Political geography and geopolitics are often identified, presented as part and whole, or, even worse, opposed to each other. In any case, it is hardly correct to do this. If we are guided by purely semantic considerations, then only political geography will be a “refined” geographical discipline, while in the phrase “geopolitics” there is a clear interdisciplinary subtext, although in real life The ontology of a specific science does not always “take into account” semantics. The scientific community of geographers has at its disposal many definitions of the subject of political geography, given in different time famous foreign and domestic authors. Let us recall some of them: “the essence of political geography is the territorial differentiation of the political mosaic that has developed on the earth’s surface” (R. Taylor); “the study of changes in political phenomena from place to place in connection with changes in other features on earth as the Home of Man” (R. Hartshorne); “Political geography is part of human geography, associated with a specific aspect of connections in the earth-human system and emphasizing the special relationship between geographical factors and political processes” (H. Weigert); "poyaitiko-geographers deal with geographical implications political decisions and actions, as well as geographical factors influencing their implementation” (M. Peshine); “a special geographical science that studies the spatial organization of the political life of society and territorial combinations of political forces” (V. A. Kolosov); “the study of spatial and areal structures and relationships between political systems and structures, or simply spatial analysis of political phenomena” (R. Kasperson); “the study of political regions or features of the earth’s surface” (L. Alexander); “the study of political phenomena in relation to their territory” (W. Jackson), etc., etc. From these definitions, which largely overlap with each other, the general contours of political geography emerge as a discipline that studies the spatial organization of the political life of society and relationships (relationships, interactions) between geographical factors and political processes. (For us, the emphasis on the existence of relationships between the natural and “humanized” environment is of particular importance.) Gradually, the opinion emerged that the sphere of political geography covers issues of interstate and interethnic territorial demarcation, political-administrative structure and political federalism, relationships between the capital and the “periphery” , the alignment of political forces during election campaigns (electoral geography), etc. No one disputes the point of view according to which it became possible to talk about political geography natural resources or the political geography of the economy and its individual sectors, meaning, for example, the formation of a transnational investment “field” and international flows of goods, work force and capital, etc. It would be a mistake to believe that some kind of integral system has already developed scientific ideas, which could be designated as a special level of integration of political-geographical knowledge. This is partly due to the fact that our perception of the political organization of the world sometimes suffers from subjectivity. There is a certain convention not only in determining the cardinal directions, but also in the delimitation of political regions. Thus, the cardinal directions are not geostationary: they are fixed depending on the location of the observer (classical eastern country Japan - the “land of the rising sun” - in relation to the USA turns into a Western one). In order for the cardinal directions to turn from relative concepts into geostationary ones, a “logical starting point” is needed - a spatial center. Something similar sometimes happens with political regions. For example, at one time, according to the logic of the conflict between East and West, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan suddenly became associated with the West, and socialist Cuba, located in the Western Hemisphere, with the East. (The very concept of “East” has repeatedly changed its content over the centuries. Until the 20th century, it was used, depending on the context, as a synonym for China, Byzantine Empire, Orthodox Christianity, Slavic world. From about 1920, the East began to be associated with the “communist world” and acquired purely Asian contours, although later even Africa was often included in the East.) For several millennia in a row, the leading role in recreating the political picture of the world was played by the so-called “mental (cognitive) maps” , which were based on a reflection of the personal worldview of their creators. For example, the ancient Chinese believed that the “Celestial Empire” was naturally located at the center of the world, surrounded on all sides by barbarians. Many residents of ancient civilizations held a similar opinion. Distances were distorted in the minds of many until recent decades. So, until the middle of the 20th century. Australians felt closer to Great Britain than to the Philippines, and Jamaicans felt closer to Canada or Great Britain than to neighboring Antigua. As you know, everything geographic Maps distort reality (including political reality), so the cartographer’s task is to reduce distortion to a minimum. Special meaning in this case, such elements as the type of projection, scale, and symbolism play a role. Thus, the political maps of the world in the Mercator projection, which were widely used in the last century, usually noticeably exaggerated the size of territories in high latitudes and practically ignored the polar regions, which undoubtedly influenced people’s perception of political realities. One of the types of political cards is propaganda cards. In the 20th century, especially during the “ cold war ", the previous caricature-like forms were replaced by more advanced cartographic materials, which were designed to emphasize the "aggressive essence of the enemy." The US and USSR produced a series of maps showing each other's militaristic preparations in order to prepare public opinion for increased military spending. At the end of the 60s. The USSR, where cartographic art was at a fairly high level, suddenly began to produce maps that noticeably distorted the physical and geographical parameters of some strategic regions. In this case, both “pseudo-projections” of maps and deliberate territorial displacement of natural boundaries were used. There was hardly any need for such “tricks”, since they became obvious when viewing old maps, as well as when using aerial photography (and later - Earth satellites and spacecraft). We believe that our perception of the political organization of the world suffers from subjectivity, the more often geographers move away from taking into account the natural-spatial substance, “floundering in the mire” of political scientific conclusions. As for geopottics, it represents, in the opinion of many geographers, the theory and practice of state foreign policy based on maximum consideration of geographical factors. In Western literature, political geography and geopolitics are sometimes distinguished using the following “images” proposed by Haushofer: “Political geography considers the state from the point of