Educational Headquarters

War College
Tte Grl L. M. Campos

Specialization in
Military History
Contemporary

Subject: 3
Geopolitics

Didactic Unit 1:
Geopolitical knowledge
Subject: 'Geopolitics'
Didactic Unit 1
Geopolitical knowledge

INDEX

Subject: 'Geopolitics'

Didactic Unit 1

Introduction ..........................................................................................................3

Objectives...............................................................................................................4

Content Organizer......................................................................................5

Contents ............................................................................................................6

Geopolitical method............................................................................................8

Geopolitical space and geopolitical factors

Trends of the States according to geographical conditions

Products of the interaction of the factors

Resumen.............................................................................................................20

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Subject: "Geopolitics"
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Geopolitical knowledge

INTRODUCTION

Since the dawn of the study of society and politics, the existence of a
inextricable link between geography and political affairs. But it was only in the 19th century that
the systematic study of this phenomenon began to be developed, first under the label of
Political Geography and the beginnings of the 20th century of Geopolitics.

The first movement towards the study of geopolitical phenomena begins with the definition of the
Geopolitical scenario, which will be the physical space where the so-called Factors will act.
Geopolitical. From here, it can be observed how states or other geopolitical actors
they face the conditioning or opportunities that the Factors provide them, taking
decisions or establishing strategies that allow them to carry out their national objectives.

The way in which these factors are combined and their influence is appreciated in the scenario constitutes
what is called the Geopolitical Method.

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Geopolitical knowledge

OBJECTIVES

Text referring to the objectives of the Didactic Unit.

Identify the main components and characteristic factors of knowledge

geopolitical.

Understanding the depth and complexity of geopolitical thinking.

Identify possible interrelations of geopolitical factors in order to be able to carry out later
integral analyses of a geopolitical nature.

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Geopolitical knowledge

CONTENT ORGANIZER

Reading Activity No. 1:

To view the Content Organizer, please refer to the file: UD 1
[Link].

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CONTENTS

The complex relationship between man and space is not exclusively a recent experience.
unique to the modern state. As a biological, social, and spiritual being, humans since the
The beginning of time has had a close relationship with the environment; in fact, one of the main
structuring variables of life is the sense of spatiality. Man interacts in the
space and time, rationalizes the way of usufruct of the available resources in pursuit of its
well-being, as well as building socially and spiritually the natural sense of belonging,
identidad, defensa y gobierno de lo propio.

Various historical processes account for the adaptability of the human being and of the
different modes that this relationship has acquired. We can cite as an example the hundreds of
thousands of years before the Neolithic (approximately between 7,000 and 10,000 years ago)
depending on the region) the characteristically nomadic human groups used the majority
part of their time in search of the sustenance that their environment provided them; likewise the
domestication process of agriculture in the Neolithic that laid the foundations for development
civilizational and the evolution of settlements in cities, the creation of the first
city-states, an early division of social labor, the rudiments of writing,
complex regulatory systems and even primitive defense systems and
specialization of the 'men of war'.

The unfolding of History has evidently resulted in a complexity of factors.

structuring elements of human life, as well as the interrelationship of man with the variables
space, time, and resources. Technological developments in this regard have made possible a
increasing effectiveness in the use of available resources and have represented a factor
determinant of the change in the relationship between man and space. Let's think, if not, about time.
and the resources used to traverse the Atlantic maritime space 500 years ago and its significance
change regarding our days. Likewise, the form and timing of political decisions with
the media available during the era of the Napoleonic Wars regarding the
news with satellite technology.

It was only in the mid to late 19th century, at the time of the constitution of the fields
disciplinary social sciences (history and sociology for example), that this relationship between the
man and the environment begins to be studied professionally in a systematic way, within the framework of
constitution of modern states. States are understood as political actors in the
international board which in its historical development act as living organisms, which
They have, just like an entity: head and intelligence, members and structure, spirit and meaning.
of existence, an organic physiology and vital needs.
From this, the disciplinary field of Geopolitics that is being formed understands that the due
study of that 'body' as such, regarding its environment and other actors, is a question
central to ensure their well-being; that is, to ensure their full development and survival,
understood as the rationalization of territorial control and the effectiveness of needs
state vitals. In this way, state formations throughout history were
gradually integrating and perfecting the means towards a more effective organization
that allows to increase their power.

