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<span style="s leading political geographers, 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, Cohen explains geopolitical terms, structure, and theory. He traces the developmental process that guides the geopolitical restructuring of the world's different realms and regions, its major and regional powers, and the global networks that link them, thus creating a map of dynamic equilibrium. The author illustrates why the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa are "Shatterbelts" while South America's role as a separate region within the Maritime realm is reinforced by Brazil's dominance as a regional power.The author argues that the era of a world dominated, and precariously balanced, first by the American and Soviet superpowers and then by the United States alone, has run its course. The international system is now divided and better balanced by a number of major powers, each of which dominates its geopolitical region. He posits that whether certain areas become Gateways or Shatterbelts is the key question influencing global stability. For example, American influence within the Middle East is rapidly declining both because of the <span style="font-style:italic;">push<span> of the Arab Spring and the <span style="font-style:italic;">pull<span> of U.S. self-sufficiency in oil and natural gas. The United States is likely to give way to Russia, China, India and Japan as the main external players in the Middle East Shatterbelt. Cohen analyzes especially the current forces favoring accommodation, including the economic benefits of globalization, the common battle against terrorism, and the need to contain Iran and Venezuela, as well as to stabilize certain key failed states.<span>Geopolitics<span> 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.<span><span>
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Geopolitics 14_407-Cohen.indb i 10/24/14 6:50 AM 14_407-Cohen.indb ii 10/24/14 6:50 AM Geopolitics The Geography of International Relations Third Edition Saul Bernard Cohen ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD Lanham • Boulder • New York • London 14_407-Cohen.indb iii 10/24/14 6:50 AM Published by Rowman & Littlefield A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.rowman.com Unit A, Whitacre Mews, 26-34 Stannary Street, London SE11 4AB, United Kingdom Copyright © 2015 by Rowman & Littlefield First edition 2003. Second edition 2009. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cohen, Saul Bernard. Geopolitics : the geography of international relations / Saul Bernard Cohen. — Third edition. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4422-2349-3 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4422-2350-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4422-2351-6 (electronic) 1. Geopolitics. 2. World politics. 3. Ethnic relations. 4. Security, International. 5. International relations. 6. Low-intensity conflicts (Military science) I. Title. JC319.C62 2015 320.1'2—dc23 2014029230 ™ The pape