view of space, and geopolitics considers space from the point of view of the state” (15). In general, these images are acceptable, although, strictly speaking, the content of political geography, according to prevailing ideas, is much broader. If the object of political geography is all forms of organization of society that arise in the process of interaction between political life and geospace, then the range of interests of geopolitics is limited only to issues of control over geospace. Geopolitics (from the Greek geos - “earth”, politike - “politics”) in its original interpretation is the theory and practice of state foreign policy based on maximum consideration of geographical factors, a discipline about the geographical conditionality of various political processes and phenomena. Let us present several other definitions of geopolitics (sometimes very controversial!) - for comparison and search for the truth: “a political concept that uses geographical data (territory, position of the country, etc.) d.) to justify imperialist expansion. Geopolitics is associated with racism, Malthusianism, social Darwinism” (Soviet Encyclopedic Dictionary. M., 1988); geopolitics is the science of “the relationship between the physical environment as it is perceived, changed and used by people, and world politics” (K. Gray); is the science "of the geographical distribution and geographical character political associations"(P. Savitsky); geopolitics can be “defined not simply as the objective dependence of the foreign policy of a nation on its geographical location, but as the objective dependence of the subject international relations from the totality of material factors that allow this subject to exercise control over space” (K. Pleshakov); “geopolitics is the science of the geographical determination of ethnopolitical processes in the state and international relations (Yu. Platonov); “geopolitics is a discipline whose subject is “the use by states of spatial factors in determining and achieving political goals” (N. Mironenko). The variety of approaches in defining the subject of geopolitics stems from historical circumstances, from its close connection in the past with ruling regimes and dominant ideologies - that is, with its extreme sociomorphicity. (Being an “independent geopolitician” is a privilege that perhaps only emerged at the end of the 20th century. beginning of XXI c.) Over time, some scientists, based on the close connection of geopolitics with other areas scientific knowledge, began to defend its synthetic nature, including elements of history, economics, political science, government, strategy, military affairs, sociology, psychology, ethnology, religious studies, ecology, etc. Moreover, today some “non-geographers” believe that “ geo" in the concept of "geopolitics" no longer simply indicates geographical aspect in politics, but denotes the universal scale and rules of behavior in the conditions of the world system. “In this sense, geopolitics is called upon to explore how, through what mechanisms and on the basis of what principles this system lives and functions. It can be considered as a discipline that studies the fundamental structures and subjects, global or strategic directions, the most important patterns and principles of life, functioning and evolution of the modern world community” (1, p. 9). There are attempts to “liberate” geopolitics from the supposedly narrow framework of political geography and proclaim it as a comprehensive science of modern multi-layered world politics. It seems that such attempts could lead to a gradual erosion of the very subject of geopolitics, its inevitable discredit and loss of scientific identity in the “boundless sea” of political science. It should be remembered that the object of study of this discipline - “geo” - remains the same, that, being an interdisciplinary branch of knowledge, its “mother basis” - geography - is unchanged. Among the main concepts and categories of geopolitics: state, bloc of states, geostrategic and geopolitical regions, political border, sphere of influence, balances and counterbalances of power, mutual support, buffer zone (country), satellite states, geopolitical ally, superpower, centers of power, geopolitical forces, frontal rivalry, political integration and disintegration, the arc of instability, geopolitical scenarios for the future, etc. The content of the vast majority of them does not require special explanation. For example, political space, as a basic concept of geopolitics, is associated with the extent and depth of boundaries political activity(only here space is considered as a direct political force). It is believed that the geostrategic region covers a fairly large part of the world political space, distinguished by the quality of its location, the intensity and nature of the orientation of trade and cultural-ideological ties. An integral attribute of such a region is the ability of some force to control the most important strategic routes on land and sea (for example, the heartland or rimland). In turn, the geopolitical region is an integral part of the geostrategic region and is characterized by a more modest size and a greater density of trade, economic and cultural-political ties. It is quite obvious that one of the most important categories of geopolitics is the political border, which is always man-made (i.e., “artificial”) and performs important geopolitical functions: a) political; b) protective; c) military-strategic. Such borders divide the zones of national sovereignty, serve as frontline defense lines for states, and act as points of control over the flow of people, goods and capital. Geopolitical lines are structure-forming moments in the organization of geopolitical space, acting as the primary elements of recreating the world geopolitical picture. They seem to encapsulate various elements of geopolitical interaction. (For example, the main US oil routes from the countries of the Middle East are considered by this state to be a sphere of its vital interests.) The main functions of geopolitics include cognitive, prognostic and integration.
In the textbook by Maksakovsky V.P. 10th grade “Geography” little time is devoted to studying the topic “Political Geography and Geopolitics”, so I propose to conduct a separate lesson on this topic for 10th grade students to understand this complex material like geopolitics. At the beginning of the lesson, you can ask the students: “Can anyone explain what political geography and geopolitics are?” As a rule, middle school students secondary schools find it difficult to answer the question posed. By the end of the lesson they have formed this concept and they can give reasons for their answer.
Educational tasks:
- Systematize and deepen students’ knowledge on the topic: “Political map of the world” and bring to their attention new concepts such as geopolitics and political geography.
- Through the use of educational forms, work independently, in pairs, in groups, to continue to develop the ability to analyze and evaluate the most important geopolitical problems in the world.
Equipment: “Political map of the world” map.
Additional literature:
1. Maksakovsky. V.P. “New in the World” pp. 15-17. M. “Bustard” 1999;
2. Rodionova. I. A. Educational and reference manual on geography. From “Moscow Lyceum” 1999 “Political map of the world” Page. 88-90.
