Klaus Dodds

Geopolitics involves three qualities. First, it is concerned with questions of influence and power over space and territory. Second, it uses geographical frames to make sense of world affairs. Popular geographical templates include ‘sphere of influence’, ‘bloc’, ‘backyard’, ‘neighbourhood’, and ‘near abroad’. Third, geopolitics is future-orientated. It offers insights into the likely behaviour of states because their interests are fundamentally unchanging