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Geopolitics

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Fiches géopolitique

Session 1
Geo-determinism : * Friedrich Ratzel : Struggle for space; * Georgi Plekhanov: Russia expensiveness: move on the territory. * F.J Turner: “The frontier theory” > the frontier as formative to American identity.
Geographic themes: * Borders and Territory. * Nations and States. * Landscape and resources. * Location and neighborhood. * Built geography. * A.T Mahan: Influence of sea power upon history. * Sir Halford John Mackinder: Russia was the pivot area. * Conflicting narratives: * Socially constructed geographies. * Sir Halford John Mackinder: Russia was the pivot area. * The construction of geopolitical representations.
Session 2 * Geopolitical codes. * Alexander George: the personality of your state affects the way you interpret the world. * Content of geopolitical codes. * Popular and elite codes. * Scale of geopolitical codes. * Modelski’s World Leadership. * Critiques. * Regional power. * Regional power hierarchies. * Regional power characteristics. * Components of power: * Indicators of military power. * Indicators of economic power. * Importance of economic power. * Indicators of demographic power. * Indicators off soft power. * Indicators of willingness to act. * Yalta February 1945. * Post-war geopolitical representations. * Kennan on containment. * Truman doctrine. * Soviet geopolitical representations > American imperialism. * Confining national discourses.
Session 3 * Confining national discourses. * Domino theory. * US interventionism. * US cold war interventionism. * Soviet interventionism. * Proxy wars. * Cold war= bloody war. * Political realism and institutions. * Security Dilemma. * National security states. * Détente. * US military/conservative backlash. * The Reagan Era. * Non-aligned movement. (END). * New generation in USSR: Gorbachev. * Glasnost * Perestroika * The Sinatra doctrine. * Loss of international status. * Derzhavnost. * The “Near abroad”. * Balance of power.

Session 6 * Post-Cold War geopolitician. * Francis Fukuyama: The end on the history is the end of ideological struggle. * Samuel Huntington: Clash of civilizations. * Edward Luttwak: geo-economics (commerce replace the military). * Rogue state doctrine. * Middle East. * Colonialism. * Arabism. * Secular nationalism. * Pan-Arabism. * Western intervention: * Israel. * Iran * Saudi Arabia * Iraq, Resources war? * China’s energy security interests. * Resource wealth: Curse or blessing? * Islamism.

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