3. Gladky Yu. N., Lavrov S. B. “Economic and social geography of the world” p. 96. “Enlightenment” M. 2002.
Additional texts, reference books, encyclopedias, tables, cut strips of colored paper (5 strips - red, 5 - blue, 5 - green, 5 - yellow, 5 - brown), 5 cardboard stands in the same 5 colors as the strips of paper, five task cards.
Lesson structure:
1. Check homework“Public structure of countries” through a mini-seminar and work in pairs.
Questions from the mini seminar.
1. Fill out the diagram
2. Analyze table No. 2 in the appendix of V. P. Maksakovsky’s textbook (p. 337). Using your knowledge of history, explain why there are most countries with a monarchical form of government in foreign Europe and foreign Asia, while in America there are none at all. (America – “new world”)
3. Does the form of government affect the level economic development countries?
Provide examples of countries as proof.
(No. Evidence: Monarchies Japan and Great Britain are developed countries, and monarchy in Jordan and Lesotho - developing.
The Republics of Germany and France are developed countries, and the Republics of Chad and Congo are the least developed countries).
4. On what basis are the republics identified within the Russian Federation? (national characteristic)
5. What problems may arise in federal states due to their division into self-governing entities? Conflicts may arise related to the infringement of the rights and freedoms of independent units by the central government. (Economic, national, religious).
Work in pairs to fill out the table.
textbook page 21 task 4.
Option 1 - form of government
Option 2 - form of administrative-territorial structure.
Peer review.
2. Study of new material: “Political geography and geopolitics.”
Working with encyclopedic material. Students find definitions of the concepts of political geography and geopolitics in reference books and write them down in their notebooks.
Political geography is a branch of political and social geography. This is a separate science that studies territorial distribution of political forces and processes primarily within a country.
Geopolitics - (according to V. A. Kolosov) - a scientific direction that studies the dependence of the foreign policy of states and international relations on the system of political, economic, environmental, military-strategic and other relationships determined by the country’s state of origin and other physical and economic-geographical factors. The range of interests of geopolitics extends beyond the boundaries of one country.
What are the similarities and what are the differences between these two concepts?
Among the concepts and categories, the main ones are: the country’s state of affairs, sphere of influence, balance of power, living space, balance of power, dynamic balance of interests, buffer (intermediate) zone, political and economic integration, arc instability, geopolitical scenario of the future, satellite countries, etc.
Again, we independently turn to reference materials and select unfamiliar concepts.
Integration I– development of deep and sustainable relationships separate groups countries based on their implementation of coordinated interstate policies. (GGP and EGP).
The teacher shows the “Arc of Instability” on the map.
A satellite is a state that is formally independent, but actually subordinate to another, stronger state.
Work in groups.
Important geopolitical problems in the world.
In order to form groups quickly, the teacher suggests choosing one strip of colored paper, since there are 5 strips of each color, then 5 groups are formed, the groups are seated at the table where the cardboard supply of the same color is installed. The 5 groups formed choose a card with a task of a problematic nature and additional literature for the task. Research and analyze additional material and solve the problem.
1. group. The problem of “NATO expansion to the East”...Will this process affect the political situation in Russia?
Maksakovsky. V.P. “New in the world.” pp.15-18. M. “Bustard” 1999
Problem Regional conflicts. How do they influence the geopolitical situation of the country? Most territorial border conflicts and disputes occur on the political map of Asia. India and Pakistan because of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India and China because of the border in the Himalayas, between Iraq and Iran, Iraq and Kuwait, Cyprus and Turkey, Russia and Japan because of the Kuril Islands. There are a lot of them on political map Africa, and on the map Latin America. What is the importance of the UN in resolving some conflicts?
Rodionova. I. A. Educational and reference manual on geography. From “Moscow Lyceum” 1999 “Political map of the world” Page. 88-90.
The problem of the fight for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons still remains relevant!
Text analysis.
It is known that the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was concluded back in 1970. According to this agreement, five states received the right to join the “Nuclear Club”: the USA, the USSR (now Russia), Great Britain, France and China. In 1998, these countries had about 6.5 thousand nuclear warheads in service. (Including the USA – 3264 and Russia – 2272). More than 150 states around the world have already signed the NPT. but India, Pakistan, and North Korea are not among them. . Known. that they have been developing nuclear weapons systems for a long time, and India tested them in 1974. The “threshold” ones include Israel, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Brazil, etc. But if such work was carried out, it was done in secret, no one carried out open tests. All the more unexpected were the new explosions undertaken by India in 1998. at a training ground in the Thar Desert. These explosions were intended as a kind of warning to India's neighbors - Pakistan and China. Retaliatory explosion in Pakistan.
4th group. Problem. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's geopolitical position worsened. Why?
Gladky Yu. N., Lavrov S. B. “Economic and social geography of the world” p. 96. “Enlightenment” M. 2002.
Why is the political map of the world constantly evolving? Give examples confirming that the political map is changing, this change is especially noticeable in the 20th century.
Discussion of problems. Conclusions.
The most direct relation to political geography and geopolitics is the political-geographical and economic geographical position countries.
GGP (geopolitical) is the position of a country on the political map, its relationship with other states (especially neighboring ones) and international unions and organizations. GWP is a historical category that changes over time.
EGP is the country’s position relative to economically developed countries, trade, transport and transit routes, raw material bases, centers of industry and agriculture, and world markets. The EGP is constantly changing and depends on the development of transport, foreign trade and other types of international relations.
