Geopolitics is the study of the relationship among politics and geography, demography, and economics. In an effort to understand territorial conflicts, it is essential to explore the use of geographic thinking, historical and modern case studies, and effective tools in resolving such conflicts. Geographic thinking and the academic discipline of geography has enabled a major paradigm shift from the deterministic false sciences of the 19th century, which had been used to justify imperialism and expansion. It is international cooperation and geographic analysis that are essential in understanding the causes of current territorial conflict and providing peaceful resolutions.

China & Manifest Destiny: Throughout Chinese imperial history, the government sought to bring in barbarians on their borders into their believed superior civilization, through military conquest. The current Chinese government has made public comparisons about the America’s westward expansion and their own occupation and development of Tibet and Xinjiang. Unfortunately, for minority populations and the Han Chinese recruited to develop areas in western China, the reality of current ethnic tensions and the economy not bearing what the campaign promised, the ideology of the frontier serving as a solution to internal discontent has not held true. (Oakes, 263)

Analyzing Causation of Current Case Studies of Territorial Conflict

It is essential to employ geography and geographic thinking when examining causation of territorial conflict, as this methodology incorporates the physical and human aspects of the conflict and thus effective resolution can be developed. The causation of territorial conflict today is complicated, and to simplify disputes is to ignore important underlying factors.

Sudan: The United Nations issued statements that the crisis in Darfur is a result of desertification caused by climate change, and the mainstream media picked up on this as the causation of the conflict. Yet, both political and physical geographers question these simplistic assertions. In regards to conflict in Sudan that there are many factors that have contributed, which include political, religious, ethnic, tribal and clan divisions, economic factors, land tenure deficiencies and historical feuds.

Central Asia: There has been great concern over the possibility of ethnic conflict exploding in Central Asia. It has been discovered that outsiders have incorrectly perceived the conception of ethnicity by the inhabitants of the region, the people there tend to consider clan relationships and fluid boundaries as they are accustomed to far more important than what the international community considers ethnic identity. Scholar Tim Megoran believes that to continue to study ethnicity the way it has been approached in the Ferghana Valley may become unintentionally prophetic, “the superficial reporting of the alleged problems of non-nationals in Uzbekistan only aggravates discontent” (259).

What Happens After Secession?: Of great concern since the end of the Cold War is the increased demand by ethnic groups for full territorial sovereignty and self-determination, this has lead to a tremendous increase in territorial conflicts since 1990. Scholarship holds little consensus as to why in the aftermath of such breakups , some are peaceful as in Estonia and Russia, and others continue to have instances of violent conflict as in Eritrea and Ethiopia. It has been shown that ethnically based territorial conflicts and the process (peaceful or violent) of secession itself factors in greatly to the relationship between rump and secessionist states in the future. Since few nations voluntarily give land up, mediation and development a peaceful process of secession has produced the best results.

Why Understanding Territorial Conflict Matters

Territorial disputes are incredibly dangerous because this is a main cause of military conflict in the world, historically and currently. Scholars have found that territorial conflict are more apt to escalate to war than any other issue, and account for more wars than disputes over other issues. Yet, while the danger of war as a result of territorial conflict is higher than other causes, it is certainly not inevitable, and thus it is incumbent upon world leadership to develop peaceful resolutions before violent confrontation ensues.

Geopolitics: Territorial Conflicts and ResolutionsSharlyn Scott

Desert Vista High School, Tempe Union High School District

Isaiah Bowman wrote brilliantly of the false determinist science of the 1800s and justifications for expansion that ultimately lead to World War II. He is a remarkable figure in American geography and politics who foresaw the role the United States would take in the world following the war, as well as the importance of a cooperation international organization like the United Nations.

Dr. Bowman explained that there is no sure geopolitical science that will make the depths of international difficulty easy. He saw clearly the complicated nature of politics and international relations. He was not an ideologue, nor did he believe in an ideology for dealing with humanity and politics. Bowman believed in the rule of law, justice for all of humanity, and dealing with the world as really it is through geographic understanding. Isaiah Bowman helped to define a new paradigm in geopolitical thinking that would bring an end to merely rationalizing brutal imperialism and expansion, and begin the development of new, effective and humane methods for handling conflict.

Effects of Geographic Determinism: Past & Present

The United States & Manifest Destiny: One form of geographic determinism which caused territorial conflict in the creation of empire and expansion is that of American manifest destiny, the earliest form of which lead to the conquest and subjugation of native peoples in an effort to achieve the “destiny” of the United States in occupying “sea to shining sea”. When this mission was complete, many American leaders believed that a continuous frontier was necessary in order for the American people and system to remain vital and energetic, which then lead to expansion into Latin America and the Pacific.

Scholars examining that American Manifest Destiny still affects foreign policy. Roberta L. Coles foresees a future in which, “America’s Manifest Destiny may eventually have to defer to a more universal civil religion in this post-modern world.” Though she warns that in regards to Manifest Destiny, “some of its elements have been modified or de-emphasized to accommodate a changing America, but such modifications only illustrate its strength and adaptability.” (423)

What is Geopolitics?

“Effective conflict management and, therefore, systemic peace result from a fundamental congruence between societal-system resilience and the systemic risk factors that would otherwise "trigger" contention and "fuel" the escalation to violence. The above figure shows a concentration of extremely, highly, and seriously fragile states in Africa and across southern Asia. Fragility in the Western Hemisphere is less severe and concentrated in Central and in north and central South America. There has been substantial improvement in general resilience in the global system since 1995. The most substantial improvements have been in the former-Socialist states of eastern Europe; the most limited improvements are noted in the Sub-Saharan Africa region.” (Systemic Peace .Org)

Resolving Territorial Conflicts

Domestic & International Leadership: Characteristics of leaders factor strongly into how a domestic government will respond to territorial disputes. Seasoned leaders with good reputations domestically and internationally have proven to be those most likely to demonstrate a conciliatory stance. The political will and dedication of the international community has also proven extremely important in peaceful resolution.

