Tools of Geopolitics

Geopolitical tools refer to methods used by geopolitical actors to pitch their interests before others. These tools ultimately result in geopolitical risk.

Tools of geopolitics may be separated into:

1. National Security Tools: Tools for national security are those that are used to exercise direct or indirect control over a state actor’s access to resources, citizens, or borders. National security tools can either be active (used at the time of analysis) or threatened (not currently used, but their use is likely sufficient to call for concern). Armed combat is one example. This has two primary effects:
   • The destruction of physical infrastructure.
   • The migration from areas of armed conflict.
2. Economic Tools: These are the steps used to support cooperative or non-cooperative positions through economic means. Common markets, global tariff rule harmonization, and multilateral trade agreements are examples of economic tools.Economic instruments may also be inherently non-cooperative. A non-cooperative strategy for establishing economic power is nationalization.
3. Financial Tools: These are the measures taken to support cooperative or non-cooperative positions. They include enabling international investment and free currency exchange across borders, as well as restraining foreign investment and limiting access to local currency markets.
   Financial instruments may lower geopolitical risk if they promote collaboration. These same instruments may also lead to weaknesses in the global system by rendering other nations susceptible to changes in other nations’ policies. An example would be countries that trade internationally in the USD, they are vulnerable to US monetary policy changes.

Multi-Faceted Approaches

It is possible to combine cooperative political, economic, and financial systems. An example is cabotage, a foreign company’s legal permission to convey goods inside a country. Numerous nations, even those that have multilateral trade agreements, place limitations on cabotage in all areas of transportation.

International organizations may utilize a variety of geopolitical tools to achieve their goals. Many geopolitical actors are less likely to start a fight or employ a hostile tool against other actors since they utilize more collaborative tools.