3.1 Overview

You now possess a basic understanding of higher order and critical thinking skills, as well as some knowledge of the evolution of geopolitics, culminating in the discourse of critical geopolitics. This lesson capitalizes on that base of knowledge by introducing you to two advanced geopolitical ideas that examine new dangers and counter-power reactions to geopolitics (anti-geopolitics).

Global dangers such as climate change, bioterrorism, environmental degradation, and deadly viruses are increasingly viewed as potential challenges to global security and stability. The question arises as to what extent geospatial intelligence can contribute to understanding and responding to these new challenges. Another interesting question is whether government geospatial intelligence efforts are best suited to deal with such issues, or if there is a utility in having corporate and non-governmental organization geospatial intelligence efforts at work on such problems.

An examination of anti-geopolitical discourses forces us to examine alternative discourses by those who feel marginalized and/or abused by the dominant discourses. Some of these discourses will infuriate the establishment crowd (Osama bin Laden's "Letter to America"), yet the ability to critically examine alternative discourses is an essential skill for the intelligence analyst.

To exercise our recently acquired critical thinking skills and geopolitical knowledge, we are going to carefully read the works of two eminent scholars: Samuel Huntington and Edward Said. Huntington's "The Clash of Civilizations" was a provocative article that articulated a new geopolitical discourse for the post Cold War era. Published in Foreign Affairs, it created an immediate stir and resulted in a book length treatment of the idea by the same name. Edward Said is a scholar of the Middle East famous for his writings on Orientalism. Said counters Huntington's discourse in his article on "The Clash of Ignorance." Said also challenges the establishment view of the Middle East, Arabs, Muslims, and the Orient in his article "Orientalism Reconsidered." Works of both Huntington and Said are still frequently referenced and cited. For example, see recent articles on Huntington and Said.

You will also have the pleasure of writing your first critical analysis paper in this lesson. For many of you, this will be a challenge as you have not written a graduate level paper employing critical thinking skills. However, the ability to clearly and concisely articulate your critically derived thoughts is another essential skill for the geospatial intelligence professional in any agency or organization.

Lesson Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• compare and contrast the opposing ideas of Huntington's "The Clash of Civilization" and Said's "The Clash of Ignorance" (and Said's other orientalist thinking) in the context of the "Long War" (aka the Global War on Terrorism);
• discuss new threats such as bioterrorism and environmental degradation and the geopolitical discourses that arise in reaction;
• explain the range of ideas and provide examples of "Anti-Geopolitics";
• select an anti-geopolitics discourse and apply it to the "Long War" to formulate an alternative viewpoint.