Basics of Geopolitics

Summary:

The Basics of Geopolitics note covers two main topics – geopolitics and world order from a Marxist perspective. It explores the geopolitical codes of various countries, such as the US, Russia, India, and China, and how they relate to world leadership. Modelski’s model evaluates the rise and fall of world leaders and the feedback system that establishes emerging challengers. The article also examines how national identity is embedded within geopolitics, the difference between a state and an ethnic group, and the concept of nationalism. The naming of nations and geopolitical vision are also discussed in the article.

Excerpt:

Basics of Geopolitics

GEOPOLITICS AGENCY 6-8
A country may choose to make particular foreign policy decisions, but they are limited to some degree through their relation with the decision of other countries and the influences of allegiances and conflicts.

The manner in which a country orients itself towards the world is called a geopolitical code.
The five main ones:
– Who are our current and potential allies?
– Who are our current and potential enemies?
– How can we maintain our allies and nurture potential allies?
– how can we counter our current enemies and emerging threats?
– How do we justify the four calculations above to our public and to the global community?

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION: Attempts to maintain allies take a number of forms cultural exchange, economic ties, military connections, and diplomacy. Geopolitics during the cold war was named MAD.

SACALE OF GEOPOLITICAL CODES
– Every country has a geopolitical code (local); some have regional geopolitical code for influencing their neighbourhoods, and others has global geopolitical code that required interest in all the regions.
– World leadership requires response and “follow-ship”

THE GLOBAL GEOPOLITICAL CODES OF THE US
– since the nineteenth century US went local to global code
– control of the Caribbean and Pacific became the focus of the US’ globalization
– US national ideology is based on anti-colonialism and national self-determination from British rule.
– key geopolitical achievements were the defeat of Spain, Hawaii, Philippines, and Cuba and the construction of the Panama Canal
– after WW2 US created an unestablished geopolitical code, including countries across the globe in its geopolitical calculation (national security)