According to the sociologist Max Weber, the concept of a rational state is that of a community
human that within a certain territory its administrative framework maintains with
success the legitimate monopoly of physical coercion.

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Geopolitical knowledge

Beyond the geographical and historical particularities, the axial institutions that became
in the constitutive elements of the modern state and operate in the aforementioned sense are:

Capacity to exercise a monopoly of force throughout the territory;

Legal regime that supports the collective values and norms shared in a set
of rules that establish obligations and rights between the individual and the State;

Exclusive monopoly of the armed and security forces in charge of the State, to
to ensure inner peace and the defense of the exterior.

Transport capacity in conditions of timely provision of the necessary force in the

desired place;
Communication network capable of receiving and transmitting information and orders in the
desired opportunity and magnitude;

Government program that aligns with the needs of the population and promotes the
balance, consensus, and general well-being;

Capacity to control the economic-financial system that operates inside and outside of
State;
Progressive improvement of state bureaucracy;
Educational system that develops the intellectual capacities of the population within the framework
of the values, rights, and obligations of individuals towards the nation and the State;

Belief in a widely shared common destiny, both internally and externally.

international

National tradition and sense of belonging and identity based on successes and
common sacrifices.

In summary, we can define Geopolitics as: 'the science that studies the influence of the
geographical factors in the life and evolution of states, in order to draw conclusions from
political character. It guides the statesman in conducting the internal and external politics of the State and
guides the military in the preparation of national defense and in strategic leadership; to
facilitating the prediction of the future by considering the relative permanence of reality
geographical allows them to deduce the form consistent with this reality in which they can be achieved
the objectives and, consequently, the appropriate political or strategic measures.
Attention, 1965:41

Contrary to some post-war currents, which denied geopolitics as a field

autonomous, they sought to reduce it disciplinarily to Political Geography, and even went as far as
relativize the natural relationship of man with his environment and the necessary social construction
spiritual of the close bond of belonging and defense of that relationship within the framework of the State,
The recent processes of global geostrategic restructuring have led to the
components and disciplinary debates of Geopolitics gain renewed relevance for the
political actors with a willingness for long-term projection in the concert of nations.
As Colonel Marini explains, man 'since ancient times has felt the need to control the territory
where he unfolded his existence and forged his destiny. This attitude never changed, and it always
he perfected it because he relied on important and significant reasons related to means

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Geopolitical knowledge

imperatives of subsistence, a collectively shared moral code, and the occupation of the
"Physical platform from which it projected its destination." [Marini, 1985:16]

In this sense, as significant disciplinary knowledge within the framework of the modern State,
Geopolitics has its own object of study, categories, and analytical tools.
applicable formulations and means of evaluation and validation of resolutions; that is, an own
General method of geopolitical reasoning.

GEOPOLITICAL METHOD
The Geopolitical Method requires the analysis of all factors, individualizing those that are
considered of greatest importance or significance for the future development of the Scenario
Geopolitical. Every geopolitical analysis always contains, at least, two moments: an analysis of
the current situation, in which the factors in their present reality and their influence are observed; and
a second moment of analysis of their development towards the future, that is, what will be
the geopolitical situation in a generally distant time (10, 20, 50 years), where the factors
detailed changes will significantly alter their influence and shape a new situation.
The valuation given to that situation (positive or negative) will result in the
considerations and recommendations to be drafted for making decisions from the NOW.
The appreciation of the situation or general method of geopolitical reasoning consists of the
next steps:

First Step: Understanding the problem (objective, mission or task)

Interpretation of the essence or nature of the political objective or problem to be solved.
Temporal-spatial dimension in which it is situated. Provisional delimitation, premises and
conditioning.
Purpose or aim, and idea of political maneuver.
Delimitation of the area and the affected States.
Formulation of the tentative requirements imposed by the achievement of the political objective or
problem to solve.

Second Step: Analysis of the factors of the geopolitical space

Analysis of each factor of the geopolitical space projected from the past, when
corresponding to the political objective or problem to be solved.
Interrelation and interinfluence of the factors based on the objective to be achieved or the problem
a resolver.
Isolated assessment of geopolitical factors, and priority of the degrees of influence of
each one of them
Extraction of the first partial conclusions.