Conclusion: in order to understand qualitative and quantitative shifts on the political map of the world, problems of economic and political cooperation between countries, and development trends of the MGRT, it is important to study political geography. It can help develop recommendations for solving many political and social problems.
Homework:
1. Prepare reports on the most important and influential international organizations. (Appendix No. 1)
2. Assess the political and geographical position of the two countries (optional).
Geopolitics: concept, subject, subjects, categories .
Approaches to defining geopolitics are extremely diverse: from identifying it with the art of managing a global process, state or other community, through the assertion that geopolitics is an integral independent science, to recognizing it as a worldview concept of the future. The process of forming a holistic understanding of geopolitics as a science and developing a unified conceptual and terminological apparatus complicates, but at the same time contributes to its methodological enrichment and expansion of its scope practical application the fact that among geopoliticians there are many representatives of geographical, political, historical and other sciences.
Based on the position of the author of the term “geopolitics” G. Kjellen, we will present arguments in favor of its scientific nature. The term "geopolitics" etymologically consists of two Greek words: geo - earth, politicos - state, citizen and everything connected with the city. Therefore, according to G. Challen (1924), geopolitics is the doctrine of the state as a geographical organism or phenomenon in space: it is thus the doctrine of the state as a country, territory or region."
It is worth noting that, unlike political geography, there is no clear and comprehensive definition of geopolitics. Geopolitics is often understood as a science that studies global politics, that is, a strategic direction political relations, mostly modern. The concept is used to assess the international political positions of a state, its place in the system of international studies, and the conditions for its participation in military-political alliances. To begin with, here are some common definitions of geopolitics:
"Geopolitics serves to determine national policy, taking into account the factors influencing it natural environment"(Encyclopedia" Britanica", 1994).
"This is a science that studies and analyzes in unity geographical, historical, political and other interrelated factors influencing the strategic potential of the state" (" The Encyclopedia Americana", 1973).
“Geopolitics is a combination of geographical and political factors that determine the position of a state or region with an emphasis on the influence of geography on politics” (S. Brzezinski, 1997).
"The science of studying the relationship between power politics in internationally and the geographical framework in which it is carried out" (P. Gallois, 1990).
“Geopolitics is the science of control over space” (V. Madisson, V. Shakhov, 2003).
So, firstly, the core of geopolitics remains geography as a dynamic system of social and natural sciences, which gives grounds for most researchers to define it as a geographical discipline. Opponents of this approach, mainly political scientists, mistakenly identify geography with the study of stable physical-geographical conditions and resources. Secondly, geopolitics links political processes and earthly spaces into one whole. Previously, it was believed that this science, as opposed to political geography, explores only global space, but more and more works are appearing devoted to political strategy at the meso- and micro-level (regional geopolitics, atomistic geopolitics, etc.).
Geopolitics is the science of the multifaceted policies of states and other entities, aimed at studying the possibilities of active use of geospace data in the interests of military-political, cultural-informational, economic and environmental safety within the appropriate interaction fields.
For the sake of fairness, we note that opponents of recognizing geopolitics as a science rightly accuse it of subjectivity of judgment, philosophizing, and daydreaming. Applied geopolitics, which is based on the interests of a particular subject and is “the theory of positional struggle on the world chessboard,” really suffers from this. But academic geopolitics is devoid of national bias and authorial subjectivism. According to M. Mironenko, it “must highlight what is reasonable from the past and present geopolitical argumentation in the form of general patterns and trends in geopolitical relations” (V. Kolosov, M. Mironenko, 2002). Already now, individual geopolitical categories and cause-and-effect relationships should be recognized as purely scientific.
There is no doubt that geopolitics has its own object and subject of research.
The main object of geopolitics research is the geopolitical structure of the world in all its diversity. Now it is represented by many spatial models (see topic 11). A stable geopolitical structure of the world that reflects the balance of power at a certain historical stage, was called the world system.
The subjects of geopolitical planning are generators of stabilization or change in the geopolitical structure of the world. The irrefutable and main subjects of geopolitics are states (empires). They are associated with such key concepts of geopolitics as geostrategic players and geopolitical axes.
Geostrategic players, for Iz. Brzezinski, “are states that have the ability and national freedom to use force or influence beyond their borders in order to change the existing geopolitical state of affairs,” and geopolitical axes are “states whose weight does not come from their strength and motivation, but rather from the disadvantages of location and from the consequences of their potentially vulnerable conditions for the behavior of geostrategic players."
States as subjects international law may initiate the creation of regional or international organizations, which are also subject to geopolitical subjectivity.
Spread of liberal traditions in XVIII - XX centuries and deepening globalization at the end XX V. significantly undermined the political and economic sovereignty of the state. And if earlier we were talking about geopolitics, cycles of hegemony of states (P. Taylor, Kondratiev-Wallerstein), about the confrontation of owners, nations, ideologies, civilizations (S. Huntington), which again took place on state level, then at the turn XX - XXI centuries Along with states, transnational companies (TNCs) have become new and completely independent subjects of the geopolitical structure of the world, and their confrontation and economic expansion are already determining the balance of forces at the regional and global levels. The geopolitical structure of the world is all in to a greater extent responds to the interests of non-state actors: TNCs, various associations of citizens (political movements and organizations, anti-globalization movements, etc.), terrorist groups and individual leaders. All participants of the international political process regardless hiv spread on them, international law in the system of international relations is called actors.
With the development of regional geopolitics, its subjects become the political and territorial components of individual states.
