Geopolitics & Hegemony

8/12/2019 Geopolitics & Hegemony

1/53

{

Geopolitics &

HegemonyBy: Mitch Dunn


2/53

Geopolitics:

Geopolitics refers broadly to therelationship between politics and territorywhether on local or international scale.

Geopolitics comprises the practice ofanalyzing, proscribing, forecasting, andthe using of political power over a giventerritory.


3/53

Geopolitics:

Those geographical variables generally refer to:- geographic location of the country orcountries in question

- size of the countries involved- climate of the region the countries are in

- topography of the region

- demography

- natural resources and technological

development.


4/53

Geopolitics:

What does all of this actually mean?Geopolitics is the way that we interpretand analyze nations.


5/53

What, then, is Hegemony?

If Geopolitics describes the state of the nation,Hegemony is a form used to describe the way in

which nations interact.


6/53


7/53

Geopolitics and Hegemony:

Geopolitics and Hegemony are forms thatscholars use to describe the way thatnation-states interact within the world.

There are multiple ways of understandinghow nation-states interact with each other

that come from multiple schools ofthought.


8/53

Realism:

Realism is a tradition of internationaltheory centered upon four propositions.


9/53

Realism:

1.States operate under the conditions of Anarchy.There is no actor above states capable of regulatingtheir interactions; states must arrive at relations withother states on their own, rather than it being dictatedto them by some higher controlling entity.

The world system is leaderless: there is no universalsovereign or worldwide government. There is thus no

hierarchically superior, coercive power that canresolve disputes, enforce law, or order the system likethere is in domestic politics.


10/53

Realism:

2. Egoism:Individuals and groups tend to pursue self-interest.

Groups strive to attain as many resources aspossible.


11/53

Realism:

3. Groupism:

Politics takes place within and between groups.


12/53

4. Power politics:

Realism:

Relations between groups are determined bytheir levels of power derived primarily from

their material (military and economic)capabilities.

The overriding national interest of each state isits survival, and there is a general distrust oflong-term cooperation or alliance.

International politics are always power politics


13/53

In summary, realists believe that mankindis not inherently benevolent but ratherself-centered and competitive.

Realism:

Common Proponents of Realism:

Kenneth Waltz

John Mearsheimer


14/53

Liberalism:

Liberalisms roots lie in the broader liberalthought originating in the Enlightenment.

The central issues that Liberalism seeks to

address are the problems of achievinglasting peace and cooperation ininternational relations, and the various

methods that could contribute to theirachievement.


15/53

Liberalism:

Democratic Peace Theory:

Democratic leaders must answer to the voters for war, and therefore have anincentive to seek alternatives;

Proponents argue that:

Democratic leaders have practice settling matters by discussion, not by arms,

and do the same in foreign policy;Democracies view non-democracies as threatening, and go to war with themover issues which would have been settled peacefully between democracies;

Democracies tend to be wealthier than other countries, and the wealthy tendto avoid war, having more to lose.

No two democracies have gone to war with eachother.


16/53

Liberalism:

Economic Interdependence:Nations do not go to war with their tradingpartners

Two nations with interdependenteconomies have an incentive to not go towar with each other.

Two nations with interdependenteconomies have an incentive to de-escalateconflict in the event that it has begun.


17/53

Liberalism:Golden Arches Theory

No two McDonalds have gone to war witheach other Thomas L. Friedman, TheLexus and the Olive Tree


18/53

Liberalism:

Examples of Liberalism in IR today:- United Nations

- NATO

- World Trade Organization

- International Monetary Fund


19/53

Liberalism:

In summary, whereas Realists believe theworld to be highly competitive, Liberalistssuggests that there are higher, universallytrue, principles that nations can worktogether to achieve.

Hence, out of Liberalism comes the notion

that the West is Best, that democracy mustbe spread, and that the world must bedeveloped by western, civilized, powers.


20/53

Constructivism:

Lets play Who can picktodays generic, overused, and

mostly misunderstood, PoMoword of the day?


