Geopolitics

Geopolitics, from Greek Γη (earth) and Πολιτική (politics), refers broadly to the relationship between politics and territory whether on local or international scale. It comprises the practice of analysing, proscribing, forecasting, and the using of political power over a given territory. Specifically, it is a method of foreign policy analysis, which seeks to understand, explain and predict international political behaviour primarily in terms of geographical variables. Those geographical variables generally refer to: geographic location of the country or countries in question, size of the countries involved, climate of the region the countries are in, topography of the region, demography, natural resources and technological development. Traditionally, the term has applied primarily to the impact of geography on politics, but its usage has evolved over the past century to encompass wider connotations.