Geopolitics

Communautés, fragmentation territoriale et gouvernement au Proche-Orient arabe (Irak, Syrie, Jordanie et Liban)

by Fabrice Balanche

Publiée dans la revue Etudes Interculturelles, Chaire UNESCO de l'Université Catholique de Lyon, mai 2012.

Dans le contexte conflictuel du Proche-Orient, marqué par le conflit israélo-arabe et la concurrence des grandes... more Dans le contexte conflictuel du Proche-Orient, marqué par le conflit israélo-arabe et la concurrence des grandes puissances pour les richesses en hydrocarbures du Golfe, la division communautaire est un facteur supplémentaire de conflit. Cela nous renvoie au fait que la communauté est une construction sociale et/ou politique et non pas une donnée fondamentale immuable forcément facteur de violence. Cependant, dans le contexte géopolitique du Proche-Orient contemporain, les fractures sociales recoupent des fractures communautaires, et lorsqu’une communauté s’identifie à un territoire, cela peut provoquer une partition du pays à la faveur d’un conflit. Le processus de mondialisation, qui provoque un affaiblissement des « Etats-nations », fait rejouer les lignes de failles communautaires, d’autant plus que les Etats du Proche-Orient ne sont que des Etats-territoire. Dans ce contexte, la remise en cause de l’autoritarisme, avec le « printemps arabe » de 2011, ouvre une période d’instabilité qui peut se révéler dangereuse pour les minorités dans toute la région. De l’invasion américaine de l’Irak en 2003 à la révolte syrienne de 2011, en passant par la révolution du Cèdre au Liban en 2005, huit années ce sont écoulées durant lesquelles de nettes tendances à la fragmentation interne se sont dessinées.

EMPIRE, WAR AND RESISTANCE: GLOBAL OR LOCAL CONFLICT?

by Simon Dalby

Paper for a panel on “Global vs. Local? Sources of Local Socio-Political Conflicts in the Global Information Age” International Studies Association annual convention, San Diego, April 2012.

The patterns of conflict in the contemporary world are undoubtedly changing but claims to novelty require careful... more The patterns of conflict in the contemporary world are undoubtedly changing but claims to novelty require careful reflection on historical precedent if they are to be convincing. Looking to the geographies of violence and protest in the patterns of imperial power of the past suggests important parallels and allows for a better calibration of what is new in present circumstances. Looking back to earlier periods of political unrest and social protest many of which had important international dimensions also poses questions of the specific geographies of protest. Both these now matter in light of technological change, new geographies of warfare, cyber-war and the proliferation of new media capabilities. Unpacking all these factors together is complicated, but essential to understanding the changing geopolitics of the present and the role of local political actions in a global world.

CHANGING BORDERS/BORDERING CHANGE

by Simon Dalby

Preliminary draft paper for a workshop on “Security’s Impact on Border Policies” University of Victoria, March 30&31, 2012.

In the aftermath of the events of 9/11 many aspects of security have been militarised even if they have very limited... more In the aftermath of the events of 9/11 many aspects of security have been militarised even if they have very limited connection to strategies of dealing with al Qaeda. In part this has to do with innovations in American military doctrine and the formulation of a “long war” as the geopolitical circumstances of our times. In particular military surveillance has been stepped up, using new technologies including most obviously “drones”. In the face of growing concern over the coming consequences of climate change, and in particular, the prospect of enhanced migration as populations adapt to the new circumstances, this paper explores the implications of the militarization of contemporary borders. High profile refugee ship episodes get much of the attention, but there is much more to changing patterns of migration and concerns over future policies in refugee destination states. This all links both to the geographical dimensions of how security is now understood, and also to how the possibilities for climate adaptation and related development strategies are shaped by the geopolitical assumptions underlying contemporary policy-making.

Reconstructing Meta-Doha

by Agatino Rizzo

MONU 16, 118-121

Qatar has recently come to the attention of the media and the international community for its rising geopolitical... more Qatar has recently come to the attention of the media and the international community for its rising geopolitical importance. Despite its limited size, a growing number of international companies are opening regional offices in Doha, Qatar’s capital city, which is in turn reshaping its cityscape with ambitious public funded mega-projects (for the 2022 FIFA world cup, Olympics, etc.). While this mega-project agenda has brought new useful infrastructures to cater for the country’s ambitious goals, at the same time, it has been responsible for important physical and social fractures within the city. However, while on the one hand Doha’s mega-projects contribute to further urban fragmentation in Qatar they also show better connections with other localities worldwide....