21/53

Constructivism:

Constructivism is the claim thatsignificant aspects of internationalrelations are historically and socially

contingent, rather than inevitableconsequences of human nature or otheressential characteristics of world politics.


22/53

Wendt laid the theoretical groundwork for challengingwhat he considered to be a flaw shared by bothneorealists and neoliberal institutionalists, namely, acommitment to a crude form of materialism.

The most widely recognized initiator of constructivistinternational relations is Alexander Wendts article,"Anarchy is What States Make of It: the Social Constructionof Power Politics" (1992)

Constructivism:

Wendt argued that even such a core realist concept as"power politics" is socially constructedthat is, not given

by nature and hence, capable of being transformed byhuman practice.


23/53

Constructivism:The Constructivist Criticism:

Wendt argued that neorealism presupposes the views thatthe international system operates under anarchy and thatnation-states act in their own self-interests.

Rather than seeing such Structures as given, Wendt arguesthat such beliefs are socially contingent. That is, neorealistviews are not fact, rather, such views are constructedthrough social practice.

Example: North Korea is only deemed an irrational actorbecause we have preconceived notions of what it means tobe a rational actor.


24/53

Now that we have somebackground informationabout the theoreticalunderstandings of the

international politicalsphere

We can talk about the relatively more tangible aspects ofHegemony (aka the Kzad 95 card).


25/53

Hegemony In Praxis

Hegemony can be broken into twoparts:

1) Hard Power

2) Soft Power


26/53

Hard Power

THANKS JOSEPH NYE!!!!!


27/53

Hard Power:Hard power is a term used to describeinfluence obtained through the use ofmilitary and/or economic coercion toinfluence the behavior or interests of other

political bodies.

This form of political power is often aggressive,and is most effective when imposed by one

political body upon another of lesser militaryand/or economic power.


28/53

Hard power describes a nation's ability to coerceor induce another nation to perform a course ofaction. This can be done through military powerwhich consists of coercive diplomacy, war, and

alliance using threats and force with the aim ofcoercion, deterrence, and protection.Alternatively economic power which relies onaid, bribes and economic sanctions can be used

in order to induce and coerce.

Hard Power:


29/53

Hard Power:

Walter Russell Mead:Sharp Power: Military Force

Sticky Power: Economic Force


30/53

Hard Power:

An Example of Hard Power in praxis:Vietnam:

Goals of the Ambitious Hegemon (United States):- To contain monolithic Communism

- Establish South Vietnam as an independent nationHard Power Deployed:

- 500,000 deployed soldiers- Operation Rolling Thunder- Chemical Defoliants (Agent Orange)- Search and Destroy Missions w/

Military Results:- 1.1 million North Vietnamese military deaths- 600 thousand North Vietnamese military wounded- 2 million North Vietnamese civilian deaths- 200,000 South Vietnamese deaths

- 58,000 U.S. deaths


31/53

Hard Power:

Other examples:Operation Iraqi Freedom (War in Iraq)

Operation Enduring Freedom (War inAfghanistan)

Sanctions imposed on Iran over proliferation

Operation Unified Protector (Libyan Civil War)


32/53

Soft Power:

Coined by Joseph Nye in 1990Rather than the use of coercive threatsand economic payment

Soft Power is the ability to attractand co-opt another nation to wantwhat you want.


33/53

"a country may obtain the outcomes it wants inworld politics because other countries admiring its values, emulating its example,

aspiring to its level of prosperity and openness want to follow it. In this sense, it is alsoimportant to set the agenda and attract others inworld politics, and not only to force them to

change by threatening military force oreconomic sanctions. This soft power gettingothers to want the outcomes that you want co-

opts people rather than coerces them."

Soft Power:

In the words of Joe himself,


34/53

The primary currencies of soft power are anactor's values, culture, policies and

institutionsand the extent to which these"primary currencies", as Nye calls them, areable to attract or repel other actors to "wantwhat you want."

Soft Power:

So what is Soft Power exactly?


