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HSS - Cours - HSS_0F001_EP : Introduction to Geopolitics

Domaine > Humanités et sciences sociales.

Descriptif

In a world marked by growing interdependence and unprecedented transformations, understanding global
politics requires tools that go beyond state-centric and territorial visions. This course offers a reflexive
introduction to geopolitics as both a field of knowledge and a mode of power. It examines how actors
(States, International Organizations, corporations, NGOs, private actors, etc.) project power, regulate global
issues, and engage in cooperation or conflict across multiple scales (global, regional, national, local).
Students will explore how geopolitical narratives, maps, and institutional practices contribute to shaping
today’s complex world order. Combining theoretical frameworks from international relations, political
geography, and sociology with empirical case studies, the course equips students with the analytical skills to
interpret contemporary crises, conflicts, and spatial dynamics in global politics.

Objectifs pédagogiques

On completion of the seminar, students will be able to

- Define, contextualize and use key concepts and notions of geopolitics.

- Understand the social construction of space and borders in global politics.

- Analyze geopolitical narratives and their strategic, ideological, and symbolic dimensions, drawing on current theories and debates.

- Identify key actors in international politics (states, IOs, corporations, NGOs, transnational movements, etc.), understand their political agendas and modes of action, and critically assess power asymmetries and their reproduction through institutions and representations.

- Engage with competing worldviews and post-Western perspectives on global order.

- Develop reflexive tools for interpreting current geopolitical events, using maps, discourse analysis, and comparative case studies. Form their own opinion and critical thinking to interpret a contemporary international phenomenon, giving attention to how knowledge is produced and to the complexity of situations (intersection of political, ideological, and ethical dimensions…).

Format des notes

Numérique sur 20

Littérale/grade américain

Pour les étudiants du diplôme Bachelor of Science de l'Ecole polytechnique

Vos modalités d'acquisition :

First session: 1 supervised 1-hour written exam on week 6 (50%) and 1 final supervised written 2-hour exam on final week (50%).
Compensatory session: A supervised 2-hour written exam.

Le rattrapage est autorisé (Note de rattrapage conservée écrêtée à une note seuil de 10)
    L'UE est acquise si Note finale >= 9
    • Crédits ECTS acquis : 2 ECTS

    La note obtenue rentre dans le calcul de votre GPA.

    Pour les étudiants du diplôme Programmes d'échange internationaux

    Vos modalités d'acquisition :

    First session: 1 supervised 1-hour written exam on week 6 (50%) and 1 final supervised written 2-hour exam on final week (50%).
    Compensatory session: A supervised 2-hour written exam.

    Programme détaillé

    Week 1 – Introductory Session: What Is Geopolitics? Concepts, Critiques, and Controversies

    Week 2 – The Social Construction of Space

    Week 3 – Sovereignty and Territory: Fixed Concepts in a Moving World?

    Week 4 – Maps, Myths, and Geopolitical Discourse: Cartography as a tool of domination

    Week 5 – Great Powers and the Sociology of (A)Symmetry

    Week 6 – Multilateral Arenas and the Politics of Authority + Mid-semester Exam

    Week 7 – Borders, Migration, and Securitization

    Week 8 – Environment, Resources, and Geopolitical Competition

    Week 9 – Urban Geopolitics and Infrastructural Control (Internet Governance)

    Week 10 – Cyberdiplomacy and Digital Sovereignty

    Week 11 – Warfare, Private Actors, and New Forms of Conflict

    Week 12 – Decolonizing Geopolitics: Rethinking Global Order

    Week 13 – Final exam

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