Introduction to Geopolitics
 The study of how geography impacts
politics, demography, and economics,
especially with respect to developing
foreign policy and international conflicts.
Geopolitics
A term used to describe how nations
or groups of people interact with or
exert their influence over other
peoples or surrounding nations
Refers to one nation’s sphere of
influence over its neighbors
A key to understanding geopolitics is
understanding that political attitudes
and actions in the past are important
factors in determining the current world
condition.
These attitudes develop in large part in
response to the nation’s geographic
situation in the world.
Many mechanisms can be used by a
nation to exert its influence over another
country.
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Military force
Trade
Foreign aid
Mass media
Religion
Economic sanctions and Industrial Development
Energy and Pollution
Population Policies
When interaction between groups or
nations is "ʺconfrontational"ʺ human
rights are often at issue.
Human rights issues can involve:
~ loss of life
~ economic deprivation
~ religious persecution
~ torture
~ arbitrary detention
~ abuse of children (child
pornograpghy, labour)
All human beings are
born free and equal
in dignity and rights."
"… entitled to all
rights and freedoms
without discrimination
of any kind…"
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The United Nations Commission
of Human Rights receives over
400,000 complaints a year from
individuals, families or groups
such as Amnesty International
All humans are born free and
equal and in dignity and rights
Everyone is entitled to all
rights and freedoms without
distinction of any kind such as
race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political opinion,
national origin, property, birth
or other status
All human beings are entitled to the following freedoms:
~ life
~ liberty
~ freedom from torture
~ equality before the law
~ freedom of movement (including right to immigrate)
~ ownership of property
~ freedom of opinion and expression
~ choice of employment
~ equal pay for equal work
~ unhindered trade union membership
~ a standard of living suitable for health or well-‐-being
~ free participation in the cultural life of the community
How universally accepted are
these human rights?
Malaysia argues that under Islamic law,
men and women are treated differently
China and Iran claim:
"ʺtheir national circumstances are
their own affair"ʺ ie. NOT the UN'ʹs
Should traditional cultural values be
placed ahead of Universal Human Rights?
Facts on Human Rights
*Violence against women and girls is the most pervasive violation of
human rights in the world today
*Discrimination against women and girls is an important cause of
malnutrition. The very high rates of child malnutrition and low birth
weight throughout South Asia are linked to such factors as women'ʹs
poor access to education and their low levels of participation in paid
employment, compared to other regions.
*More than 1 million children, mostly girls, are forced into prostitution
every year
*2 million girls each year are at risk of genital mutilation
– approximately 6,000 per day
*Disabled persons constitute ten per cent of the world'ʹs population
79 percent of the indigenous people in Peru are poor, and more than
half live in extreme poverty
*Some 250 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are currently
working according to the ILO. Of this total, 120 million are working
full-‐-time. 61% of child workers (153 million) are found in Asia;
32% in Africa and 7% in Latin America
(www.un.org)
Sovereignty
Sovereignty
A sovereign nation is one with a
national government that is able to
control what happens within its
borders
i.e. unrestricted by the polices and
actions of others
Sovereignty and Ethnicity
Often, sovereignty and ethnicity conflict with
each other
Ethnicity – membership in a particular cultural
group sharing cultural, linguistic and other traits in
common
The right of an ethnic group to independence if
it so wishes (self-determination) has long been
accepted in principle – but in practice is often
ignored
e.g. Kurds, Welsh, Basques
Problems Associated with Ethnic Independence
In practice, few ethnic groups have sole
possession of an area of land
Members of other ethnic groups usually share
the same area in a "ʺjumbled"ʺ manner
Problems Associated with Ethnic
Independence
b) An ethnic minority seeking
independence would itself create
other ethnic minorities
Where does it stop?
Problems Associated with Ethnic Independence
c) Independence would produce literally hundreds
of small nations
This conflicts with the concept of the "ʺglobal
village"ʺ of closer cooperation between nations
and larger political and economic units
Consider the case of Africa
Problems Associated with Ethnic Independence
Presently there are 50 countries, but
there are 5000 different tribal groups
Problems Associated with Ethnic
Independence
Does each tribe have a right to self-‐- determination?
This would establish a number of micro-‐- nations of 50,000 to 100,000 people
Minority Rights are a major concern for the United
Nations
 Minorities are often disliked by the majority, who
expect the minority to "ʺadjust"ʺ to the majority
culture (eg. some countries prohibit the teaching of
minority languages)
 Minorities are often regarded as "ʺforeigners"ʺ ‐- even in their land of birth
 Persecution is often the result -‐- Xenophobia
What makes a "ʺnation"ʺ?