Geopolitics Flashcards
(56 cards)
What is geopolitics?
The study of how geography affects politics and international relations. Within the field of geopolitics, analysts study actors - the individuals, organizations, companies and national governments that carry out political, economic and financial activities - and how they interact with one another.
What are state and non-state actors?
State actors are typically national governments, political organizations, or country leaders that exert authority over a country’s national security and resources.
Non-state actors are those that participate in global political, economic, or financial affairs but do not directly control national security or country resources.
What are the two possible relations between state actors?
Cooperative or competitive
What is cooperation in geopolitics?
The process by which countries work together toward some shared goal or purpose. These goals may, and often do, vary widely - from strategic or military concerns to economic influence or cultural preferences.
What is political cooperation?
The degree to which countries work toward agreements on rules and standardization for the activities and interactions between them.
What is a cooperative country versus a non-cooperative country?
Cooperative country is one that engages and reciprocates in rules standardization; harmonization of tariffs; and international agreements on trade, immigration or regulation and that also allows for free flow of information.
Non-cooperative country is one with inconsistent and even arbitrary rules; restricted movement of goods, services, people, and capital across borders; retaliation; and limited technology exchange.
What is geophysical resource endowment?
Includes factors as livable geography and climate as well as access to fossil fuels, food and water, which are necessary for sustainable growth. Geophysical resource endowment is highly unequal among countries.
What is standardization in the context of geopolitics?
The process of creating protocols for the production, sale, transport or use of a product or service.
What is soft power?
Means of influencing another country’s decisions without force.
What is globalization?
The process of interaction and integration among people, companies and government worldwide. It is marked by the spread of products, information, jobs and culture across borders.
Globalization is mostly carried out by non-state actors, such as corporations, individuals or organizations.
What is the opposite of globalization?
Nationalism
What is nationalism?
The promotion of a country’s own economic interests to the exclusion of the interests of other nations. Nationalism is marked by limited economic and financial cooperation.
Globalization is an independent process of political cooperation!
What are three motivations for globalization?
Increasing profits
Access to resources and markets
Intrinsic gain
Increased profit can mean two things, which two things?
Increasing sales (selling in new markets)
Reducing costs (reduce labor costs, low tax-operating environments)
For investment professionals that seek investment abroad, there are two important types of flows. Which two?
Portfolio investment flows are short-term investments in foreign assets, such as stocks or bonds.
Foreign direct investments (FDI) are long-term investments in the productive capacity of a foreign country.
What is intrinsic gain?
A side effect of an activity that generates a benefit beyond profit itself.
What are potential disadvantages of globalization?
Unequal accrual of economic and financial gains =
(Improvement on the aggregate does not mean improvement for everyone, if a company moves a factory to another country, it creates jobs in the new country but reduces them at home)
Lower environmental, social, and governance standards = (companies operating in lower-cost countries often operate in the local standards of those countries)
Political consequences of globalization = (some countries may fear globalization as it may threaten employment etc.)
Interdependence on other countries’ resources = (dangerous when there is a disruption)
How can companies fortify their supply chain under the threat of deglobalization?
Reshoring the essentials
Reglobalizing production
Doubling down on key markets
What happened to international trade during the Great Depression?
Countries attempted to support their failing economies by sharply raising barriers to foreign trade, devaluing their currencies to compete against each other for export markets, and restricting their citizen’s freedom to hold foreign exchange. These attempts proved to be self-defeating. As a consequence, world trade declined and living standards declined sharply. It then became a widespread conviction that the world economy needed organizations to help promote international economic cooperation. International trade organizations.
What are international trade organizations?
International trade organizations are institutions that regulate, facilitate, and promote trade between countries by establishing rules, resolving disputes, and supporting economic cooperation.
What is the GATT?
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
What is the current international trade organization?
World Trade Organization (WTO)