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Third Step: Formulation of possible solutions

Geopolitical interpretation of the study space, interrelating the conclusions

partials of each analyzed factor.
Interrelation of the partial conclusions with the requirements of the stated objective in
the first step.
Criticism, elimination, modification or establishment of new general conclusions.
Formulation of possible solutions or courses of action.
Assessment, validity, and feasibility of possible solutions or courses of action.
Selection and degree of priority of possible solutions or courses of action. You are
possible solutions will be tentative and not definitive, if other States participate with
opposing political interests.

Fourth Step: Analysis of the opposing wills

The same process of the first, second, and third steps is carried out for each State.
committed in the geopolitical area under study, and whose interests may coincide, differ or
to oppose the solution to the problem, or to the achievement of one's own goal.

Fifth Step: Determination of modified possible solutions

Comparison, criticism, and evaluation of one's own courses of action with courses of action
of each State committed in the area.
Determination of modified own courses of action. Degree of validity and
practicability.

Sixth Step: Selection of the most favorable solutions

Selection and assignment of priorities for the most favorable own courses of action.

The general method of geopolitical reasoning comprises two major stages. The first deals with
to solve a problem without opposition to its solution, and understands the steps
first, second, and third. The second chooses the most favorable solution considering the
participation of other protagonists with opposing interests, and includes, in addition to the steps
previous, the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth.

The first part is used in solving those problems that seek to modify the
present situation through the achievement of a desirable future, either gradually or radically, and
which, in general, broadly coincides with certain planning tasks, whose
objectives are set in the long term within the territory of the State.

The second part, integrated with the first, is very similar to the works of appreciation of
military situation, in which the dialectic expressed in the mission, own troops,
enemy, terrain, and other aspects; but in this one, the temporal-spatial frame of reference, the
protagonists and the interests at stake take on much smaller dimensions.

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Each step has very particular demands and characteristics. Thus, we find that the central part of
Geopolitical method is to properly define the objective, with all its implications,
magnitudes, dynamics and requirements. A mistaken, irregular, insufficient or
Deformation of the objective means that substance errors will vitiate the rest of the process.
methodological. Sometimes, the analysis itself modifies the objective, calibrating it to dimensions
more realistic; but the initial conception of the objective is the task that requires the greatest intellectual effort
demand.

Is this a difficult task because the mental effort must be sustained over time starting from the
future with an unprecedented situation, to be achieved, as a result of the hypothetically achieved objective, and
determine the requirements it imposes, the protagonists, the area involved and the
interests at stake.

The second step proceeds to study the reference data provided by the sequence.
anterior from the perspective of the influence exerted by each factor of the geopolitical space that
it is analyzed. It is not a compartmentalized study, but rather, on the contrary, here it predominates
the coherence, interdependence, and integration of them, since none of them achieves
a full understanding, if it is not placed in a determined and precise political direction. On the other hand
Part, coherence is the result of man's interdependence with nature, with the
man, technology, ideologies, social group, beliefs, representations, faith, the
interest or common fear. It is also not a compilation of unrelated data, but
to find the political interpretation of space through the relationships of geography with the
history, the influence of climate, circulation and the evolution of human groups, the foundations
economic aspects of the territory and their political connotations, among other items.

The analysis of each of the factors of the geopolitical space is only possible with teams.
integrated by specialists for each factor or group of factors, if their compatibility allows.
In each geopolitical situation, the factors of the geopolitical space do not hold the same importance.
The analysis, selection, prioritization, and evaluation of them is the task of the work team.
as well as the determination of its influences and relationships with the rest of the space.

Each factor of the geopolitical space can unfold into numerous aspects. A guide to
the reasoning is provided by Annex 1 UD 1, to which the influence of would need to be added
sense of space, history, politics, conflicts, strategies, technology and the
conflicting ideologies. Other geopolitical schools have also provided guides for analysis
of space, like the School of Political Landscape (Whittlesey, Hartshorne, French School), the
School of Political Ecology (White, Renner, Van Falkenburg), The Organicist School (Kjellen,
Haushofer, Munich Geopolitical Institute) and the one prepared by the German General Staff.

The third step is a task of synthesis, integration, systematization, and interpretation of the analysis.
developed in the previous step, to arrive at an evaluation and selection of possible solutions,
that will be definitive or not, depending on whether other protagonists intervene or participate with
opposite interests.