Le philhellénisme d’inspiration conservatrice en Europe et en Russie (Conservative Philhellenism in Europe and in Russia)

by Stella Ghervas

published in "Peuples, Etats et nations dans le Sud-Est de l’Europe", Bucharest, Ed. Anima, 2004, pp. 98-110.

S’il est un point sur lequel les chercheurs sont généralement d’accord, c’est que le philhellénisme, qui prit dans les... more S’il est un point sur lequel les chercheurs sont généralement d’accord, c’est que le philhellénisme, qui prit dans les années 1820 la forme d’un vaste courant de sympathie à la cause de libération grecque, fut l’une des premières manifestations de l’opinion publique à une échelle véritablement européenne. Ce n’est que tout récemment que des questions ont surgi quant à l’ampleur réelle du phénomène et quant à son impact effectif sur le cours des événements politico-militaires. L’existence, longtemps méconnue en Occident, d’un philhellénisme oriental à la fois russe et balkanique, vient compliquer l’image d’un mouvement beaucoup plus complexe et moins unilatéral qu’on ne l’a longtemps cru, où se mêlent aspects culturels et politiques, préoccupations humanitaires et visées économiques.

L’insurrection grecque de 1821 suscita naturellement l’enthousiasme des milieux libéraux européens, encore opprimés par la politique réactionnaire de la Sainte-Alliance. Ce lien entre le philhellénisme et le libéralisme fut accrédité presque unanimement par l’historiographie européenne, et cela jusqu’à nos jours. A l’encontre de cet avis largement répandu, notre contribution vise à montrer qu’il a existé également un philhellénisme conservateur qui s’est manifesté dans des cercles légitimistes occidentaux, russes ou balkaniques de l’époque. Des penseurs comme Alexandre Stourdza, bras droit du comte Capodistrias, ont tenté de concilier leurs sympathies philhellènes avec des positions favorables à la Sainte-Alliance.

Basée sur de multiples documents inédits tirés des archives russes et ukrainiennes, cette analyse interprète le philhellénisme dans le contexte de l’Europe de la Restauration. Elle s’attache également à en faire ressortir les composantes politiques, diplomatiques et religieuses.


Bibliographie sélective :

- Stella GHERVAS, "Alexandre Stourdza (1791-1854). Un intellectuel orthodoxe face à l’Occident", Genève, Ed. Suzanne Hurter, 1999.

- Stella GHERVAS, «Alexandru Sturza ou la quête de l’espace orthodoxe», "Bulletin de l’Association internationale d’études du sud-est européen", n° 31, 2001, pp. 53-60.

- Stella GHERVAS, «Alexandre Stourdza sur la scène européenne: autopsie d'un échec», "Revue Roumaine d'Histoire", t. XXXIX, n° 1-4, 2000, pp. 107-148.

Lacoste Y., Lorot P., 2010, La géopolitique et le géographe. Entretiens avec Pascal Lorot, Paris, Choiseul Éditions, 268 p

by Hadrien Commenges

'Catch and Remove': Detention, Deterrence, and Discipline in US Noncitizen Family Detention Practice

by Lauren Martin

Critical security scholars have argued that biometric identity technologies, databanking, digital surveillance, and... more Critical security scholars have argued that biometric identity technologies, databanking, digital surveillance, and risk analysis reveal not a blockaded boundary but a border that follows transboundary migrants as they move within and between national territories. Managed through risk-based technologies, this networked, contingent border respatialises inclusion and exclusion, forming a border that is potentially everywhere and nowhere in particular. At the same time, immigration scholars have shown how immigration authorities deploy policing, inspection, and identification practices both within and beyond territorial boundaries, making life increasingly uncertain for noncitizens. In the US, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) authority to detain noncitizens has become a key spatial strategy in domestic counter-terrorism, interior immigration enforcement and border securitisation. Thus, transboundary migration and state responses to it trouble analytic distinctions between domestic and foreign policy, immigration and national security, the border and the interior. This paper builds on recent work in immigration geopolitics to analyse how detention, in particular, works to contain individual migrants and deter future migrants. Focusing on noncitizen family detention, this article situates US noncitizen detention in a broader milieu of pre-9/11 US immigration enforcement law and post-9/11 security practices. I then analyse how detention congeals a number of spatial strategies – remoteness, isolation, spatial ordering, inter-centre transfers, and criminalisation – that work to destabilise migrants' support networks. Modulated with digitised border and identity surveillance technologies, detention foregrounds the persistence of disciplinary tactics in risk-dominated security regimes.

