Geopolitics

This article explores the concept of critical geopolitics to understand how international trade laws influence access to medicines within the framework of the TRIPS agreement. Classical geopolitics traditionally emphasizes how geographical features shape state strategy and global power dynamics, whereas critical geopolitics interprets geographical arrangements as constructs shaped by political, economic, and technological forces. By adopting a critical geopolitics approach, this article investigates how developed and developing nations use their ideas, actions, and interpretations of international trade laws to influence the implementation of TRIPS provisions in their favor. The TRIPS agreement, a multilateral treaty aimed at standardizing global intellectual property laws, often benefits developed nations by strengthening patent protections, which in turn restricts access to affordable generic medicines in developing and least developed countries. Despite the inclusion of safeguards and flexibilities designed to promote broader access to medicines, significant inequalities in access persist. This article examines the differential application of TRIPS across diverse national contexts, focusing on how developed and developing nations collaborate—or conflict—in balancing the need for strong patent protection with the imperative of public health access. By analyzing these geopolitical dynamics, the study illuminates the strategic actions employed by nations to navigate the intricate relationship between international trade law and access to pharmaceuticals. The findings offer important insights into the power imbalances that shape global health outcomes under the TRIPS regime.

As a developing Southeast Asian state, Malaysia actively engages in Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs), such as ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), to pursue economic and geopolitical goals. However, these agreements present challenges due to legal complexities, geopolitical dynamics, and economic consequences. This research explores  As a developing Southeast Asian state, Malaysia actively engages in Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs), such as ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), to pursue economic and geopolitical goals. However, these agreements present challenges due to legal complexities, geopolitical dynamics, and economic consequences. This research explores Malaysia's strategic involvement in RTAs, focusing on their development, legal frameworks, geopolitical implications, and economic impacts. This study utilizes a doctrinal legal research methodology to analyze primary and secondary sources, including legal documents, treaties, and scholarly publications, with the goal of uncovering significant themes, recurring patterns, and deeper insights. The findings indicate that although Malaysia participates in regional trade agreements (RTAs) to bolster economic resilience and foster regional integration, their effective management is challenged by constantly evolving geopolitical dynamics and uncertainties. This study contributes to ongoing discussions on regionalism and multilateralism within the global trade system.

Geopolitical factors have always significantly influenced the politics and behavior of governments due to the continuity and stability of their effects. In Turkmenistan, due to the geopolitical characteristics of this country, examining and paying attention to these factors and their effects play an important role in terms of understanding and predicting the policies and behavior of Turkmenistan’s government. Also, these characteristics seem to become more important because of this country’s neighborhood and many commonalities with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The main question of this article is about the effects of Turkmenistan's geopolitics on the politics and the behavior of its government. Based on this study, it will be argued that Turkmenistan's geopolitics has, directly and indirectly, affected the politics and behavior of Turkmenistan’s government by creating threats and issues such as instability and insecurity. It has also caused authoritarianism and centralism in the government.

When analyzing the histories of nations, it becomes clear that times of crisis often give rise to various figures who position themselves as problem solvers. Among these, authoritarian leaders are particularly notable. While certain aspects of their childhoods are frequently cited as significant, the geopolitical contexts and global shifts during their rise to power are equally crucial. These leaders typically emerge in countries experiencing similar external pressures, regional conflicts, or transformations in the international balance of power. By examining these shared geopolitical circumstances alongside personal histories, we gain valuable insight into the emergence and appeal of such figures during turbulent periods. This study identifies eight widely recognized cases from 1919 to 2011, including Adolf Hitler, Manuel Noriega, Idi Amin, Muammar Gaddafi, Benito Mussolini, Saddam Hussein, Pol Pot, and Tojo Hideki. Using a descriptive, analytical, and comparative approach, it seeks to answer the question: how do authoritarian figures exploit geopolitical environments to consolidate and expand their power? The findings suggest that such leaders often use ongoing crises to legitimize their actions, manipulate public sentiment, and push territorial or ideological agendas. To enhance accuracy and pattern recognition, artificial intelligence (AI) techniques were employed in the analysis phase. These tools helped reveal recurring behavioral and geopolitical patterns that may otherwise remain unnoticed. The study emphasizes the importance of identifying these dynamics early to prevent future international crises.

The complexity of global order is often obscured by the oversimplified representations of international relations, illustrated through political maps. These maps, while seemingly objective, are subjective projections that reflect the ideology of their creators and fail to capture the nuanced dynamics of power and control among states. Such a misrepresentation contributes to a distorted understanding of global dynamics. Meanwhile, the origins of political geography can be traced back to the 18th century, particularly with the establishment of the first school of political geography in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, between 1720 and 1750. Political geography, however, is not entirely homogenic; it encompasses several competing theories regarding the perception of space. It has developed gradually with the changes in perception of space: as an absolute, relative and cognitive space respectively. Recognizing the complexity and evolutionary features of a political map and political geography as whole thus appears to be crucial for understanding global politics.