In the next step, the analysis of the geopolitical space of each protagonist State is repeated with
opposing interests. Consequently, the availability of vast and up-to-date information will be
inevitable and fundamental to assess the capabilities, limitations, and vulnerability of each
opponent. The tendency to underestimate the adversary must be corrected to its proper dimensions.
In the fifth step, the comparison of one's own solutions with those of the opponent is carried out, and the
weighing the dialectic of wills to solve the problem or achieve the objective,
being able to resort to the use of force, which demonstrates the connotations of the
Geopolitics with Strategy, which is nothing but in the words of Gen. Beaufre 'a method of

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thinking that allows for classifying and prioritizing events, in order to then choose the
more effective procedures,” whose application is “the art of the dialectic of wills that
they use force to resolve their conflict," and its purpose is "to achieve the objectives set by
politics, making the best use possible of the available resources.

De la comparación de los cursos de acción propios con los del adversario, aquéllos podrán o no
to have modifications. Thus, the last step selects and prioritizes the most favorable solutions,
according to its viability and convenience.

This method is updated as many times as necessary until the goal is achieved, always
that significant changes be introduced in the situation. Therefore, of the general method of
geopolitical reasoning, which defines the NOW, derives its projection towards the FUTURE, its
forecast of how such factors will affect the development of the State -–and perhaps the world–in the
coming years and what should be done to accelerate or strengthen these changes (if they are positive) or
to avoid mitigating its consequences (if they are negative). Thus, all Geopolitics is a
proposal for ACTION from TODAY towards the FUTURE, with a view to taking advantage of this
knowledge.

GEOPOLITICAL SPACE AND GEOPOLITICAL FACTORS

Geopolitical structures are shaped by the interaction of geographical forces and
policies and for the development of processes that guide the changes taking place within those
Structures. Geopolitical structures are composed of geopolitical parameters and figures.
The parameters refer to the characteristics of shape, size, and geography.
human of the geopolitical units and the networks that link them together, which serves in order to
distinguish geopolitical units from other units. The figures are the political-geographical nodes.
areas and boundaries that contribute to the particularity of the units and influence their cohesion thus
as in other measures of its structural effectiveness.
In general, geopolitical structures can be characterized based on a hierarchy of levels.
hierarchical spaces:

The geostrategic sphere, which is the broadest level or macro level;

The geopolitical region, which is a subdivision of the area that represents a middle level;
The State, which is the minimum level or micron level (which also includes quasi-states, regions
autonomous or territories with special statutes), although it is the only one in terms of unit
policy that is recognized as valid in the international system.

In this line, the synthesis of the union between space–State, which is geopolitical space, is the
the backbone of our disciplinary field, its essential hierarchical component and object of
study.
There is a series of complementary characteristics to this relationship:

Multiplicity: there are as many geopolitical spaces as geographical areas subject to study
scientific geopolitical situations exist, and territorial policies that have been formulated
they must be formulated.

Variety: the geopolitical space can vary in magnitude and shape, from an accident
geographically to the entire planet.

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Permanence: as long as man exists, there will be a territory to live in, and a politics that
I organized it and differentiated it from other spaces, where its permanence is equal to that of the
human species.
Fluidity: changes in situation in a geopolitical space are normal, particularly
when there are opposing policies. These changes give a dynamic touch to the weighting of the
factors that intervene.

According to the distinction made by frigate captain Pierre Célérier, the main factors that
The components of the geopolitical space can be divided into two main branches: stable factors and
the variable factors. The first include the extent, position, configuration, and structure
physics of the geopolitical space; the seconds the population, resources and social structures,
economic and political.
From the interaction of both, that is to say the mutual influences, actions, and relationships between both.
types of factors, arise history, technology, ideology, politics, conflicts, the
strategy and the very meaning of space.

To broaden the understanding of the geopolitical phenomena taking place in Space

Geopolitical, as a physical space where the so-called Geopolitical Factors operate,
I suggest you read from the book 'Geopolitical Knowledge' by José Felipe Marini, the
Chapters 5 to 12 (from page 74 to 228).