Nato Smart Defence: Smart Defence Starts with Common Goals

by Tabish Shah

Peer-review op-ed article published in Atlantic Community (April 2012)

NATO’s Smart Defense initiative requires more than simply technological projects. The success of Smart Defense relies... more NATO’s Smart Defense initiative requires more than simply technological projects. The success of Smart Defense relies on NATO finding common strategic goals before Members are willing to come together and pool and share their military resources.

Apuntes para una Geopolítica del Siglo XXI

by Jesus Perez

Forthcoming publication in the Spanish Navy's "Revista General de Marina".

The rise of violent non state actors and the role of mass media makes us wonder if Mackinder's classic Geopolitics is... more The rise of violent non state actors and the role of mass media makes us wonder if Mackinder's classic Geopolitics is relevant today, when globalization and information society make possible to talk about a "world without distances" and "inmaterial battlefields". Geography and nation-states aren't relevant always.
Moreover, capabilities like those offered by SeaBasing contradict Mackinder view of a post-Columbian world where sea power isn't relevant anymore.

And Now Back To Our Featured Presentation: Great Power Politics and Energy Insecurity

by Zachary Keck

Published on ForeignAffairs.com.

Spatialising the Refugee Camp

by Adam Ramadan

Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers

Neoliberalism

by Simon Springer

Springer, S. 2012. Neoliberalism. The Ashgate Research Companion to Critical Geopolitics. Eds. K. Dodds, M. Kuus, and J. Sharp. Burlington, VT: Ashgate.

This chapter seeks to demonstrate how a critical geopolitics has contributed to a reading of neoliberalism that... more This chapter seeks to demonstrate how a critical geopolitics has contributed to a reading of neoliberalism that challenges the assumed inevitability and all-encompassing ‘bulldozer effect’ that pervades in popular media accounts of free market capitalism and its colloquial understanding as ‘globalization’. I emphasize neoliberalism’s mongrel character, by attending to the series of mutations, hybridizations, and variegations across space that foreground the role of geography in creating multiple forms of processual and unfolding neoliberalizations, rather than a singular and static neoliberalism. I then turn my attention to the continuing role of the state and address how discourse functions to secure consent for neoliberalism’s particular political rationality. I hope to remind readers that although the role of the state has become subtler under neoliberalism through a reconfiguration of the citizen-subject via processes of governmentality, this does not mean that it has entirely exited the political scene. To the contrary, I argue that the transformed role of the state under neoliberalization is susceptible to expressions of authoritarianism and violence, which brings the state back into plain view as it comes into conflict with those individuals who have been marginalized by neoliberalism’s belligerent regulatory reforms and discriminatory policy initiatives.

[Non-refereed Op-ed] Whose Arms Will Embrace You? The United States and the Beijing Consensus

by Amarnath Amarasingam

The United States is increasingly playing a game of subtle communication in the international arena. I suspect we had... more The United States is increasingly playing a game of subtle communication in the international arena. I suspect we had a passing glimpse of this at the 19th Session of the Human Rights Council, which gathered in Geneva last month. The question is: who is the United States talking to and what is it trying to say?

Yeni Enerji Düzeni Siyaseti (Neopolitik): “Jeopolitik”ten “Enerjeopolitik”e

by Uluslararası İlişkiler

D. Ülke Arıboğan, Mert Bilgin, " Yeni Enerji Düzeni Siyaseti (Neopolitik): “Jeopolitik”ten “Enerjeopolitik”e ", Uluslararası İlişkiler, Cilt 5, Sayı 20 (Kış), 2009

Bu çalışma jeopolitikin klasikten, modern ve eleştirele uzanan değişen anlamını enerjinin rolüne atıfla ele... more Bu çalışma jeopolitikin klasikten, modern ve eleştirele uzanan değişen anlamını enerjinin rolüne atıfla ele almaktadır. Makale önümüzdeki on yıllarda daha fazla kullanılmaya namzet nükleer ve yenilenebilir kaynaklara rağmen, petrol ve doğal gazın öneminin süreceğine işaret etmektedir. Çatışma ve işbirliği; üretim, taşıma ve tüketim arasında daha fazla sınırsal özellik kazanma eğilimindedir. Makale öncelikle jeopolitikin sabit/devam eden ve geçici/değişen boyutlarını enerjiye atfen tanımlamaktadır. Daha sonra, enerji ve jeopolitik arasındaki ilişkisellik enerjeopolitik kavramı üzerinden ele alınmaktadır. Makale akabinde new energy order (N.E.O.) olarak tanımlanan yeni enerji düzeninde hidrokarbonların jeopolitik anlamını incelemekte; devlet ve devlet dışı temel aktörleri Avrasya, Hazar, Orta Doğu ve Afrika’daki limit ve becerilerine göre saptamaktadır. Çalışma son olarak yeni enerji düzeni siyasetinin (neopolitics, neopolitik) başta ABD, AB, Rusya, Çin, Hindistan, Türkiye ve İran olmak üzere, küresel ve bölgesel güçler nezdinde nasıl oluştuğunu göstermektedir.

