The New Geography: The Map, The Satellite, and The Computer
Abstract
Geopolitics is a theory that describes the relationship between politics and territory. Geopolitics is a form of foreign policy analysis that seeks to understand, explain, and predict international political behavior in terms of geographic variables, such as the geographic location of the country or countries in question, size of the countries involved, climate of the region the countries are in, topography of the region, demography of the region, and natural resources available in the region. Geography has been an important factor and may be the dominant factor in the policies of the United States and other countries. Many geopolitical theorists have wielded a lot of influence with policy makers throughout history. Today, geography influences the policies of many nations, as evidenced by global warming, access to arctic resources, and the current geography of transportation and world shipping. It is useful to expand our analysis to include "new geographies" such as space, cyberspace, and other topographies brought about by advances in technology. Although traditional geopolitical theories have not withstood the test of time, a broader view of these new geographies will give us an improved and more complete picture of the geopolitical forces influencing world events. This paper discusses the geopolitics of climate change, shipping changes, globalization, cyberspace, space, and network theory.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 23, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA560443
Entities
People
- Kirby E. Watson
Organizations
- United States Army War College