Thanks to the interests inherent in each subject of geopolitics (national idea, economic and military-political security of the state, imperial claims, economic dominance, preservation of identity, personal ambitions, etc.), certain spaces are formed in which these interests overlap, oppose or interact. If we make an attempt to take something common out of the brackets of geopolitical models, then a certain problematic area emerges, the main content of which is the fixation and forecast of the spatial boundaries of the action of “force fields” of different nature, which act as the subject of geopolitics.
Common terms in literature Lebensraum (living space), “growth pole”, “power pole”, “geopolitical field”, “growth center”, etc. can be used for one-sided coverage of purely military-political, economic, ideological, etc. aspects of the world order. A more complex term, especially in the context of the development of geopolitics of interaction, to denote the subject of geopolitics is the field of interaction.
The field of interaction is a segment of social activity that interacts with a certain geographical space that is identified on the basis of a combination (overlay) of geostrategies of interested actors.
Fields of interaction with the leading function can be economic, political, military, ideological, civilizational, environmental, etc. or integral.
Because geopolitics is social science, then the object and subject of her research are in constant dynamics, reflecting the changing reality.
Fixing and forecasting the boundaries of interaction fields, the dynamic mosaic of which forms the geopolitical structure of the world, is the main task of geopolitics. Other tasks: research of mechanisms and forms of control over the geospace (currently the most effective forms of control are considered to be control over communications, various kinds of flows (information, goods, etc.) and geopolitical bases); geopolitical zoning of the planet based on the delimitation of geopolitical fields of leading actors; identification of objectively existing spatial political units, geostrategic zones and geopolitical regions; overcoming confrontational logic in international relations; development of geopolitical codes for subjects of geopolitics, etc.
The level of development of any science is evidenced by the degree of development of its conceptual and terminological apparatus. Geopolitical terminology is penetrating more and more deeply into all spheres of life. At the same time, the polysemantic, sometimes opposite, meaning of individual terms turns out to be clearer. The formation of a theory of geopolitics and its conceptual and terminological apparatus is possible in line with the development of academic geopolitics. Let's try to place the main accents.
After the compromise of geopolitics by representatives of the German school in the 30s and 40s XX V. Western scientists rejected the very term “geopolitics” and began to develop almost the same concepts within the framework of geostrategy. Now geostrategy is the leading concept of geopolitics, which is based on the predetermination of the direction of a subject’s foreign policy and foreign economic actions by geographical, primarily natural-geographical, factors and its geolocation. The task of geopolitical strategy is to analyze the position of the subject under study and determine the possibilities of its transformation in the desired direction. In a broad sense, geostrategy is the art of implementing political or other activities by subjects of geopolitics in the conditions of geospace.
Whatever factors - natural or social - predetermine the position of the state in the world hierarchy, important point its existence is the geopolitical position of the state territory. Regarding the positioning of the state in relations with other actors, the term geopolitical position is used.
The key concept of geopolitics is the concept of geopolitical concept (doctrine).
Geopolitical doctrine is a model for understanding the factors of the structure of the territorial-political world order and the directions of political activity and analysis based on geographical realities (G. Dnestriansky, 2003). Along with the scientific nature, one should note the subjectivity, ideological bias and even mysticism inherent in geopolitical doctrines, which are the methodological basis for applied developments. (The essence of the most important geopolitical concepts is outlined in the next topic.)
Most geopolitical doctrines are the embodiment of interests: national, state, coalition, private. All of them are diverse, but usually lie in the plane of preserving the independence and integrity of states, ensuring the survival of nations and the prosperity of citizens, expanding political and economic influence, and achieving a certain private goal. The main task of their implementation is the targeted strengthening of the geopolitical position and geo-economic power of the actors. Even one and a half hundred years ago, the Prime Minister of Britain, Lord G. Palmerston (1784 - 1865) noted: “the state has neither permanent friends nor permanent enemies, it has only permanent interests.” This thesis has become popular and is known to any educated politician, especially to a scientist.
It is worth noting that national and state interests completely coincide only if there is a real civil society in a single-national state. Only in this case will it be fair to say that “national interest is an integral expression of the interests of all members of society, which are realized through the political system; it combines the interests of each person, the interests of national, social, political groups and the interests of the state” (V. Madison, V . Shakhov, 2003).
It is the categories “geopolitical concept” and “geopolitical interests” that, through the engagement of researchers, add subjectivity to geopolitics, transforming it into a worldview concept.
The formation of the direction of a state’s foreign strategy must be consistent with its geopolitical code. The geopolitical code (code) is “a set of strategic ideas that the government (country - V.S.) forms about other states when developing its foreign policy” (V. Kolosov, M. Mironenko, 2002).
According to J. Gaddis (1982), these operational collections of laws contain: a definition of state interests, identification of external threats to these interests, possible response options and their justification. Despite the fact that each state builds its own code, they can overlap, interact and - naturally - enter into disputes with each other. Depending on its geopolitical location, a state may have a local, regional, global geopolitical code, or a combination of these.
One of the essential categories of geopolitics, which is closely intertwined with state interests, is the category of expansion. Since geopolitics must serve the national interests of the state, geopolitical concepts are designed to justify its expansion. And the seven basic laws of spatial growth of the state by F. Ratzel, and the three spatial factors of G. Kjellen, and the six criteria of the planetary status of the state by A. Megen, not to mention the German geopolitics of the 30s and 40s XX Art., were aimed precisely at this.
