Strait of Hormuz
The World's Most Important Oil Chokepoint
The narrow passage between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula through which one-fifth of global oil supply transits daily. Control of Hormuz means leverage over the world economy.
The Geopolitical Encyclopedia
Borders are arguments
made visible.
Every alliance, every conflict, every trade route follows a logic older than the states themselves. We map that logic — from Mackinder to Malacca, from Westphalia to the present hour.
Foundational Concepts
The theoretical frameworks that explain how geography shapes power, conflict, and international order.
Strait of Malacca
Asia's Lifeline and Strategic Vulnerability
The narrow waterway between Malaysia and Indonesia through which nearly one-third of global maritime trade passes. For rising Asian powers, Malacca is both lifeline and potential stranglehold.
Taiwan Strait
The Most Dangerous Flashpoint on Earth
The 110-mile passage separating Taiwan from mainland China where the world's two greatest powers could collide. Control of the strait determines Taiwan's fate—and perhaps the future of the Indo-Pacific order.
Balance of Power
The Oldest Principle of International Relations
The theory that peace and stability emerge when no single state dominates the system. For centuries, the balance of power has shaped alliances, wars, and the fundamental structure of world order.
Containment
The Grand Strategy of the Cold War
The American strategy of preventing Soviet expansion through a combination of military alliances, economic aid, and political pressure. Containment defined four decades of global competition.
What Is Geopolitics?
The Study of Power and Geography
An introduction to geopolitics—the study of how geography shapes international relations. Understanding geopolitical concepts provides a framework for making sense of world events.
Heartland Theory
Mackinder's Geographical Pivot of History
The foundational geopolitical theory arguing that control of Central Eurasia—the 'Heartland'—is the key to world domination. Mackinder's 1904 thesis reshaped how nations think about geography and power.
Rimland Theory
Spykman's Challenge to the Heartland
Nicholas Spykman's counterargument to Mackinder, proposing that the Eurasian coastal regions—not the interior—hold the key to world power. This theory directly shaped American Cold War strategy.
Sea Power
Command of the Oceans and Global Influence
The theory that control of the seas is the foundation of national greatness. From Alfred Thayer Mahan to modern naval strategy, sea power has shaped the rise and fall of empires.
Reading Tracks
Curated sequences that guide you through connected topics — from first principles to the present day.
01
Why Nations Compete
The forces that drive states into rivalry — from ancient Athens to the US-China standoff.
02
Geography as Destiny
How mountains, straits, and coastlines shape the fates of nations and empires.
03
How the World Was Made
The wars, treaties, and upheavals that built today's international order.
04
The US-China Collision Course
The defining rivalry of the 21st century — its origins, flashpoints, and stakes.
05
Economic Weapons
How trade, finance, and technology became instruments of coercion and control.
06
The New Battlefields
How conflict moved beyond the trenches — into cyberspace, the gray zone, and the information domain.
The logic beneath the news
In 1904, a British geographer stood before the Royal Geographical Society and argued that whoever controlled the interior of Eurasia would command the world. A century later, NATO expansion, China's Belt and Road, and Russia's wars still trace the lines he drew.
This is not coincidence. It is geography.
Mountains dictate where armies stop. Straits determine which economies breathe. The distance between a capital and its coastline shapes whether a nation looks inward or outward, trades or fortifies, rises or fractures. These forces do not trend. They do not cycle. They persist.
GEOPOL.UK maps the permanent architecture of international order — the chokepoints, the doctrines, the rivalries, and the thinkers who first made them legible. Every article is built to be as useful in ten years as it is today.
This is the reference shelf for people who read the world structurally.