Session 1 Intro to geopolitics

Question 1

obj of learning geopol

Answer 1

understand the world & the surroundings = our obligation as humans

Question 2

roots of geopolitics

Answer 2

«big think» 1880-1910 = technological discoveries, 1st IR, competition among states

Question 3

founding father of geopolitics

Answer 3

harold mackinder

Question 4

harold mackinder 1904

Answer 4

«the geographical pivot of history»

Question 5

Europe Asia Africa

Answer 5

«world islands»

Question 6

obj of Mackinder

Answer 6

defend Britain’s power against Germany, preserve their land, maintain their wealth & aristocratic social structure

Question 7

Superior cultures deserve to have more territory

Answer 7

Friedrich Ratzel = they will use it in a better way, supported expansion of Germany to the East

Question 8

the 3rd world = a foreign space, wholly lacking in allure & best left on its own, tragic fate

Answer 8

George Kennan 1989

Question 9

robert strausz-hupé

Answer 9

• classical figure
• «geopolitics: the struggle for space & power» 1942
• famous diplomate & founder of the geopol studies in usa
• idea of us intervention in the ww2, create an american-led world order, support the European integration

Question 10

approach to studying contempler internat. affairs that is anchored in the study of history, geo & culture

Answer 10

Granieri 2015

Question 11

study of the realities & mentalities of the localities

Answer 11

James Kurth

Question 12

«multiple practices & représentations of a wide variety of territories»

Answer 12

Gilmartin & Kofman (2004)

Question 13

«science of the conditioning of political processes by the earth. Based on the broad foundation of geography especially political geography, as the science of pol space organisms & their structure»

Answer 13

Haushofer 1928

Question 14

how to understand geopol?

Answer 14

1) connection geopol & statesmanship + competition over territory & the resources within it
2) a way of seeing the world
3) involves diverse actors, situations, resources
4) anti-geopolitics : practices by individuals / indigenous people / others to resist the control & classification imposed by states & other powerful institutions

Question 15

def geography

Answer 15

«systematic study of what makes places unique & the connection & interaction btwn places» + «study of the spatial organization of human activity» Knox & Marston 1998

Question 16

places : 3 inter-related aspects

Answer 16

location, locale, sense of place

Question 17

location

Answer 17

role a place plays in the world, its function (capital, economic center)

Question 18

locale

Answer 18

institution that organize activity, politics & ID in a place (families, schools, workplaces, labor unions, political parties…)

Question 19

sense of place

Answer 19

people’s ID closely related to their attachment to a place (conflits gaza strip)

Question 20

south china sea’s disputes

Answer 20

2016 : the permanent court of arbitration ruled in favor of philippines but china did not accept
—> now joint offshore gas & oil exploitation by China & Philippines

Question 21

cosmopolitarism

Answer 21

people who think they belong to everywhere

Question 22

global citizens

Answer 22

belong to everywhere & nowhere

Question 23

robert kaplan

Answer 23

thinks geo is still imp for politics : -civilization without natural geographical barriers = insecure (china, russia, iran) and tend to invade other nations & develop a despotic regime

• technological progress makes geo + imp
• for him, european countries = the best
• the bigger the country is, the stronger state he needs to have to control it

Question 24

weakness of kaplan

Answer 24

• neglects the efficiency of international norms & organizations in solving conflicts

Question 25

ex of state-building

Answer 25

-earliest states appeared in china & middle east (nile, mesopotamia)
—> existence of vast deserts alongside the agricultural regions & the presence of nomadic people (arab&muslims) made it necessary to have a centralized state authority

Question 26

why state-building in Africa was late ?

Answer 26

vast highlands without natural borders = easy to flee when we don’t like the ruler

Question 27

new tech & internet

Answer 27

notion of space & time turned down

Question 28

scale

Answer 28

geographic scope/ reach in which the action of individuals & groups of individuals range

Question 29

ex of scale

Answer 29

families, municipalities, province, country,… ex = voting

Question 30

particularity of scales

Answer 30

the larger the scale of human activity is, the less aware we are of the implication of our actions

Question 31

geopolitical agent

Answer 31

—> people / groups of people / organization who conduct geopol.
(individuals, families, NGOs, pol parties, pressures groups, terrorists, states, internat. org)
—> interconnected & try to realize their obj

Question 32

ex of geopolitical agent

Answer 32

north korea trying to have its own nuclear weaponry —> other agents can influence (UN)

Question 33

structure

Answer 33

set of rules and norms that practically determine what can and cannot / should and should not be done. —> expression of power
—> can also be an agent (feminist mvt)

Question 34

agency

Answer 34

act of trying to achieve a particular goal

Question 35

methodology agents - structure

Answer 35

1) agents cannot act freely but able to make choices
2) agents act within a structure
3) structures limit/ constraint the possible action of agents
4) structures can facilitate agents (provide opportunities to attain goals)
5) an agent can be a structure and vice-versa