TRENDS OF THE STATES ACCORDING TO THEIR CONDITIONS

GEOGRAPHICAL

The development of each state has normally begun with the establishment of a core.
historical, where the economic, demographic, political, cultural, and
military. Occasionally, that original core can be replaced by another that demonstrates

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El conocimiento geopolítico

greater vitality than the previous one (for example historically: in Europe, in medieval England
the vitality of York was replaced in the modern era by London, in South America the vitality
of the northeastern states of Brazilian or Asunción of Paraguay during the colonial period was
replaced respectively by that of São Paulo-Rio de Janeiro in the first case and by that of
Buenos Aires in the second towards the beginning of the 19th century.

This nucleus served as cohesion in directions that took radial forms or axes of expansion.
which indicated the influence of their own vitality and the periphery of the reach of their potential.
Each State has a vital core of great economic, financial, and cultural importance.
politics and military among other instances; where the capital is generally established, center of the
political leadership of the State.
The vital nucleus gives unity to the area of its influence and determines the existence of three zones: one
zone of great integral development (vital core or ecumene), a peripheral zone (borders) and a
intermediate zone (hinterland).
The structure of geographical conditions indicates how the different ones have been positioned
constitutive elements of the State to form it. This presentation shows how the State
it is observed as a "geopolitical organic core".

In such a context, the following are distinguished:

a. The borders: Edge that surrounds the periphery of the State; its degree of resistance depends
of the potentiality of the 'vital core' or ecumene.
b. The growth space or 'Hinterland'. It is the area that extends from the 'vital core' to the
border and increases, if applicable, until placing the border at the edge of a new
vital space
c. The vital nucleus or ecumene. Place of the State where the powers are located and from
where the State radiates its power. Since the ecumene is the area of greatest density
population and greater activity and economic importance, usually coincides with the
area of greatest political importance.
d. Communications: They are the nerves or veins represented by the systems of
communication. These provide solidity to the State.

At the same time, the Stable Factors that exert the main influence over the State are the following:

Space, that is, the extension of the State.

The Form or the Configuration that the perimeter of the State possesses.
The Position or Location of the state's space in relation to other States and/or regimes
and the sea.

The Accidents: forms or elements that distinguish the soil such as the orographic and the
hydrographic.
The climate or the set of atmospheric or weather conditions that affect the space.
The wealth of natural resources and their capacity to exploit and transform them.

On the other hand, the Variable Factors that primarily influence the State are the
following:

The Population, or the demographic study of the geopolitical space that allows for the
emerging bases of fundamental data collection, understanding the state of the population
in their static aspects (quantity, density, nationality, composition by sex and

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Geopolitical knowledge

ages, demographic types of population), dynamic (decrease, increase, migrations) and

qualitative (education, health, nutrition).
Resources or the set of goods (economic, war materials, means of
transportation, etc.) and activities (of services, financial, scientific, technical, labor,
etc.) with economic significance that allow to satisfy vital, political and
cultural, whose acquisition can be carried out in one's own territory or in foreign territory through action
combined work, capital, technology, trade, politics, and sometimes the
war.
The social, economic, and political structures, that is, the interdependent set that
determine the organization of a particular State.

Size proportion of the world's population by country

Of the components of the State, Geopolitics is especially concerned with Territory or Space.
Understood as the geographical area to which the authority of the State extends. It is its
physical element and includes not only the territory, but also the subsoil, territorial sea, continental shelf
continental, sea bed, inland waters and atmospheric column. The territory may be
inhabited or uninhabited, the important thing is that state jurisdiction is exercised over it.
There are several geopolitical considerations regarding the delimitation of space:

The progress of transportation and communication methods to dominate space; allows:

Bring the vital centers closer to the border. Emergence of regional economies and for
outside the borders. Revaluation of concepts about 'nearby' borders and
distant. Strengthening of continental and block policies.

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Development of technology in the area of Defense that allows: Security is no longer

It depends on the distance. The limit and the border lose their defensive value. The States
they seek strategic (distant) boundaries beyond their national (nearby) borders.
Weak states seek security through alliances. States unable to defend themselves.
they become satellites. For the above reasons, it is concluded that the concept of borders
Statics is relative, since the State, by necessity, is a "Biological-
"Geographical." The dynamic border is what is real.

