Course Code: GEOG 212
Academic Year: 2024-2025
This course will examine the geopolitical forces impinging on global politics while treating significant regions and countries of the world from a Canadian perspective. The course explores the earth's physical features, natural resources, environmental conditions, climate, population characteristics and economic forces. The course relates these to the conduct and status of political entities such as nation-states and international institutions as well as religious, ethnic, gender and ideological groups. The course starts with a historical overview of reflections on geopolitics from the discipline's beginnings in the late 19th century, through the Cold War, and up until the current post-Cold War era. From there, the focus turns to specific issues such as America's superpower status, Canada's relations to the world, the environment, energy, and terrorism. The course ends with a study of the Middle East, Africa, southern Asia, Europe, Russia, Latin America and the Caribbean.