Abstract:

Knowledge of the geopolitical reality has been, is and shall be a challenge for political and spiritual leadership. The dominant actors in the globe are equipped with notable centers of research and study concerning the geopolitical reality. In this manner and taking into account the geopolitical models that derive from research they are able to plan their relative hegemonic or dominant international strategies. The current reality, though, is characterized by a tendency of revision concerning those traditional hermeneutic models of the Cold War period, a period during which known and ‘safe’ answers were provided for all social, political, economic and philosophical matters. These traditional ‘holistic’ models, which were applied on specifi c state actors and groups of state actors, were two: i) the socialist model and its dialectic opposite, ii) the liberal model. These two philosophical and ideological axes were complemented by the geopolitical model created by Nicholas J. Spykman (1893-1943), according to which there occurs a worldwide antagonism between Land Powers (Warsaw Pact, Soviet Union and satellite states) and Sea Powers (US, Great Britain, Japan, NATO and satellite states). This division led to the geopolitical, ideological, defensive, economic and therefore geostrategic alignment of the participating states into two clashing worlds, i.e. the Eastern and the Western world. This dominant division was adopted by the relevant elites of the various state actors that were part of the international structures of the International Power Poles. This phenomenon was prevalent throughout the 20th century and was manifested also in the relevant political cultures, dominant ideologies, as well as in the geostrategic approaches of the aforementioned International Power Poles and their respective satellites.

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