Both the mechanisms and forms of control over space are not constant. Geopolitical concepts of recent years (P. Taylor, S. Brzezinski, I. Wallerstein, J. Yegnew, S. Cobridge, etc.) note that hegemony (leadership) is based on economic supremacy. In connection with this, the main type of expansion is now economic, which is complemented and enhanced by information, cultural-civilizational, religious, political, relegating the military to the background. The concept of complete control was replaced by the concept of control over “lines” - communications, material and information flows and over geopolitical bases.
As a result of the combination of geopolitical fields of key geopolitical actors, a balance of power is formed as an immanent characteristic of a certain historical stage of development. The mechanisms for forming the balance of power depend on the will of geostrategic players and the type of international system. And even after Congress of Vienna(1815) began the search for moral and legal norms and principles for the development of international relations, yet the main factor in the formation of the world hierarchy remains military power.
Such important categories geopolitics, such as "state" and "border", discussed in part 1 of this book. We also note that geopolitics as a social science widely uses the categories of sociology, political science, cultural studies, demography (ethnicity, nation, civilization, identity, etc.), adapting them to the needs of geopolitical research.
Studying the contents of the paragraph provides an opportunity:
Ø study the essence of the concept of geopolitics;
Ø get acquainted with various international associations countries of the world.
Among the world's global problems, the most important is the problem of maintaining peace and disarmament, which became especially acute after the Second World War in connection with the invention of weapons of mass destruction.
Currently, the international situation, despite its complexities and contradictions, is gradually changing from confrontation to cooperation, and the threat of global nuclear destruction is decreasing. The leading states of the world have signed agreements on the elimination of certain classes of missiles, the reduction of strategic offensive weapons, the reduction in the number of armed forces, etc. In the area of nuclear weapons control, the Atmospheric Test Ban Treaty has been adopted, outer space and Underwater (1963); the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1996); Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (1968); Treaty between Russia on the reduction of strategic offensive weapons - START-1 (1991) and START-2 (1993).
In 1997, the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction came into force, which was ratified by most countries of the world, including the USA, Russia, and China. The process of gradual reduction of conventional weapons continues,
However, even if international relations are improved, the threat to peace remains real. As before, up to 1 trillion 100 billion dollars (2007) are spent on the arms race (47% of this is in the United States.) Significant material and human resources are involved (over 25 million people are employed in the armies of the world's states). The number of states possessing nuclear weapons is growing, and new ones are emerging. dangerous species weapons, international terrorism is intensifying. The threat of international terrorism became especially urgent after the terrorist attacks in September 2001 in New York and Washington and in October 2002 in Moscow. As a result of these actions, thousands of people have died, and millions live in fear and psychological discomfort. (Name the regions of the World (countries) where there is tension and local wars. What are the causes of conflicts and what ways to resolve them, in your opinion, are the most acceptable?)
Political geography. Political geography is the science of territorial differentiation of political phenomena and processes. Modern political-geographical research is focused on studying the territorial distribution of class and political forces in the world as a whole and in its large regions. On the global and regional levels changes on the political map of the world associated with the formation of new states, changes political system And state borders. Changes in the balance of power among political, military and economic groups, as well as territorial aspects of international relations, hotbeds of tension and military conflicts are also considered.
Political-geographical location is directly related to political geography. Political-geographical position (PGP) is a set of political conditions related to the geographical location of countries (regions) and the interaction of its population with surrounding countries and international unions. Political-geographical relationships are changing, due to both internal processes in countries and in the surrounding area. ( How has the political and geographical position of Belarus changed at present?)
The political-geographical position is closely related to the economic-geographical position, since economics and politics are closely related.
In connection with the development of society and changes in the economic and geographical position due to the development of transport, the service sector, and foreign trade, changes are also taking place in the political and geographical position. The economic and geographical position has both positive and bad influence for the economic development of the country ( Give specific examples).
Despite the positive changes on the political map of the world, there are still regions of political and ethno-confessional tensions and local wars. Africa and Asia are characterized by the greatest instability. Currently, the world is experiencing the collapse of global finance, the uncontrolled spread of nuclear weapons, the expansion of international conflicts, the growth of drug trafficking, criminalization and terrorism.
There is now a stable Islamic “arc” of instability in the world from the Balkans to the Philippines. The centers of instability in Asia are Israel, Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, India, China, Mnyamna, North Korea, etc.
In political geography, one of the areas is geopolitics. Geopolitics(from the Greek geos - earth and politic - politics, the art of statecraft) - a political concept according to which state policy, mainly external, is determined by its geographical factors. The main geopolitical factors are geographical (space, location, natural conditions and resources), political (type of government system, social structure society, relationships with other states, participation in political alliances and blocs, the presence of hot spots), economic (standard of living of the population, degree of development of leading sectors of the economy), military (level of development, features and combat readiness of the armed forces, military expenditures, etc.), environmental (the degree of degradation of the natural environment and measures to protect it), demographic (the nature of population reproduction, its composition and distribution), cultural-historical (the level of development of science, education, health care, cultural traditions) and ethnic relationships. Thus, geopolitics studies the dependence of the foreign policy of states and international relations on the system of political, economic, environmental, military-strategic relationships, which are determined by the geographical location of the country, physical and economic-geographical factors.
The founder of geopolitics is the German scientist Friedrich Ratzel (1844 – 1904), who in 1897 in his work “Political Geography” expressed the idea of “living space”. According to Ratzel's theory, to improve its geographical position, the state has the right to change borders and increase its territory by seizing neighboring lands. This concept at one time became the ideological basis of Nazi expansion.
