Friday, November 13, 2015

Breaking the Geopolitical Rules

John McLaughlin, former CIA senior executive, sums up the issues nicely here:  we are seeing major challenges to the post-WWII "rules-based" international system.  Russia, by ignoring the sanctity of national frontiers, China, by ignoring freedom of the seas in the South China Sea, and ISIS by overthrowing the nation-state in the Middle East. See his:  Breaking the Geopolitical Rules  

My friend Sean "The Modern Mercenary" McFate likes to point out the Westphalian system of the supremacy of the nation state is being eclipsed by "neo-medievalism."  I agree ISIS suggests that other forces than the state are throwing their weight around.   But in the case of Russia and China,  the nation-state is roaring back.  The problem is to corral them back into a rules-based system.

We might add that it is Russia that seems to be doing more to bolster the nation-state concept in the Middle East than the US is.

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