What is Geopolitics ?

Geo-Politics

The concept of Geopolitics is based on the biological state-concept of Retzal and Geopolitical concepts of Jaylen. After the defeat of Germany in the First World War, the causes of the defeat were analyzed by thinkers and military officials and efforts were made to regain Germany's lost reputation with the expansionist policy of this process. Therefore, the contribution of German geographers has been important in geopolitical development.

What is Geopolitics ?

"Geopolitics deals with the regional needs of the state, whereas political geography only tests the spatial conditions of the state." - Hanshofer

"Geopolitics is really a matter of mutual interplay of geography, power, politics and international relations on the surface of the earth."

Geopolitics itself is a translation of the German word Geopolitics, which Jalen first gave and termed it as a state science spatially. Geopolitics are helpful in explaining spatial power management for drafting international relations.

According to Jaylen,

"Geopolitics is the body region of a state-like organism, boundaries are the innermost organs, production areas are arms, modes of transport are state systems, and capital is its brain, heart, and lung."

Ratzal, Jalen, and Karl Hanshofer contribute to the development of geopolitics

Kjellen - Analysis of geopolitics, population politics, economic resource politics, social politics and state administration are considered essential elements for the study of the state. Like Ratzel, Jalen also believed that the ultimate objective of state development is "power accumulation".

Achieving coordinated unity from internal point of view and achieving natural frontier from external point of view.

State power is necessary for development. Empires based on continental power will be more prosperous than maritime power kingdoms which will also control the seas in due course of time and Germany will emerge as a great power. The geopolitics established by Jaylen were reinforced by Karl Hanshofer.

Karl Hanshofer - From the geopolitical point of view the Pacific Ocean area is the most important. Destruction of Britain's power is necessary for Germany. American intervention in the Eastern Hemisphere is undesirable. Friendly relations between the Soviet Union, India, China, Japan, under the leadership of Germany are desirable.

According to Hanshofer, Geopolitics is a dynamic science that expresses the desire for unlimited expansion of the state.

John Agnew - He wrote a book called "Geopolitics" in 1998 and Mastering Space in 2003 which highlighted three main themes.

First - The history of the political principles and geopolitics of the conservative ideal states has been composed till the modern era.

Second - Presented a state-based modern geopolitical imagination based on various geopolitical disputes.

Third - There is a need to understand the contribution of world order by Hegemony powers.

The three main ideas that he developed are

(1) Containment - The purpose of this philosophy is to stop the influence of powerful and aggressive nations.

(2) Dominotheory- Understanding the influence of a specific ideology such as the influence of Chinese communism has been seen as far as Korea, Laos Cambodia and Thailand.

(3) Hegemony - The control and dominion of one state over another which can also be related to economic and ideology.

Global Geopolitics

(1) Europe - France has the credit of establishing equilibrium in the countries of Northern and Southern Europe, Paranth and France are affected, so the whole of Northern Europe which is developed will also be affected.

(2) Russia - Rivers flowing in Russia whose flow is perpendicular (North-South) but due to communist ideology, the territories have been merged horizontally.

(3) Middle East - Coin is bound as a Shatter belt in the mineral-oil rich region of Middle East Asia. Instability has arisen in this region due to Islamic terrorism.

(4) United States - Despite being rich in resources, India and China depend on imports for the supply of skilled and cheap labor. For this reason, the revenue of this country depends on arms exports.

(5) China - Despite the 9000 km long coastline of this country, there are internal problems (Mongol in the north and Turks in the west). China's export economy is still possible with the friendship of the United States. If the United States closes the naval route, China's economic system will be adversely affected.

(6) India - despite all the resources, is still behind in development due to ancient colonialism.

Differences between Geo-Politics & Political Geography

Geopolitics gives priority to mere expansion, while political geography is the gradual development of the state which takes place from the geographical conditions of the region.

Political geography basically focuses on geographical facts on the basis of which politics is analyzed, while geopolitics emphasizes on political elements that attempt geographical explanation.

Mackinder's views are related to geopolitics. Similarly, Spikemen and Mahan's sea power are also examples of geopolitics.

Geopolitics is a narrow notion - which promoted the notion of war based on expansionist thought while political geography emphasizes the truth of geographical facts.

Explaining the difference between the two, Maull has rightly said -

"Geopolitic is concerned with spatial requirement of the state while political geography examines only its spatial conditions."

So it is clear that unlike geopolitics, the field of political geography is wide in which The aspect of spatial distribution is also taken into consideration.

The geopolitical ideology was actually a mixture of the biological views of the state of Retzal, Mackinder's world strategic considerations, regionalism and the post-war German spirit. The nature of geopolitics Geo-strategy took over.

According to Griffith Taylor,

"Geopolitics is an extreme state of ideology, after the defeat, German thinkers filled the expansionist and regional ideas that symbolized the game of longing for power. ".

Source : Rajeev Bansal's (SEPD)