Nations: Russia, China, India, Israel

Geopolitics is the study of the earth’s geographical elements that affect international relations. It is the analysis of the geographical impact on international connections. Geopolitics can also be termed as the fight over geographical locations and resources. Every country has its plan for this. It is a complicated political structure that will make us understand how complex our world is. Geopolitics is responsible for good or bad relations with nations. 

Halford John Mackinder founded the initial roots of international relations. He is called the father of geopolitics. We can learn strategies related to geographical locations from this type of politics. Geopolitics has a deep impact on international relations, and real-time businesses get affected due to this indirectly. 

Russia’s influence on geopolitics

Russia is known for its dominance all over the world. Russia is considered as one of the maritime global power nations. Its geographical boundaries stretch from the European plain up to the sea of Japan. Russia is the largest country by landmass. It has a political say in European, Middle-east, and Asian politics.

After world war two, the Soviet Union became a world superpower. Only The United States of America remained as its competition. The Soviet Union was a mix of several independent entities called states. The Federation of Russia was one of them.

The Soviet Union split up in 1991, and new nations were formed. The largest one was Russia that we know now. In the 90s and 2000s, Russia was not seen as a superpower nation. It was restructuring itself. Since 2010, Russia has been back in the superpower race. 

Economically, Russia is the 9th largest nation and the 11th largest economy. It has the third strongest military in the world. It has shown tough competition against the European Union regarding the economy and political strength. It has a stronghold in the Balken region.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and is on its way to invading Ukraine. Its good relations with the middle-eastern nations and China have made the Western nations nervous. Russia’s old ally, India, has always had a good relationship with it.

China’s influence on geopolitics

China can rightly be classed as the latest superpower in the world. It is the world’s second-largest economy behind the United States of America. But the purchasing power parity (PPP) of China is the largest in the world. It has the 2nd most powerful military in the world.

It has the world’s largest population. It is the 3rd largest country by landmass. As we can tell, all these things act as great advantages to China. The geographical boundaries of China stretch from the Sea of Japan to the mountains of Kashmir. 

East Asia is dominated by two nations, Japan and China. Because of its population, China has the upper hand over Japan. The fight over the South China Sea is the biggest geopolitical fight of the East Asian nations. China is also building the belt and road initiative (BRI) and the String of Pearls to increase its domination over the Indian Ocean.

China is the largest money lender to the poor African and Asian nations. India remains the only competition to China in the economy, population, trade, and geopolitics.

India’s influence on geopolitics

India is the latest member of the powerful nation’s club. This subcontinental country is the second-largest nation in terms of population. India has the 4th most powerful military in the world. India is the 7th largest nation by landmass. It is the 5th largest economy in the world. India is the fastest-growing economy in the world. 50% of India’s population is under the age of 25. It is on the way to becoming a global superpower. 

In the sub-continent region, India is the sole superpower. In Asia, China is its only competition. Due to the factors mentioned above, India has made trustworthy allies for geopolitics, including Germany, France, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Israel, and many more.

India is expected to surpass China in terms of population in 2025. It is the largest IT and tech emerging nation in the world. The United States of America considers India a key ally for the conflicts in the Middle-east. The influence of India in the Indian Ocean is an important factor in India’s rise. The Indian ocean holds the traffic for the trade between the West and Asia. 

Israel’s influence on geopolitics

We have seen that having a large landmass, economies, militaries, and population makes a nation geopolitically powerful. But in Israel’s case, it is different. Israel ranks on the 153rd number considering landmass. It is the 19th largest economy in the world. It ranks in 100th place in terms of population.

All the keys to geopolitical success lie in Israel’s location. Israel is located in the region called the “Levant.” It is located on the banks of the mediterranean sea. This location advantage makes Israel a major trade center.

It also has a military advantage due to its access to the sea. It is the unofficial centre of the world. All the empires, kings, and dynasties wanted control of Israel. You can access the European nations, middle-eastern oil, the Suez canal, and many more from the geographical location of Israel.

Conclusion

Politics that are influenced by geographical factors is called geopolitics. It is the study of the earth’s geographical elements that affect international relations. It is the analysis of the geographical impact on international connections.

Geopolitics can also be directly associated with the fight over geographical locations and resources. We can learn strategies related to geographical locations from this type of politics. Geopolitics is responsible for good or bad relations between nations. This article discussed the influence of four nations, India, Israel, Russia, and China, as strong geopolitical nations.