What
is the difference between geo-politics and geo-strategy?
Geopolitics
-
“Geopolitics
is the analysis of the interaction between, on the one hand, geographical
settings and perspectives and, on the other, political processes. The settings
are composed of geographical features and patterns and the multilayered regions
that they form. The political processes include forces that operate at the
international level and those on the domestic scene that influence
international behaviour. Both geographical settings and political processes are
dynamic, each influences and is influenced by the other” (Cohen 2003:12)
This
definition in general also covers the idea of critical geopolitics with the
inclusion of domestic factors as influential in international politics.
However, it needs to be understood that within the critical geopolitical strand,
‘geopolitics’ is understood to be a plurality rather than a singularity, which
implies that there could be multiple geopolitical visions of a particular event
or phenomenon of international importance and consequently multiple
interpretations.
Geostrategy
-
Geostrategy is the geographic direction of a state’s foreign policy. More precisely,
geostrategy describes where a state concentrates its efforts by projecting
military power and directing diplomatic activity. The underlying assumption is
that states have limited resources and are unable, even if they are willing, to
conduct an all-out foreign policy. Instead they must focus politically and
militarily on specific areas of the world. Geostrategy describes the
foreign-policy thrust of a state and does not deal with motivations or
decision-making processes. The geostrategy of a state, therefore, is not
necessarily motivated by geographic or geopolitical factors. A state may
project power to a location because of ideological reasons, interest groups, or
simply the whim of its leader.
Geopolitics, as defined
by Robert Blackwill, is understood to mean “the art and practice of the
application of power by nations in the international domain.” This word is believed to have originated from Rudolf Kjellén,
a Swedish political scientist at the beginning of the 20th century.2 In simple words, however, geopolitics would include how
nations behave with each other in their quest to protect their national
interests and to expand their influence/power. Geopolitics of a region would
thus mean how the states within the region interact with each other through
different instruments of the state including politics, diplomacy, military
power, economic relations, etc. For instance, the geopolitics of East Asia
would include understanding how the ASEAN countries engage with each other-
building alliances and friendships among themselves and with other powers in
the region including China , India , US, Australia , etc.