Background and Theoretical Foundations: The analysis and evaluation of the potential power of various states in global arenas have consistently been subjects of scholarly attention and discussion within the field of international relations. This inquiry becomes particularly salient during pivotal historical moments and major shifts in global civilization, especially during periods of power transition: Which country is poised to become the next superpower? Historically, nations such as Iran, Greece, Italy, Spain, France, and England, and more recently, the United States, have played significant roles in shaping global civilization and exerting considerable influence worldwide. A key factor contributing to their power has been their maritime strength; their formidable presence at sea has historically served as an indicator of their overall power. Methodology: The objective of this article is to present a comprehensive geopolitical model designed to assess the potential power of China through a geopolitical lens. The research methodology employed is qualitative and exploratory. Given the importance of geography and human agency, this study is based on an algorithm that incorporates variables grounded in geopolitical knowledge. The "power cloud probability" model conceptualizes countries as comprehensive systems employing quantitative data analysis and multi-modelling methods to examine the formation of maritime superpowers and assess China's maritime potential. Findings and conclusion: This model enhances our understanding of complex geographical phenomena and facilitates the analysis of global power dynamics and influence. It provides a deeper insight into how geographical elements interact with geopolitical actors. Moreover, the modeling process streamlines research efforts by creating a structured framework for simultaneously examining multiple variables. China's emergence as a maritime superpower has been significantly influenced by its interactions with other countries, particularly the United States, its neighboring states, and nations along the Belt and Road Initiative routes. Although China has made substantial strides in enhancing its maritime capabilities, challenges persist. Its relationships with other countries will continue to play a crucial role in shaping its future maritime trajectory.

Geopolitics is among the influential elements in the field of foreign policy. During the Pahlavi era, the country, influenced by geopolitical factors, faced many ups and downs in the realm of foreign policy. Countries, as actors in the power and politics arena, have aimed to centralize and exert central influence over other players. The more centralization an actor achieves, the higher the ranking, more extensive connections, and obtaining a more desirable position be-come. The aim of this article is to investigate the impact of geopolitics on Iran's foreign policy during the second Pahlavi era. The main question posed is: What impact has geopolitics had on shaping Iran's foreign policy during the second Pahlavi era? The hypothesis suggests that geopolitics acted as the main and influential factor in Iran's foreign policy during the second Pahlavi era, leading to an increase in the country's power. The results of the article indicate that the Middle East, during the second Pahlavi era, functioned as a geopolitical network with various sub-networks. Eleven geopolitical sub-networks can be identified, among which the most significant include the Islamic sub-network, energy, democracy, and the resistance sub-network. Iran held a central position among Middle Eastern countries in these geopolitical sub-networks during the second Pahlavi era. Iran's centrality in the Western sub-networks of security and economy allowed it to better and more extensively pursue its national interests. The research methodology employed is descriptive-analytical, based on library studies.

In recent years, stability in the security environment of Central Asia and the Caucasus has consistent-ly faced increasing complexities and challenges. Nationalistic tendencies in this region, presence of crises, emergence of internal challenges, weaknesses in nation-building, and the entry of foreign powers have added complexity to the region's security environment. Considering the competition of regional and trans-regional powers and their pursuit of interests in the South Caucasus region, the events in Karabakh in 2020 will not be the last one in this region. This region is always prone to events and crises. Iran must play a role in resolving conflicts in the South Caucasus region by main-taining a neutral yet more active policy than in the past. By establishing an independent mechanism, Iran can pursue its national interests in this region by leveraging existing opportunities. This qualita-tive research article uses an explanatory method to evaluate Iran's foreign policy in the face of region-al crises (such as the Karabakh war) based on the realism model of Morgenthau. It examines Iran's foreign policy approach to recent conflicts in the region and analyzes the role of influential regional and international factors, as well as geopolitical and geostrategic factors, shaping Iran's foreign poli-cy.

From the beginning of the age of technology; Every idea, innovation and new invention has helped humans to start a new era of economic growth. This growth has usually been accom-panied by a change in the fundamental principles of nations and their security. In this new era; Artificial intelligence is mentioned as the background of the revolution and the evolution of all human ecosystems in virtual, terrestrial, celestial, etc. spaces. Geopolitical factors seem to play a decisive role in the work process. Predicting an algorithmic revolution that could se-riously challenge the model of global governance is not unexpected. It is here that govern-ments must not only increase their understanding of the potential impact of artificial intelli-gence, but also change their governance model in advancing the technology. This requires understanding the new and future geopolitics of this technology. Therefore, in this study, while examining the current and possible changes in the power factors of governments by arti-ficial intelligence technologies, the new geopolitics of this technology is explained. The meth-od used in this research is descriptive-analytical and library tools, documents and electronic resources have been used to collect data.