AFTER WRITING A MYRIAD VARIETY OF ARTICLES ON THIS BLOG, I FINALLY UNCOVER THE HOLY SECRET: WHAT IS GEOPOLITICS? HERE'S WHAT.
The world has witnessed the rise & fall of invincible empires (the mighty Romans), imperial powerhouses (the British), world dominating superpowers (the Soviets), military dictators (Francisco Franco) & even democratically elected leaders (Mohhamed Mossadegh in 1953, Iran). There have been many external factors at play which have caused their downfall. They may be a new rising empire, an overzealous democratic struggle, coups. aspiring superpowers & established regional players. More often than not, Geopolitics has played a dominant role in these events.
So what exactly is Geopolitics? To grossly oversimplify, it refers to the powerplay between various nations. diplomatic maneuverings, covert regime changes, formal alliances. foreign policy shifts, territorial battles & full blown wars partly or wholly influenced by geographical factors,
THE GEOGRAPHICAL FACTORS
Borders & territorial claims (Kashmir)
Natural resources (Middle East)
Exclusive Economic Zones (South China Sea)
Rivers & essential water bodies (Tibet & Ethiopia)
Continental Shelf (Arctic)
Islands (Japan-Russia Kuril Islands)
SOME HOT CURRENT GEOPOLITICAL EVENTS TO FEAST UPON:
To get some perspective, I have enlisted a few geopolitical hotspots which can alter the course of political future (in no particular order):
SOME FACTORS INFLUENCED BY GEOPOLITICS:
NOTE: Examples in brackets
Foreign Policy. (Crimea & Russia)
Domestic politics (Israel-Arab split in the Republican Party of USA)
Culture (Turkic ties in Central Asia)
Economy (US-China trade war)
International standing (the Cold War)
Natural Resource wealth of a nation (Eastern Mediterranean Sea)
Composition of global organisations (NATO)
I feel like the elements impacted as well as the examples are self explanatory so I have not explained them in detail just to increase the word count.
QUOTE TO SUM IT UP:
"Geopolitics is not about what you do. It is about what you have the ability to do."
I know this was a very unconventional way of explaining such a vast & intriguing topic. On that note. I sign off for the day.