Geopolitics from Cooperation and Competition Perspectives

Geopolitics examines how geography influences national and international relations. Analysts in this field examine actors, including individuals, organizations, companies, and national governments, that engage in political, economic, and financial activities and their interactions.

State and Non-State Actors

The two main types of actors relevant to geopolitics are:

1. State actors.
2. Non-state actors.

State Actors

State actors often exercise authority over a nation’s national security and resources. They do so through national governments, political groups, or country leaders. State actors include presidents, heads of government, and political parties.

Non-State Actors

Non-state actors engage in international political, economic, or financial activities without direct access to a nation’s resources or security. Examples of non-state actors include non-governmental organizations (NGOs), multinational corporations, charitable groups, and even influential people such as corporate executives or cultural celebrities are a few examples.

State and non-state actors are influenced by their relationships and factors impacting their allies and foes. As such, the international landscape consists of complex relationships that impact events, decisions, and financial trends. While there is no universal model for geopolitical actors, identifying and classifying a country’s challenges and prospects can assist in predicting potential geopolitical risks.

Moreover, we may be able to estimate the possibility of geopolitical risk by comprehending and classifying the risks and opportunities a nation faces. Economic, financial, and national security concerns, as well as social, cultural, and non-state actors, significantly impact nations and their governments.

Features of Political Cooperation

Cooperation is the process by which nations get together to collaborate toward attaining a common objective. Political cooperation is the degree to which countries work toward agreements on rules and standardization for the activities and interactions between them.

At the most fundamental level, interactions between nations or national governments (State actors) can either assume a cooperative or competitive form.

A cooperative nation participates in and supports international accords on commerce, immigration, and regulation. In addition, such a nation embraces standardization of laws, tariff harmonization, and the free flow of information, including technology transfer.

On the other hand, a non-cooperative nation has erratic, often arbitrary policies and limits cross-border trade in capital, goods, and people. Aside from all these, a non-cooperative nation engages in retaliation and contributes little to technological exchange.

Reasons for Cooperations

Reasons why a country may cooperate with others include:

1. National Security or Military Interest: National security means safeguarding a country and its people, economy, and institutions from external threats like terrorism and natural disasters. Geographical factors play a significant role in a nation’s approach to national security and its level of cooperation. For example, countries with strong trade connections, like Singapore, or those serving as trade hubs, like Panama, can impact global dynamics due to their strategic locations.
   
   
2. Economic Interest. Social stability, another crucial element of national security, can be enhanced by increasing national wealth and reducing income disparity. It is becoming more vital for national companies to operate globally than before. Countries collaborating for economic gains usually have two main goals: they want to create fair opportunities for their businesses worldwide or secure essential resources through trade.
   
   
3. Geophysical Resource Endowment: Geophysical resource endowment, like favorable geography and climate, along with access to food and water, is crucial for sustainable growth. Different countries have varying levels of these resources, with some being self-sufficient and others heavily reliant on others. These disparities can create power imbalances. Nations with plenty of these resources might gain political influence over those in need. But if these resources benefit only certain groups, it can lead to unrest within the resource-rich country.
   
   
4. Standardization: Standardization is the process of defining protocols for the manufacture, marketing, delivery, or usage of a good or service. There is a great need for governments to work with others on the harmonization of the norms of engagement. The agreement of all concerned parties to abide by these protocols amounts to standardization. Standardization can take a variety of shapes, including operational synchronization, process standardization, and regulatory collaboration.
   • An example of operational synchronization is containerization, in which case standards are set for containers to ensure uniformity in size and shape. This increases international trade by reducing costs and time of shipping goods.
   • An example of process standardization is the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT ), established to provide a global financial infrastructure. The fact that financial transactions across borders had become costly necessitated the establishment of SWIFT.
   • An example of regulatory collaboration is the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), established to facilitate better supervision of the global banking sector and international capital flows.
     
     
5. Cultural Considerations and “Soft Power”. Cultural factors may bind countries together. These include enduring political relationships, migration trends, common experiences, or cultural affinities. Countries may use soft power, a nonviolent method of swaying the actions of another nation, in their international engagements. Soft power can be developed gradually through initiatives such as cultural programs, advertising, travel scholarships, and university exchanges.

Hierarchy of Interests

The national interest of a country encompasses its goals and ambitions. For some countries, geography plays a major role in defining their national interests. This can include seeking self-determination, striving for independence, establishing clear national boundaries, or desiring territorial expansion.

Meanwhile, other countries perceive national interest in a broader context, factoring in the economic and social aspects mentioned earlier. This holistic perspective may lead to conflict among a nation’s multiple critical priorities, making the analysis of geopolitical players and their intentions more complex.

A country’s national interest can be thought of as a hierarchy with survival as the top priority and less crucial factors below. Governments use this hierarchy to guide their decisions, choosing cooperation when it benefits the nation. When conflicting interests arise, the higher-ranked interest takes priority.

As an illustration, while tariff alignment might favorably impact a nation, the collaboration could come at a significant price if the countries involved have military disagreements. Should military objectives rank higher in these countries’ interest hierarchies, they might find it against their national interest to collaborate, notwithstanding any possible advantages.

Power of the Decision Maker

The national interest hierarchy may become less consequential in a scenario where the priorities of a new government differ from those of the government that preceded it. Further, the duration of a nation’s electoral cycle significantly affects priority classification. Each of the political parties and individuals making decisions at the national level has its own set of interests and influences. It is crucial to appreciate that the motivations of decision-makers can influence a nation’s cooperative and non-cooperative decisions.

The Role of Institutions

Institutions are established organizations in a society. They can manifest as formal entities, like universities and legal organizations. Conversely, they can also be informal, such as customs or behavioral patterns important to a society.

Not all institutions are born from government initiatives; they can also emerge from NGOs, charities, spiritual rituals, familial structures, the media sphere, political factions, and educational methodologies.

Solid and robust institutions often lead to a more predictable political climate both domestically and abroad. This predictability fosters a conducive environment for nurturing collaborative alliances.

Countries with robust institutions that focus on government transparency, the rule of law, and property rights gain more respect and independence on the global stage. These institutions not only strengthen alliances but also ensure the longevity of these partnerships.

Question

Which of the following is least likely why a country may want to cooperate with others?

1. National security.
2. Economic interest.
3. Political self-determination.

The correct answer is C.

Political self-determination is a reason why a country may be non-cooperative. Countries where political self-determination is more important than the benefits of any cooperation take a non-cooperative stance.

A is incorrect. National security is a motivation for cooperation. It involves protecting the country from such external threats as military invasion, cyber-security, and natural disasters.

B is incorrect. Economic interest is another motivation for cooperation. Countries choose to cooperate to secure essential resources through trade or to level the playing field for their companies or industries.