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Empire: a domain ruled by an emperor/ empress. The empire always has a core (center) and a periphery (also described as zone of influence). There are two types of empires: Continental Empire Maritime Empire Sea power Such as: Portugal, Spain, Holland, Britain, U.S.A.

Land power Such as: Ottoman Empire, Russia, and the Roman Empire

Irrendentism: reclaiming a lost land (for example the Palestinians) Irredentist: One who advocates the recovery of territory culturally or historically related to one's nation but now subject to a foreign government. Insurgency/ Resistance: Fighting an occupier (Example: Sunnis and Americans fought) Choke point: a geographical feature (could be on land, or sea, or even in a no fly zone in air) through which armies must pass. Examples: Suez Canal, Bab-el Mendeb, Hurmuz Shatter Belt: Zone of compression between two competing powers; it is usually made of several countries, otherwise (if it is one country) it is considered a buffer state. It is a region, zone of compression, called a crash zone. Its characteristics are: Being deeply fragmented, Low degree of cohesiveness, Low stage of maturity, Global destabilizer Geopolitical transition: Economic and political components It is a lengthy process (Definition) A period between 2 geopolitical orders. The move from one geopolitical order to another needs a turning point. Turning point = Black Swan = Paradigm shift (example: Fall of the U.S.S.R.) Black Swan: big unexpected/unprecedented changes; explained further in the Lebanese philosopher, Nassib Nicholas Talib's book The Black Swan. N.S.A.: it is a transnational actor that is not part of the government, considered multinational when they work across borders. (it is an actor not a state) Buffer state: a weak and neutral country in between two opposing powers. Examples: Lebanon (between Syria and Israel), Poland (between Russia and Germany)

International relations: is a branch of political science, it is the study of foreign affairs and global issues. Theories of International relations: 1- Realism: state centric; TOOLS: hard power and diplomacy (carrot & stick) 2- Idealism: Ideas/ International approach /Figures ( examples: Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Mahatma Gandhi) 3- Liberalism: State centric/ NGOs /MNCs Distinction between political Philosophy and Political Science: Political Philosophy It is how governments should work; Aristotle was the first to talk about it. Political Science It is how governments actually work.

By order of importance: - Political Geography (Friederich Ratzel) - International Relations - Geopolitics (Rudolf Kjellen) - Geostrategy - Strategy - Operational - Tactic Geostrategy: is the country landlocked or maritime? Example: Afghanistan Strategy: is very important; central command is an example, it is what links goals to means. It is a living organism. Operational: Iraqi theater an example. Tactic: Soldier in Fallujah/ Baghdad.

Commodity: Product made to be produced and exchanged for profit Strategic commodity: Commodity that plays a part in the international economy (related to world order), and has strategic geopolitical ramifications. Oil, is highly important for the international economy, thus it is a strategic commodity. Globalization: 1- Describes an ongoing process by which regional: - Economies - Societies Have become integrated. - Cultures 2- Has technological aspects 3- Phenomena of glocal (Local, and connected internationally, such as Kosovo).

Containment Strategy: The American strategy used to contain the USSR during the cold war. "Containment strategy is a policy of creating strategic alliances in order to check the expansion of a hostile power or ideology or to force it to negotiate peacefully. Containment of communist expansion was a central principle of United States' foreign policy from 1947 to the 1975" Domino theory: (use an example to explain this, it is when one event pushes another which pushes another, like domino pieces which fall one after the other)

- Geopolitical doctrine: Geopolitical document, which, if critically analyzed, reveals the goals the country, is trying to achieve. Doctrine Declared speech (highest level), Indirect level, Characteristics: 1- Short, 2- Vague 3- Flexible Strategy Undeclared, Is on a direct level of application, Characteristics: 1- Long 2- Direct 3- Rigid

Assymetric (warfare): the fight of the weak against stronger. This happens through a certain way: "choose and concentrate strength on opponent's weaknesses. Weaknesses are unrecuperable: weaker points are unescapable." (Example: Hizbullah fight against Israel) Assymetric warfare is prohibited by the UN laws, as there is a "law of proportionality", for e.g.: penalty must be equal to the crime. Another thing prohibited relating to proportionality: Secessionist: a movement, in which a new nation tries to separate from an already existing nation/state, through either political diplomacy, or violence (or both). )) Example: Bosnia (through violence mainly), and Sudan (through diplomacy) . Terrorism: Using violence for attaining political goals. It is a tactic (planned) used by its appliers, which can be both NSA and States.