Asian Energy Security: Anti-Geopolitics of International Energy Markets versus Asian Terrestral Geopolitics

by Uluslararası İlişkiler

Emre İşeri, " Asian Energy Security: Anti-Geopolitics of International Energy Markets versus Asian Terrestral Geopolitics ( Asya Enerji Güvenliği: Uluslararası Enerji Piyasasının Anti-Jeopolitiği Asya Kıtasal Jeopolitiğine Karşı ), Uluslararası İlişkiler, Cilt 4, Sayı 15 (Güz), 2007

This paper assumes that there are two geopolitical trends in the issue of energy security in Asia. First, the US has... more This paper assumes that there are two geopolitical trends in the issue of energy security in Asia. First, the US has been imposing an anti-geopolitics of the international energy market through its domination of maritime geopolitics. Since principal energy commodities such as hydrocarbon resources are strategic assets and they are located at instable parts of the world, the international energy market’s ability to ensure energy security through anti-geopolitical logic is limited. Second, Asian terrestrial geopolitics has begun to challenge the former. Due to their rising vulnerabilities to energy disruptions and price fluctuations, China and India have been unwilling to place their full trust in the market. Therefore, they have been searching for ways to ensure their energy security. Recently, they have begun to consider themselves as energy partners, rather than rivals. In that regard, they have begun to cooperate in acquiring market risk-free equity oil. In the context of the declining American energy security guarantees, the stage is set for China and India not only to intensify their ties on energy security issues but also to cooperate with Russia and Iran, which have found much space to manoeuvre out of American dictates in the age of high energy prices, for an alternative Asian energy market.

Geopolitical Context of Mediterrranean Youths: considering human security

by Ermete Mariani

Published by SALTO-YOUTH EuroMed resource centre

Executive Summary

Some MENA countries have been the biggest suppliers of energy resources since World War... more Executive Summary

Some MENA countries have been the biggest suppliers of energy resources since World War II and still dispose of the greatest proven reserves in the world. The presence of oil and gas for almost 60 years has contributed to the development of a specific socio-political and economic system known as the “rentier state”, and through migration and remittances it has deeply influenced the whole region. This system is now pointed out as one of the main obstacles to real economic development in Arab countries. At the same time, climate change is increasing the vulnerability of the region to natural disasters, especially in coastal towns, where most of the population live. More and more people continue to flee the countryside because of the desertification process. Within this framework, the most vulnerable section of MENA societies is undoubtedly young people: while they are now better educated, thanks to mass education policies implemented at different speeds during the XX century, because of economic crisis and climate change they actually have fewer opportunities than their parents.

Arab youth concerns and demands are particularly urgent as young people already represent almost half of the total population and they are also quite determined and ready to take the lead. As the Arab spring has shown, most Arab policy makers and leaders did not consider young people as one of the main political issues to be tackled seriously and consequently they did not take their concerns and demands into account. This blend of a need for change and a growing new generation empowered by mass education and information and communication technologies impacted the situation surprisingly quickly and effectively.

It is too early to assess whether the Arab spring will really bring about regime change, an elite renewal or, at the very least, some economic and political reforms. It has showed, however, that a deep social and economic change is underway, basically pushed by demography, literacy and shrinking opportunities for young people. Most of the regimes and governments in the MENA region were established in the second half of the XX century, following on the heels of decolonisation, to govern populations in a local and global context with the natural resources available. For different reasons, all these factors have fundamentally changed, while some governments have not even implemented major reforms. It goes without saying that some sort of re-adjustment is inevitable.

Given this framework, it is quite clear that working with and for youth is of the utmost strategic importance not only for MENA countries but also for the whole Euro-Mediterranean area. The particular historical moment we are living in is the first concrete window of opportunity to make a positive change since the ’70s, and it would truly be a missed opportunity not to invest now in the future, represented as it is by young people.