Geopolitics is always connected with the state and is guided by its interests, and is historical in nature. The geographical factor (geographical location, size of territory, availability of natural resources) influences foreign policy, but the geographical environment cannot serve main reason social development. Foreign policy states, as historical experience shows, changes in connection with changes in socio-economic conditions, but cannot in any way be a consequence of geographical conditions undergoing very slowly changes. Modern world divided by numerous borders (state, ethnic, religious), which are constantly changing and becoming more complex. Processes are underway to divide the borders and waters of the World Ocean (territorial waters, two-hundred-mile economic zones). Changing quickly political situation in certain regions (countries) where conflicts arise, which is predetermined by the alignment of political forces, the activities of mass socio-political movements, and ethnic processes. In turn, political factors influence the socio-economic development of countries and international cooperation. The geographical environment in which a nation develops determines important characteristics life of this nation in the world community of states. This is, first of all: the nature of economic development and interaction with outside world, the degree of propensity for expansion, place in generally civilized development at a certain historical stage. The tendency to maximize its power in one form or another (increase in territory, economic dominance, political dominance) is natural for any state over a long period of time. historical development. Thus, important aspect geopolitics is the assessment of the power of the state through taking into account territory, space, types of borders (their security). This also includes: population size; availability and volume of natural resources (raw materials); economic and technological development; racial homogeneity; political stability; national spirit, etc. The main essence of geopolitics is related to the idea control over space (territory). The territory itself is a repository of almost all natural resources. Therefore, the territory must be treated with the same care as all other natural resources.
In the first stages of human development, control over space was carried out in the form of direct influence - military or political control. With the development of scientific and technological revolution and growing interdependence in the world, control over space acquires new, partly transnational forms: economic, communication, information.
Control over space, as a sphere of influence and use, can be exercised by land, ocean, air and space. In the future, the role of near-Earth space for control over earthly space will increase. An attempt was made to achieve complete military control over the US near-Earth space through the SDI program. (What is the essence of this program?).
One form of control over space is political, which is based on party, state and administrative infrastructures. Examples of political control are London’s delegation of control over India to the British East India Company in the 19th century, and complex political control in 1949–1953. former USSR over China, etc.
Military control seen as classic example geopolitics and involves maintaining control over a certain territory by military means.
Economic control is intensifying with the globalization of international relations and the increasing impact of the economy on all aspects of life in modern society.
Communication control has a direct impact on the overall degree of state control over a particular space.
Demographic control is a significant geopolitical factor not only for states with areas with low population density (Russia, Canada, Australia), but also for states with problems with overpopulation (meaning China's demographic control over Xinjiang through the resettlement of ethnic Chinese (Han) there. Demographic control is important not only over the territory of one’s own state, but also for direct or indirect control over the territories of other states. For example, China’s relations with countries. South-East Asia determined by the fact that in these countries ethnic Chinese make up a significant part of the population, and in Singapore they are the majority. In this regard, the PRC, as the core of the Chinese ethnic group, can control a significant area.
Information control associated with the development of funds mass media, especially television and radio communications. Information control over a relatively independent space can lead the subject of information dissemination to significant political, economic and communication changes.
Geopolitics has gone through a number of stages in its development. If on the first from the end of the 19th to the 80s. In the 20th century, the focus was on discussing military-political contradictions, the struggle for the territorial redistribution of the world and the exacerbation of the Cold War, but now in the system of international relations there has been a warming of the global geopolitical climate, when military confrontation was replaced by political-economic and cultural interaction between countries and regions. The geopolitics of confrontation has been replaced by the geopolitics of interaction, however, the global geopolitical situation is complicated by the fact that in a multipolar world, one superpower stands out - the United States, which has not abandoned the policy of world dictatorship and the new world order from the point of view of the “sphere of influence” and “living space”.
One of the original geopolitical positions that developed in the West at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries is the doctrine of the confrontation between continental (tellurocratic) and maritime (thalassocratic) forces. Tellurocracy (Greek - power through the Earth, or land power), thalassocracy (Greek - power through the sea, or sea power).
The role of maritime and continental powers was first analyzed by Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840–1914). He put forward the idea of the advantage of a maritime power over a continental one. Sea power a state is determined by its naval power, military and merchant fleets, and naval bases.
According to A. Mahan, the geopolitical status of a state is determined by the following provisions: 1) the geographical location of the state, its openness to the seas, the possibility of sea communications with other countries. The length of land borders, the ability to control strategically important regions; 2) the configuration of sea coasts and the number of ports located on them; 3) the length of the territory. It is equal to the length coastline; 4) Statistical population size; 5) national character; 6) the political nature of government.
In the views of many American geopoliticians, the prevailing idea is the need to extend US dominance after World War II to key regions of the world and abandon the concept of isolationism. In their opinion, the fundamentals of the country’s security must be considered at the global level (integrated control over territories) and active intervention in the affairs of Eurasia.
Geostrategy- this is the theory and practice of implementing the vital interests of the state, union of states, nation, people. Development of a state's geostrategy is main goal geopolitics. It is aimed at solving both domestic and foreign policy problems, taking into account the demographic and social situations, as well as economic and military potential. Geostrategy is the art of managing the development of a state based on development national interests having internal socio-economic potential. Geostrategy considers all spheres of life in modern society.
Questions and tasks.
