Today I want to lay out the areas we need to study the Geo politics and the geo economic aspects of the rise of global powers that determine the future of the world. We will be in future studying in depth each of the areas as below in the present global context. They are:
- Economy – GDP and its composition
- Military and defence systems
- Technology and science leadership
- Demography and population
- Democracy and internal politics
- Educational systems
- Culture and influence through soft power
- Religion
- International relationships with other countries
- Size and qualitative aspects of Geography and its acquisition
- Natural resources and environmental aspects
- Financial services sector and its development
- Political ideology and its sustainability
- Health and medical research leadership
- Openness and happiness and stability of societies
We have to evaluate every country, more importantly the leading countries in the world, in each of the parameters to understand their status, emergence and sustainability in future. We will do that in phases. As of now there are a dozen important countries which can be considered as leaders of the world, by these aspects. We will study them on comparative basis to understand where the future of the world lies.
The last point of openness,happiness and stability of the society is far more important than any other aspect, as it defines and ensures the continuity of civilisations beyond centuries or millennium. We should understand that the study of geopolitics is not merely a sprint, but a marathon for the civilisations. It will go on perennially till humanity occupies the globe. We need to understand this before delving into this study. But to quote The political scientist, geo-strategist, and former US National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski appraised the current standing of the great powers in his 2012 publication Strategic Vision: America and the Crisis of Global Power. In relation to great powers, he makes the following points:
“The United States is still preeminent but the legitimacy, effectiveness, and durability of its leadership is increasingly questioned worldwide because of the complexity of its internal and external challenges. … The European Union could compete to be the world’s number two power, but this would require a more robust political union, with a common foreign policy and a shared defense capability. … In contrast, China’s remarkable economic momentum, its capacity for decisive political decisions motivated by clearheaded and self-centered national interest, its relative freedom from debilitating external commitments, and its steadily increasing military potential coupled with the worldwide expectation that soon it will challenge America’s premier global status justify ranking China just below the United States in the current international hierarchy. … A sequential ranking of other major powers beyond the top two would be imprecise at best. Any list, however, has to include Russia, Japan, and India, as well as the EU’s informal leaders: Great Britain, Germany, and France.”
This is just his understanding of the global powers from a limited perspective. There have been very fast ascent to higher positions of global powers and great fall from their positions. Eventually it is how a country rises to be a great power which wields influence on more people across countries and stays longer in its position to influence the people and powers of the world that is the criteria. This will be one of the major aspects of the study.
If you have any comments or ideas about this study, please feel free to share. This is a joint study of all of us. I am only taking a lead role to compile everyone’s views and ideas. Thank you. Meet you again.
Geopolitical Economy 