.g. those made by the Bush administration during the ‘War on Terror’
Examples include the study of political documents and speeches, such as those made by the Bush administration during the ‘War on Terror’.
What is Popular Geopolitics?
The study of discourses produced by film makers, cartoonists, artists, musicians - geopolitical images, expressions and texts found in popular cultures e.g. Dittmer on Captain America
It refers to geopolitical images, expressions, and texts found in popular cultures, e.g., Dittmer on Captain America.
What significant geopolitical change occurred after the fall of the Berlin Wall?
The establishment of a unipolar world - ‘the center of world power is the unchallenged superpower, the United States, attended by its Western allies’ (Krauthammer, 1990)
This was marked by the emergence of the United States as the sole global superpower.
What did Toal argue were the dual geopolitical narratives regarding the war in Bosnia?
A holocaust (necessity to intervene)
A quagmire (potential intractable military engagement)
The West intervened because they believed Yugoslavia could become a significant military threat.
What does Alex Jeffery’s ‘The Improvised State’ explore?
The post-conflict reconstruction of Bosnia and Herzegovina - it argues that the geopolitical imaginaries of intervening actors shape the nature of post-conflict institutions and governance
It argues that the geopolitical imaginaries of intervening actors shape the nature of post-conflict institutions and governance.
What event triggered protests against Western militarism?
The ‘War on Terror’ as declared by (Bush, 2001)
This was declared by Bush on September 20, 2001.
What narrative did Bush create regarding the Middle East after 9/11?
He attempted to ‘otherise’ the Middle East by creating an ‘us vs them’ narrative and suggesting that there was a sense of hatred & hostility towards the USA due to the freedom available to its citizens in all walks of life, insinuating that the Middle East had more restrictive controls on its citizens - this was used to justify the military action carried out by the USA in the Middle East(Afghanistan in 2001 & Iraq in 2003)
It suggested a sense of hatred & hostility towards the USA due to its freedoms.
How was Iraq presented in the context of 9/11 despite its lack of involvement?
As a ‘rogue state’ - (Blair, 2002) declared that Saddam Hussain’s military planning meant that Iraq possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction
This narrative was used to justify military action against Iraq.
What was the focus of US strategy regarding Arab states post-9/11?
The internal characteristics of Arab states and societies - mainly their lack of political and economic freedoms and their failure to embrace globalisation(Hazbun, 2010)
This included factors like the lack of political and economic freedoms.
What did Bush claim about the battle of Iraq in 2003?
‘The battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on September the 11th 2001’
This statement reflects the U.S. perspective on the ongoing conflict.
What was the public reaction to the justification for the Iraq War?
Three-quarters of the American public supported the war - (Gershkoff & Kushner, 2005)
This support was largely due to the belief in a link between Saddam Hussein and terrorism.
What was Operation Prosperity Guardian?
A defensive coalition meant to reassure global shipping and mariners
It reflects the U.S. interests in ensuring safe passage.
How have the legacies of 9/11 influenced geopolitcal discourse in the present?
Using 9/11 as currency for comparison - (Biden, 2023) states that ‘for a nation the size of Israel, [October 7th] was like 15 9/11s’