1. Why is peacekeeping and prevention a problem? nuclear war is the most pressing among global problems?
2. What is the main essence of geopolitics?
3. What forms of spatial control exist? Give examples..
4. What factors characterize the geopolitics of any state?
Topic 1. Political geography as a socio-geographical science
The subject of political geography and its structure
Political geography is a relatively “young” scientific discipline. Its origin dates back to the 18th century, when, in conditions of increasing differentiation of geographical knowledge, political geography began to stand out in classification experiments. I. Kant, who taught geography at the University of Königsberg, divided it into physical, commercial, moral and political geography (1755). A similar classification was used by St. Petersburg University professor A. Buesching (1766), dividing geography into mathematical, natural and political. The subject of political geography was the study of the actual division of the world into states, the analysis of their territory and relative location, the nature of borders, and the formation of interstate unions. It arose during a period when geography was considered only natural science, engaged in the study of the natural environment and landscapes. Nature-centrism also determined the initial methodological formation of political geography as an independent science that explains political processes by the nature of natural conditions and types of geographical landscapes.
With the publication of the book of the German geographer F. Ratzel “Political Geography” (1897) at the end of the 19th century, the main object of research was defined as the state as a geographical object, its internal features and external relations in interstate relations. At the initial stage of the development of political geography at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, research into the natural, climatic, cultural and historical features of the state territory, its geographical location, state borders and their evolution received the greatest development. The state was interpreted in the spirit of social Darwinism as an organism fighting for existence and striving for external territorial expansion.
Subsequently, in the first half of the twentieth century, geopolitics received the greatest development – as an applied branch of political geography that studies the influence of geographical, historical, political and other factors on the strategic potential of a state and its participation in international relations. This was reflected in the definition of political geography by V.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky (1915) as a science that studies the spatial relationships of the territorial power of individual states.
In subsequent years, ideas about the subject and methods of political geography expanded significantly. In Western countries, the subject of political geography was defined as the state from the point of view of its genesis, endowment of resources, conditionality of specific geographical forms of its development (Pounds, 1972), and the spatial aspects of political processes, their dynamics and activities to establish and maintain control over different political units (S. Cohen, 1971).
In the context of the geopolitical confrontation between the two systems and the primacy of Marxist ideas in the countries of the former Soviet bloc, political geography was considered part of economic geography (Semevsky, 1964). A detailed interpretation of political geography in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia notes that political geography “studies the territorial arrangement and correlation of political forces both within countries and between individual countries and groups of countries in connection with their socio-economic structure, issues of the territorial formation of countries and states, their state borders, historical regions, administrative structure" (TSB, t-6, p. 278). Subsequently, in 1970-1980. new concepts about “political-territorial organization of society” (Gorbatsevich, 1976; Yagya, 1982), “territorial-political systems” (Mashbits, 1989), “political-geographical space” (Aksenov, 1989), which made it possible to give a systematic interpretation of the modern essence of political geography and its subject of research (Kolosov, 1988; Kaledin, 1996; Kolosov, Mironenko, 2001). V. A. Kolosov (1988), noting the specific position of political geography at the intersection of geographical and political sciences, interprets it as “a special geographical science that studies the spatial organization of the political life of society and territorial combinations of political forces in their conditioning by specific combinations of diverse socio-economic factors... "(p. 16). The main object of modern political geography is determined by territorial-political systems (TPS), interconnected combinations of elements of the political sphere in their interaction with each other and with geographic space, objectively on a certain territory (Kolosov, Mironenko, 2001, p. 243). The subject of political geography determines, first of all, the property territoriality, reflecting political phenomena in space (with display on the map), on certain territory within established boundaries and taking into account differentiation from place to place. The difference between political geography and other political sciences is that it studies political processes and the functioning of TPS in connection with geographic space, takes into account local conditions, establishes patterns of development depending on the geographical location of objects and provides a comparative analysis of their dynamics in different areas. She uses the geographical method, emphasizing the territoriality of political processes and phenomena and their differences from place to place (Turovsky, 1999, p. 11).
Modern political geography studies the spatial organization of the political life of society and territorial-political systems, with an analysis of their internal structure and the relationships of key elements among themselves and the geographical space at all levels of the territorial hierarchy.
Being an independent geographical science, political geography (PG) has a complex internal structure in which the following are distinguished (Kaledin, 1991):
general (theoretical) PG, which reveals the uniqueness of the subject area of science, its methodological and theoretical basis, the system of scientific categories and place in the system of scientific disciplines;
industry (functional) PG, which considers specific functional types of political activity of society and individual social groups(geopolitical, party, ethnic, military, religious, etc.);
regional PG, which studies territorial-political systems of various hierarchical levels, their formation, dynamics and typology in changing geopolitical conditions;
applied PG, which determines the main directions for the entry of this science into public practice and information support for managerial, ideological, educational, political-cartographic and other activities.
In the modern system of geographical sciences, PG, being an integral part of socio-economic geography, synthesizes the conclusions of the geography of the economy, population, culture, and to a certain extent, natural history branches of geography, expanding the integration functions of the entire complex of geographical sciences. Being a social geographical science, PG closely interacts with historical and philosophical-sociological sciences (history, political science, sociology), the theory of international relations, state building and law. However, this does not give grounds to consider PG or its applied part - geopolitics, as component other sciences (for example, political science), artificially tearing it out of the family of geographical sciences. This leads to the loss of the property of territoriality of the political processes being studied, the mechanism of spatial conditioning of the action of socio-economic, political and geographical factors of the functioning of territorial-political systems and their elements.
