We will build on the previous chapter’s focus on understanding the practices of states and non-state agents by using the concept of geopolitical codes. This chapter will extend our conversation by exploring the way that a country’s decisions and actions are justified. Through an analysis of popular culture, we find that our exposure to and participation in the geopolitics is pervasive. We will see that geopolitical representations are fluid and dynamic—adapting to the quickly changing contexts.
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Please see your Canvas course space for a complete listing of this lesson's required readings, assignments, and due dates.
If you have any general course questions, please post them to our Course Questions Discussion located in the General Information Module in Canvas. I will check that discussion forum regularly to respond as appropriate. While you are there, feel free to post your own responses and comments if you are able to help out a classmate.
Please begin by reading Chapter 3 of Flint, C. (2016). Introduction to geopolitics (3rd ed.). London: Routledge.
The two most common themes for justifying war: material interests and values.
As Flint explains, these two themes are not competing or mutually exclusive. However, they are the two most common themes used to justify participation in warfare.
There is an interesting geographic distinction associated with each of these themes:
(Flint, 2016, p. 81)
Read President Woodrow Wilson’s speech to Congress back in 1917 as he urges Congress to declare war on Germany. How does he represent the US interest in going to war with Germany? How does Wilson explain its geopolitical position and how he, as the US President, came to the conclusion that war is justified? Who has he identified as our allies and our enemies? Note also how he treats the German people in contrast to his consideration of the government making decisions and taking action on their behalf.
Woodrow Wilson’s “War Message to Congress” (April 2, 1917) [1]
Now let’s journey to the present, nearly a century after Woodrow Wilson’s speech, and examine our current geopolitical code embedded in President Barack Obama’s speech to the public outlining the US strategy to combat the terrorist group known as ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant).
Read the transcript of President Barack Obama’s public address on September 10th 2014 outlining a four-part plan to combat the Islamic State. How does President Obama identify our enemy? What distinctions does he make about who ISIL is and who they represent? How does he represent American interests in actively combating ISIL? What is our justification for engaging in armed conflict with ISIL?
Transcript: President Obama’s speech outlining strategy to defeat Islamic State [2]
Nationalism is the belief in a common culture, or people, and its connection to a particular country. For a deeper discussion of the importance of nationalism(s), see below.
Countries on the Cusp—The Power of Nationalism (by Martha Legace) [3] This will take you to an interview with Harvard Business School Professor Rawi Abdelal where he describes the power nationalism has over new countries—and their far-reaching effects.
Another perspective on nationalism is discussed in the following article by Jerry Z. Muller in Foreign Affairs (March/April 2008), titled Us and Them: The Enduring Power of Ethnic Nationalism. [4]
As Flint explains, “we all carry around ‘knowledge’ of countries that we probably know very little about.” (2016, p. 85) We gather information about these countries from a variety of sources including Hollywood movies, television shows, songs, jokes, comedy routines, comics, magazines, and so forth. These sources can paint an interesting picture or caricature of a group of people, a particular location, or a nation as a whole.
This list of ‘patriotic songs’ wasn’t created based on some rigorous scientific analysis with objective criteria establishing what patriotism is. A list claiming such qualifications would be questionable at best. The point of directing you to this list is to have you go through the list and observe what songs are on the (subjectively created) list and perhaps even look up the lyrics to a song of interest. What image is being created in this song? How are places (or people) constructed (or characterized)? What assumptions do you make about the topic(s) of the song and how might it inform your narrative about America?
This is not the typical patriotic song in that it actually questions American Nationalism. The song focuses on the conflicted physical/mental/emotional space of the “common man” – providing examples ranging from an American soldier returning from Vietnam to an ungrateful America, to factory workers who were being displaced while the nation was unable or unwilling to confront the domestic loss in manufacturing jobs to a new global economic order. The song’s chorus: "Born In The U.S.A." has become a rallying cry for US pride and patriotism. However, Springsteen’s intention was to question various political and economic trends underway in America and how they were impacting average Americans. (Born In The U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen Songfacts [6]. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2015)
Watch the following The Daily Show with Jon Stewart clip titled, The Fourth Estate [7].
