Thoughts/Reading: "Geopolitics: Seeing Through the True Intentions of That Country"

Shakaibu Bucho's book, "Geopolitics: Seeing Through the True Intentions of That Country," is what I read.

At the end of the day, when it comes to asset management, if you don't have a basic understanding of geopolitics, the impact is significant. This is also because I hold individual stocks with high overseas sales ratios.

Returning to the main topic, this book looks back at history
and explains why wars and conflicts are prone to occur. While there are differences in ideology, this book focuses on geography

. It looks at whether national borders are physically separated by nature, such as seas or mountains, or if they are laid out across plains. Also, in the case of the sea, the depth is another point of focus.

For example, if it is the sea, logistics are restricted
by air or sea routes. In short, there are limitations on sending in physical military force.
On the other hand, if it is a plain, military force can be easily sent in by land. Even though cyberattacks have developed, ultimately, if you cannot physically effectively control an area, you cannot receive the
benefits of that land's resources. It might be worth looking into the difference in movement speed between land and sea.

As the proverb "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down" suggests, it is difficult to say whether the establishment of a hegemonic state can be tolerated.

Incidentally, the term "Eurasian continent" appears frequently in this book.

This is because, as a continent, it has many plains, making border disputes prone to occur. Also, there are many countries that can be called great powers, and the fact that borders touch multiple countries leads to the dispersion of military force, so even if one wins in terms of total power, they may lose in wars or conflicts.

In particular, the competition for survival of countries that can be called buffer zones between great powers is likely difficult. This is because if they are on plains, they are easy to attack and hard to defend.

"Saga of Tanya the Evil" and "Baikoku Kikan," written by Carlo Zen, are easy to understand examples.

If it is a plain, it is necessary to stretch out supply lines to exhaust the opposing country while annihilating them. For that, vast territory
is required. In particular, since the intentions of countries that can be called dictatorships are difficult to imagine, they tend to adopt a policy of territorial expansion to ensure psychological security.

There is also the importance of land/sea routes known as choke points. This is because if these are controlled, it will have a major impact on logistics.

Under COVID, many people probably remember that it was difficult to unload containers at ports, causing major disruptions to logistics. Because trade around the world has become active, the importance of coastal areas and choke points
is increasing. This is because when comparing ships and airplanes, ships can transport a larger amount of goods at once. Incidentally, with land routes, depending on the path, the number of countries passed through increases, and as a result, it tends to become more expensive due to tariffs and the like.

Ultimately, one falls into a security dilemma. It is a question of whether the other country can be trusted. The importance of dialogue and balance of power
is discussed in this book. I felt that it was a book with many references that can be read objectively and from multiple perspectives (it took time to read...).

As a similar book, I have also read the book below previously. This one is more for beginners.

Note: I am participating in the Amazon Associates Program.

I wonder what the borders will look like in 20 or 50 years when looking at a globe.

I have also included a link to the YouTube channel of the author, Shakaibu Bucho.