Cycles of Geopolitical (Dis)order, as Determined by Interactions Between Spatial Systems. A Theoretical Model of the Systemic Drivers of Geopolitics

Abstract

This conclusive chapter ties together the earlier reflections on the interactions between historical geographies, economics-framed geopolitics, and globalization to analyze the systemic nature of interstate conflicts leading to globalization since the early modern period. It starts with a nod to realism by treating legally recognized territorial states as units in a global system, and by defining geopolitics as the spatial relations among such units. However, the chapter also takes stock of a variety of underlying systems (cultural, economic, and even institutional) that tend to flow across states’ borders. States are the most important element in this ‘system of systems,’ because the political sphere maintains the consensus necessary for the other systems to function. They do so by managing changes in the other systems while maintaining social peace; therefore, political crises at all scales—from micro-level unrests to widespread war—are indicators of systemic transformations that states are not able to manage. Such an approach enables interpreting the long-term development of globalization in terms of equilibrium, a concept borrowed from economics. In Battisti’s view, spatial expansions and contractions of multiple systems have shaped globalization. Relative equilibrium among systems characterizes periods of peace in specific areas, while disequilibrium is the root of wars and conflicts. The efforts to achieve equilibrium in the face of constant change spearheaded the evolution of the political system into modern territorial states and beyond.