The role of geography in the exercise of foreign policy and diplomacy

Abstract

One of the most promising areas of modern science is geopolitics, which determines the main trends of today’s social life. The research pays detailed attention to the theoretical aspects of the development of geopolitics as an important area of modern social geography. The main geopolitical trends of the twentieth century and the brightest representatives of each of them are described. The purpose of this study is to systematize the existing geopolitical schools and demonstrate the peculiarities of the formation of each of them. Geopolitics has existed since the existence of states. Whether small or large, states are always worried about their borders, while others express a desire to expand to countries with which they border. But beyond the natural and demarcated borders of each country, there are other geographical factors that favor or discourage the development of a country into a Great Power. It seems, therefore, that over the centuries geography has been a common denominator in shaping the foreign policy of states, the implementation of a geostrategic and geo-economic policy in order to maintain or increase their power at regional or international level. Although geopolitics has at times been condemned and rejected by the scientific community, it is clearly demonstrated that it is one of the most important factors in shaping the foreign policy of all states, regardless of whether they are characterized as Great Powers or not. The difference between the less powerful states and the Great Powers is that the latter have the ability and the opportunity to formulate their foreign policy and to advance their national interests, while the less powerful states simply endure the effects of these politics. Geopolitics is defined by many manuals and dictionaries of geography as a field of knowledge, which considers the concept of «space» important for understanding the nature of international relations. Understood mainly as «the geography of power» and having from time to time received various slightly different interpretations, geopolitics involves the following stable core of interpretation: it is the study of the interaction of natural geographical division and human purpose with cultural construction ensuring the economic and the military condominium a force on a particular area of the globe.