Start Here¶
Learning paths are curated sequences of articles designed to build your understanding progressively. Each path takes you through interconnected topics in a logical order, with earlier articles providing context for later ones. Whether you’re new to geopolitics or looking to deepen your expertise in specific areas, these guided journeys offer a structured alternative to browsing.
Work through a path at your own pace. Each article builds on previous concepts, so following the suggested order will maximize comprehension.
Path 1: Foundations of Geopolitics¶
Understanding the theoretical building blocks
Before diving into current events or regional conflicts, it helps to understand the frameworks scholars use to analyze international relations. This path introduces the core theories and thinkers who shaped how we think about power, geography, and state behavior.
The Journey: 1. realism — Start with the dominant paradigm explaining why states compete 2. balance-of-power — The oldest principle of preventing hegemony 3. heartland-theory — How geography shapes power 4. sea-power — The maritime alternative to land power 5. halford-mackinder — The father of geopolitics 6. nicholas-spykman — The Rimland response
After completing this path, you’ll understand: The fundamental debate between land power and sea power, why states prioritize security and relative gains, and how geographic determinism has influenced strategic thinking for over a century. These concepts appear repeatedly in contemporary analysis and policy debates.
Path 2: Understanding Great Power Competition¶
How the world’s strongest states interact
The defining feature of the current international system is the return of great power competition. This path examines the major players, their strategic cultures, and the structural tensions that make conflict possible—even when no one wants it.
The Journey: 1. united-states — The incumbent superpower 2. china — The rising challenger 3. russia — The revisionist power 4. thucydides-trap — Why rising powers clash with established ones 5. first-island-chain — Geography of containment in Asia 6. nato — The Western alliance system
After completing this path, you’ll understand: How America’s post-Cold War dominance is being challenged from multiple directions, why the U.S.-China relationship is the defining rivalry of our era, and how alliance systems and geographic barriers shape the competition.
Path 3: How Geography Shapes Power¶
The enduring influence of physical terrain
Technology changes; geography endures. This path explores how mountains, straits, and coastlines continue to determine where conflict occurs, which resources matter, and why some locations remain strategically vital across centuries.
The Journey: 1. heartland-theory — Mackinder’s continental vision 2. rimland-theory — Spykman’s coastal alternative 3. strait-of-hormuz — Where oil meets strategy 4. strait-of-malacca — Asia’s critical chokepoint 5. south-china-sea — Contested waters 6. arctic — The warming frontier
After completing this path, you’ll understand: Why control of certain locations grants disproportionate influence, how energy flows create strategic vulnerabilities, and why the same waterways that mattered to ancient traders remain flashpoints today.
Path 4: The Rules-Based Order¶
How institutions shape (and fail to shape) international politics
After World War II, the victors attempted to build institutions that would prevent future catastrophes. This path examines the architecture of global governance—its origins, its successes, its limitations, and the growing challenges to its legitimacy.
The Journey: 1. treaty-of-westphalia — Origins of the state system 2. un-security-council — The attempt at collective security 3. imf-world-bank — Economic governance 4. wto — Trade rules under stress 5. multipolar-world — The order under challenge
After completing this path, you’ll understand: How the current international system emerged from European state-building and American post-war leadership, why institutions designed in 1945 struggle with 21st-century challenges, and what alternatives rising powers are proposing.
What’s Next?¶
These paths offer starting points, not finish lines. Geopolitics is inherently interconnected—every article links to related concepts, regions, and thinkers worth exploring.
Once you’ve completed a path, consider browsing by category to discover topics that interest you:
- Concepts — The theoretical frameworks behind analysis
- Powers — Country profiles and national strategies
- Regions — Geographic areas of strategic importance
- Chokepoints — Critical passages that shape global flows
- Institutions — The organizations that govern (or try to)
- Thinkers — The minds that shaped the field
The world keeps changing. Keep reading.