35/53

Soft Power:

Examples of U.S. Soft Power:Democracy

Capitalism

McDonalds

Hollywood

Justin Beiber

History Textbooks

Religious Views/Tolerance

The Empire State Building

Barak Obama

Lol catsApple Jersey Shore

NYSE UO Debate Program


36/53

Smart Power

Defined by the Center for Strategic andInternational Studies:

Smart power refers to the combination of

hard and soft power strategies.Joseph Nye offers the example offighting Terrorism:


37/53

Smart Power

Additionally, Hard Power alone is also

insufficient to deter terrorists because itis perceived as the United Statesaggressively lashing out against innocentcivilians.

Soft Power alone is insufficient to winthe hearts and minds of the Taliban.

Therefore, in order to win their heartsand minds, we must simultaneously seta good example for the Taliban while

also bombing their homes.


38/53

Smart PowerThanks, Joseph Nye

We would be helpless without you!


39/53

Now, since the world is

supposedly incompetition, whos

winning?

Polarity:


40/53

Polarity:The ways in which power is distributedwithin the international system.

There are generally three types ofsystems:

- Unipolarity

- Bipolarity

- Multipolarity


41/53

Polarity: a distribution of power inwhich there is one state with most of thecultural, economic, and militaryinfluence.

Unipolarity:

Proponents of unipolarity propose thatunipolarity is the most stable of systemsbecause one power can regulate andmanage the rest of the internationalsphere, which maintains a peacefulinternational order.


42/53

Bipolarity is a distribution of power in which

two states have the majority of economic,military, and cultural influenceinternationally or regionally.

Bipolarity:

Proponents of bipolarity is necessary to checkoverly regulatory regimes that result in

unipolarity.

l l


43/53

Multipolarity:Multipolarity is a distribution of powerin which more than two nation-stateshave nearly equal amounts of military,cultural, and economic influence.

Proponents of multipolarity argue thatmultipolarity deters large scale conflictbecause the world is regionalized.

b l


44/53

CounterbalancingCounterbalancing occurs when one or

more states attempts to limit the powerof another through a variety of meanssuch as sanctions, treaties, or potentially

conflict.Offshore Balancing: Also known asproxy wars, this of this as outsourcing

balancing to other countries.Examples:South Korea/North KoreaIsrael/Iran

Afghanistan During Cold War


45/53


46/53

Critical Perspectives:

H B d


47/53

Hegemony Bad:The belief in benign hegemony, or what

is known as American Exceptionalism,perpetuates a constant state of invasivewars.

- Iraq/Afghanistan- Latin America

- Vietnam

Th C i


48/53

Threat Construction:The notion of what does and does not

constitute a threat is based uponpreconceived notions of stability.

We only understand North Korea as anirrational actor because we havealready cemented our beliefs aboutrationality, and, grounded them in

beliefs from our own perspective.

Example: Pan K, Iran Proliferation

Th C i


49/53

Threat Construction:

Self Fulfilling Prophecy: The reliance on,and necessitation of, the construction ofthreats is precisely what brings thethreats into existence

Example: Arms Races

E i


50/53

Empire:

Empire is a three book series written byMichael Hardt and Antonio Negri in themid-1990s and published in 2000.

Hardt and Negri and post-marxistphilosophers.

Hardt is an American Literary Critic.Negri is and Italian Marxist Sociologistswho organized kidnappings andmurders of major Italian political figures.

E i


51/53

Empire:the book theorizes an ongoing transition from a "modern" phenomenon ofimperialism, centered around individual nation-states, to an emergent

postmodern construct created among ruling powers which the authors callEmpire with different forms of warfare.

...according to Hardt and Negri's Empire, the rise of Empire is the end ofnational conflict, the "enemy" now, whoever he is, can no longer be

ideological or national. The enemy now must be understood as a kind ofcriminal, as someone who represents a threat not to a political system or anation but to the law. This is the enemy as a terrorist....In the "new orderthat envelops the entire space of... civilization", where conflict betweennations has been made irrelevant, the "enemy" is simultaneously"banalized" (reduced to an object of routine police repression) and

absolutized (as the Enemy, an absolute threat to the ethical order.


52/53


53/53

Geopolitics & Hegemony

Documents

Transcript of Geopolitics & Hegemony