GEOPOLITICS

  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.

What is meant by Geopolitics of a region?

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.