Geopolitical Approaches

All Pages in this Section

Geopolitical concepts

• Five minutes for critical geopolitics: A slightly provocative introduction - Ian Klinke
• Geopolitics in the 2000s - Virginie Mamadouh
• Popular Geopolitics, Culture and Representations - Jason Dittmer
• Russian Geopolitics - Igor Okunev
• The definition of geopolitics - Leonhardt van Efferink

Geopolitical scholars

• Mackinder and Spykman and the New World Energy Order - Timothy Boon von Ochssée
• Rediscovering Spykman - Federico Bordonaro
• Where ‘geopolitics’ and ‘foreign policy analysis’ once met: the work of Harold and Margaret Sprout and its continued relevance today - David Criekemans

Books, Courses, External links, Quotes

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Introduction and recent updates

Introduction

The Geopolitical Approaches section looks into geopolitical theories and concepts. The contributions throw light on ideas of scholars from the past and contemporary academics.

This section answers questions such as:

• How can we define geopolitics?
• What are the main features of Spykman's work?
• How has geopolitical thought developed through time?

Popular Geopolitics and Culture

June 2010

Jason Dittmer obtained his PhD in Geography at Florida State University and is currently Lecturer in Human Geography at UCL. He gives his views on popular geopolitics and related concepts such as representations, postcolonialism and social constructivism:

Popular Geopolitics, Culture and Representations - Jason Dittmer

"Usually geopolitics gets framed as ‘big boy’ research, dealing with wars, diplomacy, and the like. The importance of popular geopolitics is, I think, in pointing out that all those ‘big boy’ events are reliant on the billions of everyday interactions between people."

Geopolitics in the 2000s

September 2009

Virginie Mamadouh (Associate Professor at University of Amsterdam) takes a fresh look at her 1998 article "Geopolitics in the nineties: one flag, many meanings." She further writes about the research agenda of contemporary geopolitics:

Geopolitics in the 2000s - Virginie Mamadouh

"Despite, or rather thanks to, its diversity, geopolitics has remained a powerful tool to study territorial conflicts and other spatial politics, more in particular international relations and global governance."

Recommended contributions

On the merits of Spykman's work

May 2009

Dr Federico Bordonaro of the Center of Excellence for Stability Police Units (Italy) discusses the theoretical and analytical work of Nicholas Spykman:

Rediscovering Spykman - Federico Bordonaro

"Spykman’s in-depth analysis of geography’s political-strategic significance constitutes an excellent introduction to the methodology of geopolitics."

Critical-Classical Geopolitics

January 2009

What role do space, identity, vision and state play in geopolitical concepts? Ian Klinke (University College London) explains the difference between critical and classical geopolitics:

Five minutes for critical geopolitics: A slightly provocative introduction - Ian Klinke

"Although not exactly hip and trendy, geopolitics is very much on the agenda these days. Often sloppily defined, geopolitics tends to be employed as a tag that lends authority to politicians, journalists and academics."

The many definitions of geopolitics

January 2009

Wondering what geopolitics is about? The editor interprets ten definitions of geopolitics from respected sources, looking for similarities and differences:

The definition of geopolitics - Leonhardt van Efferink

"Since the coining of the concept of geopolitics by the end of the nineteenth century, power (influence, politics) and space (territory, soil) have played a crucial role in the definitions of geopolitics."

The ideas of Harold&Margaret Sprout

May 2009

David Criekemans (University of Antwerp) publishes a paper about the work of Harold and Margaret Sprout. This couple analysed the relationship between ‘territoriality’ and foreign/international politics:

Where ‘geopolitics’ and ‘foreign policy analysis’ once met: the work of Harold and Margaret Sprout and its continued relevance today - David Criekemans

"What are the consequences of the distinction between the ‘operational’ and the ‘psychological’ milieu for the study of foreign policy?"