Good Regionalism: During the Cold War, the bi-lateral relations between the United States and the Soviet Union, played out in the whole globe, was bad regionalism. Scholar Peter Jay called for a more imaginative regional approach that starts from “the indivisibility of the globe, from the need for nations to coexist peacefully on it, from the threat to that posed by extreme economic inequality and absolute poverty, and from the self-interest of the developed countries in ways that are cooperative and include involvement from the beneficiaries” (513). Federal and/or regional cooperative institutions (such as the European Union) allow for framework in which reconciliation and cooperation between nations can occur, which can help end or prevent violent territorial disputes from occurring.

Access to Resources: Sociologist George T. Renner argues that going into World War II, “the failure to comprehend the whole problems grows out of our habit of studying social science from the historical and institutional, rather than from the geographical, point of view.” (430) In the handling of fluid resources, Renner believes in free trade, something that certainly has not happened in the wake of World War II, but may help raise the standard of living of many living in developing nations. Greater equalization of resources would certainly alleviate some of the causation of territorial conflict.

Gender & Rapprochement: Discussions between Greek Cypriot women and Turkish Cypriot women has proven to be a productive method in developing conciliatory discourse and resolving long held resentment on the island of Cyprus. Maria Hadjipavlou in “Cypriot Women’s Dialogue Across the Divide” explains that “imbalances in power sharing in a male-dominated world where women’s participation and perspectives on important issues of war and peace are still very profound” (335). In cultures that are nationalistic and male-dominated, female discourse and perspective has proven to be effective in developing peaceful resolutions to conflict.

http://gulfshoressteven.wordpress.com

Putting Geography into Geopolitics:

Dr. Isaiah Bowman

www.systemicpeace.org

Connections to Curriculum

High School Level: Exploring cases of historical and modern geopolitical conflict and developing possible resolutions is of great value in the classroom. This can be applied in World History and Geography classrooms, particularly in which a regional approach is used, and thus case studies can be used for each region. Additionally, in U.S. history classes examining geopolitical ideology and conflict in which the United States is involved will better inform students of the past as well as current foreign policy. Lessons exploring causation, multiple perspectives, and then working towards resolution will not only enable students to employ geographical thinking to understand the world, but also develop critical thinking and analytical skills.

ConclusionsUnderstanding territorial conflicts and developing effective resolutions through geographic thinking is critical to producing a more peaceful world. It was the work of prominent geographers and the use of the science of geography that changed for the better how the international community approaches and analyzes issues of territorial expansion, imperialism, and sovereignty. Certainly it is key to appreciate that there is unique causation for territorial conflicts between different peoples in different regions and thus each case much be individually examined to truly grasp the issues and perspectives involved. Once the physical and human geography of the region has been considered, it then becomes a matter of domestic and international leadership to develop the best possible peaceful resolution for each territorial dispute. For students, particularly at the secondary level, activities in which explore issues of territorial conflict and resolution using geographic thinking would enable a deeper understanding about the world as well as developing high level academic skills.

Key References1.Bowman, Isaiah. Oct. 1942. Geography vs. Geopolitics. Geographical Review. 32 (4): 646-658.2. Chiozza, G. and Choi. A. Jun. 2003. Guess Who Did What: Political leaders and the Management of Territorial Disputes, 1950-1980. The Journal of Conflict Resolution. 47 (3): 251-278. 3. Coles, Roberta L. Winter 2002. Manifest Destiny Adapted for 1990s War Discourse: Mission and Destiny Intertwined. Sociology of Religion. 63 (4): 403-426. 4. Hadjipavlou, Maria. Aug. 2006. No Permission to Cross: Cypriot women’s

dialogue across the divide. Gender, Place and Culture. 13 (4): 329-351. 5. Jay, Peter. 1980. Regionalism as Geopolitics. Brookings Institution. New York.6. Megoran, Nick. March 2007. On Researching ‘Ethnic Conflict’: Epistemology,

Politics, and a Central Asian Boundary Dispute. Europe-Asia Studies. 59 (2): 253-2777. Oakes, Tim. 2007. Welcome to Paradise! A Sino-U.S. Joint-Venture Project. China’s Transformations: The Stories Beyond the Headlines. ed. Weston, T. and Jensen, L. Boulder. 8. Renner, George. Mar. 1944. Natural Resources in the Post-War World. The American Journal of Sociology. 49 (5): 430-440. 9. Stefanova, Boyka. Regional Integration as a System of Conflict Resolution: The European Experience. World Affairs. 169 (2): 81-93. 10. Systemic Peace.Org. Global Conflict Trends. 15 March 2010. http://www.systemicpeace.org/conflict.htm 11. Tir, Jaroslav. Oct. 2005. Keeping the Peace after Secession: Territorial Conflicts between Rump and Secessionist States. The Journal of Conflict Resolution. 49 (5): 713-741. 12. Vasquez, J. and Henehan, M. March 2001. Territorial Disputes and the Probability of War, 1816-1992. Journal of Peace Research. 38 (2): 123-138. 13. Wright, J. and Carter, F. 1959. Isaiah Bowman 1878-1950. National Academy of Sciences. Washington, D.C.