The video highlights the power of discourse and “knowledge” production. French philosopher Michel Foucault argues “experts” are given the authority to create “knowledge” which then becomes ‘common sense’ and normative behavior. In the clip from The Daily Show, Jon Stewart highlights how various media outlets have “succeeded” in creating “knowledge” and thus shaping our understanding of the world in particular ways.
Indeed, as Flint argues, pop culture references are ubiquitous—they are ever-present, everywhere. What we read, watch, and listen to all inform various aspects of what we “know.” In particular, Flint discusses how Reader’s Digest and the Bourne movies are an example of both the Gramscian and feminist definitions of power. Are there any other TV shows, movies, or fiction works that you can think of that might fit well into these categories?
The following suggested videos and readings should help you think through the discussion and debate on Said’s Orientalism and critique of Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations. If Flint's (2016) discussion of these sources seems unclear, the following resources should provide more background, context, and points of analysis.
The Clash of Civilizations, by Samuel Huntington (pdf) [8]
The Clash of Ignorance, by Edward Said [9]
Please visit the Lesson 3 Module in Canvas for a full description of the assignment, including due dates and submission instructions.
Reminder: You should also be submitting comments on group member #1's post from last week!
A detailed explanation of this ongoing assignment can be found in the GEOG 128 Syllabus.
Geopolitical codes are not static. They change over time—as they should. A country’s geopolitical code is relational. It depends on relationships within a complex web of both domestic and international actors and conditions. This section in Flint (2012) explains the dynamism of geopolitical codes. Flint also discusses this dynamism in his 2009 article “Mapping the Dynamism of the United States’ Geopolitical Code: The Geography of the State of the Union Speeches, 1998-2008”. The following figures are from that article: Flint, C., Adduci, M., Chen, M., and Chi, S. (2009) Mapping the Dynamism of the United States’ Geopolitical Code: The Geography of the State of the Union Speeches, 1998-2008. Geopolitics, 14:4, 604-629 [10].
In an effort to provide a visual representation of this dynamism, look at the following images from Flint, et al. (2009).
What do we understand by looking at and analyzing these maps (and their associated speeches)? According to Flint, et al. (2009), p. 625:
Three general trends can be discerned from the analysis of the speeches: an increase in reference to adversaries; an increase in the number of countries mentioned; and an increase in the geographic scope of the foreign policy references. There was a clear rise in the geographic scope of the speeches, especially the inclusion of all regions of Asia, and a concomitant increase in the number of countries mentioned. From the confined regional foci of Presidents Reagan and George H. W. Bush, the American public was introduced to a broad spectrum of countries, regions, and foreign policy issues through the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations.”
Over time, Flint, et al. (2009) highlights how our geopolitical code has expanded its foci to a more broad and diverse selection of countries, regions, and foreign policy issues. This is, of course, not coincidence, but certainly moves in concert with the trajectory of contemporary globalization that finds every country more economically, politically, and culturally enmeshed with each other.
You should now be able to:
You have reached the end of Lesson 3! Double-check the Lesson 3 module in Canvas to make sure you have completed all of the activities listed there before you begin Lesson 4.
Links
[1] http://www.heritage.org/initiatives/first-principles/primary-sources/woodrow-wilsons-war-message-to-congress
[2] http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/full-text-of-president-obamas-speech-outlining-strategy-to-defeat-islamic-state/2014/09/10/af69dec8-3943-11e4-9c9f-ebb47272e40e_story.html
[3] http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/2708.html
[4] http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/63217/jerry-z-muller/us-and-them
[5] http://100mostsongsofusamerica.blogspot.com/
[6] http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1014
[7] http://www.cc.com/video-clips/k3sdvm/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-exclusive---the-fourth-estate
[8] https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1163/f4d4aa28038ac47a841beac79b9df2a43e8a.pdf
[9] http://home.zcu.cz/~dkrizek/SBV1/Texty%202/Said%20-%20The%20Clash%20of%20Ignorance.pdf
[10] http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14650040802693929