Geopolitics of the World System - Softcover

Cohen, Saul Bernard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0847699072 ISBN 13: 9780847699070

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002

Synopsis

Written by one of the world's leading political geographers, this textbook examines the dramatic changes wrought by ideological and economic forces unleashed by the end of the Cold War. Saul B. Cohen considers these forces in the context of their human and physical settings and explores their geographical influence on foreign policy and international relations. Beginning with a survey of geopolitics and its practitioners, Saul Cohen explains geopolitical terms, structure, and theory. He traces the geopolitical restructuring of the world's different regions, its major powers, and the global networks that link them, thus creating a map of dynamic equilibrium. Cohen illustrates why those regions---the convergence of what he terms the Maritime, Heartlandic Russian, and East Asian realms ---have become 'Gateways,' while the Middle East remains a 'Shatterbelt' and much of South America and Sub-Saharan Africa have grown marginalized. The author argues that whether certain areas become Gateways or Shatterbelts is the key question influencing global stability. For example, the future of peripheral parts of the Eurasian Heartland---Eastern Europe, the Trans-Caucasus, and Central Asia---depends on whether the major powers adopt policies of accommodation or competition. Cohen analyzes especially the current forces favoring accommodation, including the economic benefits of globalization and the common battle against terrorism. Presenting a global spatial scope, the book considers the entire hierarchy of geopolitical units---subnational, national states, and quasi-states; geopolitical regions; and geostrategic realms. By emphasizing the interaction between geographical settings and changing ideological and economic forces, Cohen has succeeded in creating a new global geopolitical map.

About this title

About the Author:

Saul Bernard Cohen is professor emeritus of geography at Hunter College and past director of the Clark School of Geography.

Review:

This is the most ambitious and comprehensive survey of the field of geopolitics and current geostrategical issues available anywhere. Highly recommended. (Choice Magazine)

Cohen's magnum opus, and a brilliant work it is indeed. This text is monumental, profound, analytical, and grounded in sound theory and the real world. This is a book that must be read by students as well as all scholars, politicians, and others concerned with international relations. (George J. Demko)

About this edition

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0847699072
• ISBN 13: 9780847699070
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 480