Theory of Vital Space (Lebensraum) - Kjellen: "If a powerful State is small, it has the
the right to expand its territory if it wants to remain powerful." It follows then
that the living space is the area of influence of a State, which it needs
indispensably to exist. 'Space is power'.

The form of the State notably influences it, giving it its own characteristics. The forms
they can be:
Compacts: they are those that enclose a larger amount of space in a smaller one.
number of limits. Colombia, Spain or France are compact.
Elongated: there is a considerable difference between length and width in its shape. Chile is
a classic example.
Fragmentary: corresponds to island countries as happens with the United Kingdom, Japan or
Philippines.
Mixed: which include all or parts of the previous forms, so for example, Italy is
compact in the North, elongated in its peninsular portion and fragmented with its two large
Islands: Sardinia and Sicily. Greece presents a similar case.

The climate impacts the dynamics of man; it is internally linked to productivity.

soil and therefore with the state's economy. Currently, the speed of climate change
is leading this factor, usually regarded as 'Stable', to be seen as
Variable, and precisely, the speed of its variation is causing modifications
importantes y generando riesgos y amenazas muy severos hacia el futuro inmediato.

To broaden the concepts of Geopolitical Knowledge, I suggest you review the file of
PowerPoint: UD 1 [Link] attached to this Didactic Unit.

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Regarding the concept of border, first of all, it must be distinguished from the concept of limit.
eminent precursor of modern geopolitical thought on the issue of borders, and from whom
Many later took their ideas, it was Lord George Curzon (1859-1925), Viceroy of India.
and British Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 1919 to 1924. See in particular his text of
1907 "frontiers". // By limit, it is understood the line up to which the state exercises its full authority.
sovereignty. The limit is the boundary of the state. The border, on the other hand, is the area adjacent to the limit;
it is the boundary that delineates the geographical space of each state, whether land, maritime or
airborne.” (meira mattos, part 1)

The common usage of these two words makes them seem like synonyms given
that express the boundaries of the external or internal divisions of political-administrative entities;
it refers to states, departments, provinces, municipalities, districts, etc. Jorge Atencio, specifies
both concepts: "the limit is always represented to us as a dividing line between spaces... The
The idea of a border corresponds to the adjoining area of two states on whose outer part there
find the international border.

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Geopolitical knowledge

Jorge Atencio classifies them into:

In geography: natural (mountainous, fluvial, maritime, lacustrine) or artificial

(astronomical, topographical, mixed).
In economics: alive or dead.
In national defense: main or secondary.
In geopolitics:
According to their formation and relative permanence: static (which endure without modifications)
or dynamics, (which are subject to modifications based on conflicting interests).
According to their location: neighboring, (which frame the state within its continent),
distant or remote (that are outside the metropolitan national territory of the state,
how they can be those that correspond to their colonial possessions or those of other states
under their influence). Terrestrial (whether natural, artificial or mixed), maritime
(according to their extent under the law of the sea) or aerial (in accordance with the
current international agreements.
According to their cultural, political, and historical aspects: vital (or necessary for the extension
of the state), cultural (because they coincide with the historical existence of the nation and
involves language, race, religion, and other cultural or historical manifestations
because it has endured over time, overcoming difficulties, rooting itself
firmly and making it difficult for those reasons to adjust its layout). Contrary to
Historical concept appears the expressions of 'unstable borders' due to variations
which have suffered or the 'sketched borders' which are those that are barely stated and not
materialized.

The phenomenon of competition for natural resources, or the wrongly called 'war for the
"resources" seems to have become the most important topic in geopolitics
contemporary. However, it is a classic issue that, at most, acquires new
content. The issue of natural resources as power resources is a recurring topic.
in geopolitics, as it is developed in didactic unit 4. This is easy to see in the
energy natural resources (oil, gas, uranium) from which several countries derive their
power and international influence.

In traditional geopolitics, the competition for the possession and/or retention of rich territories in
energy natural resources were the key to many contemporary armed conflicts. They
includes the control of transportation routes and the means of distribution of those resources in its
trip to the consumption centers. Precisely, a natural resource becomes a resource
strategic when a state can obtain greater influence and/or from its possession and/or usufruct
power on the international stage.

The same happens with the demographic issue, which has been one of the foundational pillars.
from the geopolitical disciplinary field and a tool for political action on various occasions (for
promote birth rates, to decrease them, amalgamate ethnically different groups, promote
limit immigration, or qualitatively stimulate development through intellectual capital
the population).