ABD’nin Orta Asya Politikaları ve 11 Eylül’ün Etkileri

by Uluslararası İlişkiler

Çağrı Erhan, " ABD’nin Orta Asya Politikaları ve 11 Eylül’ün Etkileri", Uluslararası İlişkiler, Cilt 1, Sayı 3 (Güz), 2004

Orta Asya bölgesi, Soğuk Savaş boyunca olduğu gibi, Sovyet Sosyalist Cumhuriyetler Birliği’nin dağılmasını takip eden... more Orta Asya bölgesi, Soğuk Savaş boyunca olduğu gibi, Sovyet Sosyalist Cumhuriyetler Birliği’nin dağılmasını takip eden ilk yıllarda da ABD’nin dış politika öncelikleri arasında yer almadı. Ancak 1990′ların ikinci yarsında ABD’nin Orta Asyada’ki yaşamsal çıkarlarının giderek farkına varmamasına paralel olarak, Amerikan ulusal güvenlik stratejilerinde bu bölgeye ayrılan yer de artmaya başladı. 11 Eylül 2001 saldırılarının ardından ise ABD, Orta Asya cumhuriyetleriyle yakın işbirliği yapmaya başladı. Bölgeye gelmeye “istekli” Amerikan birlikleri 2001 sonundan itibaren “terörle mücadele” söylemi altında Orta Asya’ya girmeye başladılar. Böylece 1990′ların ikinci yarısından itibaren, bölgeye güçlü biçimde girebilmenin yollarını arayan ABD, Orta Asya’ya yönelik askeri açılımını başlatmış oldu. Bu durum, Rusya’nın “geçici onayı” ve bölge ülkelerinin işbirliğine yanaşmaları sayesinde kolaylıkla gerçekleştirildi.

Uluslararası İlişkilerde Klasik Jeopolitik Teoriler ve Çağdaş Yansımaları

by Uluslararası İlişkiler

İsmail Hakkı İşcan, " Uluslararası İlişkilerde Klasik Jeopolitik Teoriler ve Çağdaş Yansımaları", Uluslararası İlişkiler, Cilt 1, Sayı 2 (Yaz), 2004

Coğrafya üzerine geliştirilen politika bilimi olarak ele alınabilen jeopolitik, tarih boyunca ya dünya egemenliği için... more Coğrafya üzerine geliştirilen politika bilimi olarak ele alınabilen jeopolitik, tarih boyunca ya dünya egemenliği için hangi coğrafi bölgelerin kontrol edilmesi gerektiği veya devletlerin yayılmasına gerekçe olacak coğrafi nedenler üzerinde yoğunlaşmıştır. Coğrafi bölgelerin kontrolü ile dünya egemenliğinin sağlanmasını amaçlayanlar, genellikle Avrasya kıtasını kontrol etmenin yollarını aramışlardır. Bu makalede incelenen jeopolitik yaklaşımların özünde de Avrasya kıtasını kontrol etme çabası ve buradaki imkanlarla dünyayı kontrol etme arzusuna giden stratejik yolun tespiti amaçlanmıştır. Zira zengin doğal kaynaklara ve buna bağlı olarak güçlü ekonomik potansiyele sahip olan Orta Asya ve Hazar bölgesi ülkeleri, Avrasya’nın en zengin bölgeleri olmalarının yanı sıra, batının en gelişmiş bölgelerini ve doğunun en uç noktalarını birbirine bağlayan geçiş koridoru niteliğindeki coğrafyasıyla jeopolitik açıdan da büyük önem arz eder.

Insurance, climate change, and the creation of geographies of uncertainty in the Indian Ocean Region

by Luis Lobo-Guerrero

Journal of the Indian Ocean Region, vol. 2(6), 239-251.

This article is a geopolitical-biopolitical interrogation of the global insurance discourse in relation to climate... more This article is a geopolitical-biopolitical interrogation of the global insurance discourse in relation to climate change. Based on two general assumptions made by the insurance industry, namely that the ‘Global South’ remains uninsured, and that insurance is the technology for coping with environmental risk, it is argued that a risk management insurantial imaginary is effecting a globalisation of spaces of liberal security. As a result, the globalisation of a rationality of governing uncertainty through insurance aligns ‘other’ non-Western ways of being in the world with a Western financial capitalist rationality of governance. The argument is explored in relation to the Global South and is illustrated through the case of parametric rain insurance in Ethiopia.

Diálogo académico y diplomacia ciudadana en las Américas. Cuba-Estados Unidos Costa Rica-Nicaragua

by Alberto Cortés Ramos