Any plan must have 3 scenarios at most: 1- Best case scenario For all: Political, Economic, 2- Status quo (everything stays as it is) Social, information 3- Worst case scenario Unexpected has to be taken into consideration: *Black Swan* Geopolitical codes of a country: They can be both: adaptive (changing), and permanent They are the manner in which a country orientates itself around the world It consists of 5 main calculations: 1- Who are the current or potential allies? 2- Who are the current or potential enemies? 3- How can we maintain our allies and nurture potential allies? 4- How can we counter our current enemies and emerging threats? 5- "1+2+3+4" How can we promote and justify the aforementioned to your local public opinion and international community?

Examples: Great Britain alliance of U.S. in cold war Main enemy: U.S.S.R., Warsaw pact. Geopolitical codes: Heartland containment strategy (means) Defining enemies' means: Enemy must be declared an enemy in order to receive and send signals. (this is crucial, for without it, one may miscalculate and lose the war) "Animosity must be declared" War must be justified (in case of war) The enemy is portrayed as: a) Barbaric Hence propaganda is needed & b) Irrational psy-ops (psychological operations) c) Destabilizer of the order

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A need to change the perception one's public opinion. Adaptation is important in warfare, contingency plans The element of surprise in a battle is not diplomacy deception is diplomacy.

1st: internal/local >>Location-size-population-history-topography-political system 2nd: neighbors/near-abroad >>Threat-enemy-friend-alliances-relationships 3rd: regional >>Strategic environment-players 4th: global/international Understand your role (major player or a mean?) Scales of geopolitical codes: Each country has its own geopolitical codes, but they differ in scope why? A hyper power is different from a great power, A great power is different from a regional power A regional power is different from a local and internal power hence a model is developed For survival each country develops geopolitical codes and imperatives "" They can expand Lebensraum, from the core to the periphery They can overstretch, and even sometimes beyond their capabilities such as Mongolia, U.K., and now U.S. After overstretching, they will shrink, of course to a certain extent, and that extent is supposed to be far from the core (if the shrinking reaches the core, there is a serious threat). Hence, the rise and fall of great powers

Overstretching: Iran of today: Its a) b) c) d) e) geocodes are clashing with: U.S.A. Saudi Arabia Israel Egypt Turkey

However, these all differ in intensities. U.S.S.R. versus U.S.A: Ideological struggle and Strategy of containment of the Heartland and Rim land. Geopolitical codes need: Diplomacy: send signal to enemy Force: PMEI, "carrot and the stick"

- Powers at any rank will challenge each other; any attempt by one is considered a direct threat. E.g.: Fall of U.S.S.R.:

Changes in geopolitical codes of great countries, NATO expanded under new geocodes to a point where it hit the near abroad of Russia; Russia hit back by waging war on Georgia in 2008.

Sphere of influence: an area or region over which a state exerts indirect cultural, political, military, social and economic influence. Ideologies: set of interrelated beliefs, aims. (They are abstract, and change is the goal) Deterrence: to forbid or deny the enemy from doing what he wants to do because the cost is too high >> Elements of Deterrence: The means to deter The intention to use the means, should deterrence fail The enemy must be rational (cost-benefit approach) You opponent must be convinced that youll use your means Coercion: to compel the opponent to behave in an involuntary way, otherwise the damage will be great. Ethnocentrism: attitudes that uncritically assume the superiority of ones own culture over that of others. Critical geopolitics: >> The practice of identifying the power relationships, with geopolitical statements. >> Deciphers the political agenda. >> Enhances the geopolitical knowledge. **critical geopolitics is against classical geopolitics. It allows you to question or challenge the views of the powerful. Critical Geopolitics: It is the practice of identifying the power relationships within geopolitical statements. Example: What does each of these mean? The spread of free market; The spread of democracy; The new Middle East; What are the consequences? Who gains and who pays?

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