1. Political Geography

2. Geopolitical Theory

3. Do Geopolitics Help Us Understand the World?
Geopolitics: The interplay among geography, power, politics, and international relations
Economic focus
Immanuel Wallerstein’s World-Systems Theory

4. Immanuel Wallerstein’s World-Systems Theory
Result of colonialism/imperialism
a world order based on differences in economic and political power
The world economy has one market but a global division of labor.
Although the world has multiple states, almost everything takes place within the context of the world economy.
The world economy has a three-tier structure.

5. Three-Tier Structure Core Periphery Semi-periphery
Processes that incorporate higher levels of education, higher salaries, and more technology
Generate more wealth in the world economy
INNOVATION, CREATIVITY
HIGH-TECH MANUFACTURING
Periphery
Processes that incorporate lower levels of education, lower salaries, and less technology
Generate less wealth in the world economy
SOURCE OF RAW MATERIALS
Semi-periphery
Places where core and periphery processes are both occurring
Places that are exploited by the core but then exploit the periphery
Serves as a buffer between core and periphery
CHEAP MANUFACTURING

6. The Three-Tier System

7. Construction of the World Economy
Colonialism: Made world economy “global”, established interdependent global economy
Capitalism: The system whereby people, corporations, and states produce goods and services and exchange them in the world market, with the goal of achieving profit
facilitated by “free trade”
Commodification: The process of placing a price on a good and then buying, selling, and trading the good (remember from culture unit)

8. Do Geopolitics Help Us Understand the World?
Geopolitics: The interplay among geography, power, politics, and international relations
Economic focus
Immanuel Wallerstein’s World-Systems Theory
Classical geopolitics
German School (Ratzel’s organic state theory)
British /American School
Mackinder’s heartland theory
Mahan’s Sea Power theory
Spykman’s Rimland Theory

9. Ratzel’s Organic State Theory
Based on Darwin’s theories of evolution
“survival of the fittest”
state must control territory to survive
Described expansion of empires and large states in the 19th century (US is prime example)
Eventually contributed to Nazi expansionist goals
“Lebensraum” = “living space” for the German people carved from Slavic lands to the East.

11. Mackinder’s Heartland Theory
Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland
Who rules the Heartland commands the World Island
Who rules the World Island commands the World
Obsolete? Evidence?

12. Spykman’s Rimland Theory = “who controls the Rimland rules Eurasia”
→ containment
derivative of Mahan’s sea power theory

13. Mahan’s Sea Power Theory
American but looked to British dominance
Sea power needed to connect to colonies/resources
Strong navy as powerful as location

14. Shatterbelt = an area of instability between regions with opposing political/cultural values.
The Rimland during the Cold War
communism vs. capitalism
Eastern Europe (Berlin), Greece and Turkey, China, Korea, Vietnam, the Middle East etc.
Today?
The Middle East (Sunni vs. Shiite)
West Africa (Islam vs. Christian/Animist)

16. Terrorism
Terrorism
Systematic use of violence to intimidate a population or to coerce a government
Use of bombing, kidnapping, hijacking, and murder to instill fear and anxiety in a population
better fits definition when civilians are the targets.

17. Terrorism Terrorism by individuals and organizations
Arab-Israeli conflict (many terrorism occurrences)
American (domestic) terrorists
Timothy McVeigh (April 19, 1995 in Oklahoma City)
“federal government is tyrannical”
cites as examples of govt. tyranny : Waco, Ruby Ridge
Unabomber (Ted Kazcinski – anti-technology)
September 11, 2001, attacks
Al-Qaeda
protest US presence in Saudi Arabia, colonialism
Anti-Westernization, influence in Islamic world
Osama bin Laden (Saudi harbored in Afghanistan)
fundamentalist and extremist
believed they are engaged in jihad = holy war
prior attacks (Kenya, Tanzania, USS Cole)

18. State support for terrorism
Three increasing levels of involvement
Use terrorists to attack
avoids retribution/revenge
terrorists have no “state” to attack, plausible deniability
Providing sanctuary
Afghanistan/Taliban to Osama bin Laden
failed states can’t police activity within their borders
Supplying weapons, $, and intelligence to terrorists
Libya (Pan Am bombers)
Iran
Hezbollah = Shiite Lebanese = anti-Israel
Hamas = Gaza = anti-Israel
Saudi Arabia (huge source of funding for Sunni groups)
Pakistan
anti-India terrorists
How could they not possibly know Osama was there?