Editorial Issue #5
THE FUTURIAN #5
Geopolitics is back with a vengeance. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has served to remind us all that geopolitics does matter and that it could flare up at any time to disrupt our lives. When we started to put together an edition on geopolitics towards the end of last year, we felt that this was an issue that we ought to cover. We knew that things were happening in Eastern Europe. But we were as surprised as anyone over the speed and severity that war has erupted up at the edge of the EU.
Of course, the conflict has been latent and bubbling away for some time now. That serves to remind us that conflict not only take a more physical form, it can also take less tangible forms as well. That is something of a theme for this issue. We wanted to focus not only of the hard geopolitics of location, we also wanted to give voice to the softer aspects of geopolitics — issues such as culture and trade. In doing this we have achieved what we feel is an interesting balance between the two. We also wanted to cover those areas that tend to escape our notice. While our attention is currently absorbed by Eastern Europe, we have to wonder what is going on elsewhere also. We have a number of pieces that should provide food for thought.
We thought that we would lead with the articles on soft geopolitics first. It is here that we start our selection of articles. First up is Elena B Saavedra who looks at the use of sport in general — and football in particular — as an instrument of soft power. Following on from that, Samyak Rai Leekha considers whether data is the new ammunition. We then turn to Njeri Mwagiru and Filip Boicu who explore the use of vaccines as a form of slightly harder power. Keeping to this theme, Paul Tero examines how rare earth elements could be central to great power conflict in the mid-term future.
At this point, we veer towards more traditional manifestations of geopolitics. Pranav Vanikar provides us with an over view of Lebanon, whilst Arushi Singh looks at the wider West Asia and North Africa region. Allied to this, Charlotte Aguilar-Millan discusses whether or not the Taliban could join the community of nations. We then move on to my piece that considers reviving the whole ‘Pivot of History’ argument. Finally, David Bengston links geopolitics, indigenous communities, and the climate crisis.
We hope that you enjoy this range of articles. Please feel free to contact us if you have any feedback on the articles. If you would like to write for future editions of The Futurian, please contact us. We are currently looking to expand our writers group.
Look out for Issue #6 of The Futurian, which is due to be published late June 2022, and which will be our cyber issue.
© Stephen Aguilar-Millan (Editor) 2022
