Changes in driving forces of geopolitical evolution and the new trends in geopolitics studies
Received date: 2015-07-04
Request revised date: 2015-10-10
Online published: 2016-01-23
Copyright
With the progress of science and technology and the development of economy and society, the driving factors affecting the evolution of geopolitical situation have changed significantly. Firstly, advances in information technology and the birth of high-speed transportation means have changed traditional geographical relations and regional connection. Distance influence is less than before. Secondly, individuals, non-governmental organizations and other relatively weak geopolitical gamers' play a more important role by means of the information technology and the Internet. Thirdly, on the background of economic globalization, the economic interests of the status has a higher position in national strategies, geopolitical conflict logic is being replaced with geo-economic competition logic; Fourthly, new factors, such as climate change, new energy and low-carbon economy, impact on geopolitical situation are increasing significantly; Fifthly, carbon emission rights and human rights, so called virtual resources, have become a new geopolitical competitive object. Geopolitical studies have expanded to social, cultural, emotional and gender issues. Under the action of the driving forces, some new trends of geopolitical development and research emerged: (1) Geopolitical studies pay more attention to global issues and research perspective is shifting from the view of nation to the view of humanity. The traditional concept of state sovereignty is seriously being challenged. (2) Competition objects expand from physical resources of land, energy, mineral resources and offshore strategic channels to the information rights, carbon emission rights and other relative virtual resources. (3) Renewable and unconventional energy, like liquid bio-fuels and shale gas will play a very important role in future geopolitical evolution, and the Arctic is the new focus of geopolitical competition. (4) By criticizing traditional geopolitics, the research content expands to the so-called "low politics" issues, such as culture, gender and emotion. Integration of geopolitics and geo-economy, geo-culture is becoming a trend. (5) Research methods of geopolitics are from qualitative analysis, semi- quantitative model to quantitative model. (6) With the growth of political and military power, China has become an important force to change the global geopolitical pattern, which brings opportunities for the geopolitical study, especially for the Chinese studies.
Key words: geopolitics; geo-economics; evolution; driving force; new trends
WANG Limao , MOU Chufu , LU Dadao . Changes in driving forces of geopolitical evolution and the new trends in geopolitics studies[J]. GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, 2016 , 35(1) : 3 -13 . DOI: 10.11821/dlyj201601001
Fig. 1 The diagram of geopolitical space development and evolution图1 地缘政治空间的发展与演变示意图 |
Fig. 2 Energy structure change and its transmission mechanism to the geopolitical evolution图2 能源结构转换与地缘政治格局演变的传导机制 |
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
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