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Global Migrations (2008) according to Hervé Coutau-Bégarie

After World War II, in the context of the Cold War, geopolitics was
partially replaced by disciplines such as political science, international relations,
economic geography or demography, with geopolitics destined to play a role
secondary in the field of social sciences and relegating a more realistic approach to the
state matters by an internationalist liberal. In the 1990s, after the dismemberment of
Soviet bloc and the world reconfiguration, this situation seemed undeniable: it had
replaced geopolitics with geoeconomics. The expansion of market capitalism and the
liberal democracy marked a virtual 'deterritorialization of politics', and seemed to be
giving a death certificate to geopolitics.
However, certain processes on a global scale that cannot be addressed by the
political geography or the economy (such as the emergence of regional blocs of
power, the continuous increase of the world population, the incidents of reaching in a short time the
pico limit in oil extraction or the rearticulation of pivot spaces generated later
the deconstruction of the Soviet political system) were the center of renewed debates in
areas of high national and world politics, and the subject of political projects and actions that
they perceived such processes as strategic in nature, both for future development
civilizational as for national and world security.
The global restructuring processes of the last few decades, along with the ongoing competition
through access and control of certain spaces and resources, enabled a deep reinterpretation
of the dynamic relationship between space and political activity. In this way, and
adding to the above the new types of conflict resulting from the complex changes to
at the global and regional level, the disciplinary field of geopolitics has gained significant
importance not only for the field of international relations, but also as a tool
of government and management of public affairs from its different instances.

To broaden the understanding of the issue of borders and the relationship with the factors
geopolitics, I suggest you read the first part of the book "geopolitics and theory of the
borders" by Carlos Meira Mattos (pages 15 to 91).

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Subject: 'Geopolitics'
Didactic Unit 1
Geopolitical knowledge

PRODUCTS OF THE INTERACTION OF THE FACTORS

According to the geopolitical disciplinary approach, regarding the interaction of stable geopolitical factors and
variables arise from history, the sense of space, technology, ideologies, politics, the
conflicts and strategies. These products are not considered geopolitical factors, since
ya de por sí constituye campos disciplinares autónomos; aunque determinados hechos y procesos
In this interaction, they have a marked influence on the transformations of space.
At the same time, geopolitical factors are not fully understandable without their relationships with the
products of interaction. For example, a certain understanding of the historical guides the
trend of a process; a technological event modifies the nature and social disposition
territorial the sense of space of a human group the ability to exercise sovereignty over its
territory and its resources; a certain ideology justifies the roots of a conflict; politics
a set of actions that generate deep change in factors such as quantity or the
population density; and the strategy, which projects the action to achieve the objectives
considering the set of factors at play. That is to say, the products of the interaction
contribute to the understanding of the interdisciplinary and integrative characteristics of
geopolitical knowledge.

The products of the interaction of geopolitical factors are:

History, or rather the morphology of the relationship between man, human groups and their
political interpretation of space.
Sense of space, in the sense of a people's awareness of their possibilities based on
of its territory and in accordance with the policies of cooperation or aggression depending on the circumstances
and needs.
Technology, or the development of techniques, instruments, and processes that enhance and
they enable the effectiveness of geopolitical interrelationships in pursuit of objectives.
Ideology, or closed discursive systems used to justify political actions.
by various actors, both state and non-state.
Politics, understood in the sense of the art of governing the state to achieve its purposes,
vital objectives and interests to achieve well-being and progress internally, and security and
recognition externally.
Conflict, understood as the opposition of interests and/or objectives between two or more.
actors that can lead to different types and degrees of violence.
Strategy, beyond the military conception that according to Basil Liddell Hart is 'the art of
employ military forces to achieve the results set by policy," it can be
to understand how the art and/or discipline of making the available resources converge to
satisfy the objectives of high politics.

At this moment, I suggest you read the book 'Geopolitical Knowledge' by José Felipe.
Marini, los capítulos 13 al 17 (de la página 230 a la 297), para ampliar la comprensión
of the products of the interaction of geopolitical factors.

Page 19 of 23
Subject: 'Geopolitics'
Didactic Unit 1
Geopolitical knowledge

SUMMARY
In the context of the formation of modern States at the end of the 19th century, the
geopolitical knowledge as a field of study of the complex relationship between space
geographical and the organized society. This knowledge, as a disciplinary baggage of the sciences
social sciences, it includes study methods and tools, objects of study, and even various
theoretical currents.

The historical and political changes that have been occurring in the world since the end of World War II
World War and particularly after the fall of the Soviet Bloc, are not foreign to the
Geopolitics and indeed imply new conceptualizations and epistemological turns of its background.
theoretical. This implies not only its continuity and usefulness as knowledge in the service of the
States, but also the validity of their constituent elements.

Page 20 of 23
Subject: 'Geopolitics'
Teaching Unit 1
Geopolitical knowledge

GUIDE FOR ANALYZING THE FACTORS OF GEOPOLITICAL SPACE

I–CARTOGRAPHY

State the available letters, maps, aerial photographs, etc., and their scale.

II–STABLE FACTORS

A) Extension

Magnitude of the area

2. Maneuverability
3. Relationship between extent and power

Population optimum
Depth
6. Defensive Valor

B) Position

In relation to:

a) The states committed in the area, the region, and the continent;
b) The general device of lands and seas (continental or maritime)

2. Accessibility
3. Strategic Value
4. Political maneuvering possibilities

C) Physical structure

1. Geomorfología:

a) Relieve;
b) Waters;
c) Coast;
d) Land-water relationship;
e) Penetrability

2. Natural landscape: macro and micro landscape

3. Climate

D) Configuration

Morphological analysis of the area:

a) Capital;
b) The central core (center of gravity);
c) Regions;
d) Circulation corridors.

2. Peripheral areas:

a) Relations with the ecumenism;

b) Degrees of communication and circulation;
c) Peripheral cultural influences.

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Subject: 'Geopolitics'
Teaching Unit 1
Geopolitical knowledge

3. Areas – problems or friction:

a) Cause of the tension;

b) Relations with neighboring spaces.

4. Territorial limits:

a) Nature: natural, artificial, or mixed demarcation;

b) Litigious areas;
c) Nodes and internal and external border corridors;
Geovial penetration tips

5. Border zones:

a) Occupancy density;
b) Degree of interpenetration between the different segments;
c) Sectors and strategic points;
d) Demilitarized sectors;
e) Natural barriers;
f) Defensive positions.

6. Bumper zones:

a) Buffer or damping states;

b) Spheres of influence.

7. Expanded domain of space:

a) Expansion platforms (bridgeheads);

b) Blocked addresses;
c) Lines of least resistance.

III–VARIABLE FACTORS

A) Population

1. The human group and the area in which it lives (vital statistics)
2. Origin and growth. Projections over time (vital statistics)
3. Current ethnic strokes. Composition (homogeneities and heterogeneities)
4. Diet, health, and lifestyle pattern. Statistics
5. Education and technology program. Statistics
6. Religion
7. Moral
8. Language
9. The area occupied:

a) Ecumene and anecumene. Density. Degree of saturation and pressure on resources;

b) Internal and international migrations.

10. Historical growth:

a) Zones or lines of expansion;

b) Historical stages of growth;
c) Probable trends.

11. Population policy:

Page 22 of 23
Subject: 'Geopolitics'
Didactic Unit 1
Geopolitical knowledge

a) Reduction of population relative to the standard of living;

b) Migrations;
c) Population growth, to be addressed by:

Economic improvement;
Colonization;
Peaceful border penetration;
Conquests.

12. Qualitative programs in health, nutrition, education, and scientific research, in

function of population reduction or increase programs.

B) Natural resources

Agriculture
2. Silviculture
3. Fishing
Mining
5. Hydrocarbons
6. Sources of energy
7. Others.

C) Industries

Perishable goods
2. Capital goods
3. Industrial park. Importance and location
4. Technology
5. Workforce

D) Trade

Volume and composition of the domestic and international

2. Balance and deficits
3. Vulnerabilities and capabilities

E) Infrastructure

Road, river and railway networks

2. Pipelines and multiproduct pipelines

3. Ports
4. Airports
5. Others

F) Services

Transport
2. Energy
3. Finance; Banks
4. Public sector

G) Armed Forces
Detailed description of its components. Capabilities and limitations

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