I. From Scorn to Acclaim: The Long Struggle for Academic Recognition

A Methodology in the Making

While there is now a consensus on the usefulness of geopolitics in its contemporary sense, this represents the culmination of a laborious process of rehabilitation. Established by the so-called “Heartland” theory, formulated by the British geographer Halford John Mackinder in an article published in 1904, this discipline was long despised due to its exploitation in the service of Nazi ideology. On the eve of World War II, the works of German theorists Friedrich Ratzel and later Karl Haushofer were indeed co-opted by the leaders of the Third Reich to legitimize their aggressive foreign policy and inspired, in particular, the concept of “Lebensraum.” Rightly criticized for these associations, geopolitics subsequently faced resistance from geographers who feared that integrating politics into their discipline would deprive it of its scientific rigor.

It was not until the 1980s that it regained a place within the academic community. We owe the revival of this method to the efforts of Yves Lacoste. Born in Fez, Morocco, during the French protectorate, this son of a geologist made significant contributions to the founding principles of geopolitics. Through the thematic journal Hérodote, which he founded in 1976, the geographer experimented and laid the new foundations for what is now known as “Lacostian geopolitics.” Celebrating its 50th anniversary today with a 200th issue paying tribute to its founder, the quarterly journal continues to apply the methods and concepts developed through the lens of numerous conflict situations across the globe.

Several of these pillars have played a key role in establishing geopolitics as a recognized scientific discipline. Among these, the study of the representations held by actors in rivalries is essential in that it allows us to shed light on their motivations and strategies, while also avoiding ideological pitfalls during analysis. Other distinctive features of this methodology include diatopic geographical reasoning and diachronic historical reasoning, which advocate combining different levels of spatial analysis as well as long- and short-term timeframes. Finally, Yves Lacoste departs from the traditional conception found in international relations, according to which power rivalries are solely a matter of debate among leaders. In a broader and more democratic understanding of this concept, he expands the scope of geopolitical analysis to include civil society actors.

As the theoretical foundations of geopolitics were taking shape, its practical application began to extend beyond the pages of the journal. In 1989, the University of Paris XVIII, where Yves Lacoste taught, launched the first advanced studies diploma (DEA in Geopolitics), accompanied by a Center for Geopolitical Research and Analysis (CRAG). In 2002, these pioneering academic centers became the French Institute of Geopolitics (IFG) as we know it today. As France’s only doctoral school in geopolitics, the IFG’s faculty continues to keep Hérodote alive through its instructors and doctoral students.

Winning Over the Youth Through Secondary Education: A Well-Established Popularity

Even as the foundations of geopolitics have been laid and the discipline has found its place in university classrooms, Laurent Carroué, Inspector General Emeritus, takes advantage of this 50th issue to recount his long struggle to extend this recognition of geopolitics to secondary schools. Alongside his peers in the History-Geography Group of the General Inspectorate (IGEN), the geographer has championed his vision for geopolitics for years, despite the uncontested numerical dominance of historians. As the driving force behind the integration of this discipline into secondary school curricula, Laurent Carroué and his colleagues have sought to infuse their vision through exam topics, school curricula, websites, and even the International Geography Festival (FIG). These innovative efforts finally bore fruit in 2019 with the creation of the “History-Geography, Geopolitics, and Political Science” (HHGSP) track in high school. As he describes it, the introduction of this academic discipline thus constitutes a true “intellectual, civic, and pedagogical revolution”: geography is no longer merely subordinate to history and has earned its place in the curriculum thanks to its unique characteristics.

But beyond winning over a reluctant teaching staff, geopolitics is appealing to students. In 2024, nearly 25% of high school seniors are choosing this specialization. Several internal and external factors help explain this growing popularity. Above all, this trend draws its strength from the wide range of engaging materials tailored to a young audience that have been developed in recent years. A series of textbooks for middle and high schools co-edited by Yves Lacoste at Nathan Publishing, the organization of a “Carto Contest” by an association of the same name that has engaged thousands of students since 2010, the creation of the Géoconfluences digital library by the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, and the diversification of media formats with the TV show “Le dessous des cartes” and a variety of magazines on cartography and geopolitics… The ways to stay informed about current events and derive accessible analyses from them are constantly evolving, reinventing themselves, and exerting a significant pull on young people.

At the same time, the widespread media coverage of current events through immersive, short, accessible, and sometimes entertaining content is helping to dramatically increase interest in this field by fueling a desire to make sense of the vast amount of information consumed daily. The popularity of popular science content such as the videos by Hugo Décrypte or Pascal Boniface attests to this. We can also speculate that young people’s direct exposure to recent geopolitical upheavals, such as the war in Ukraine, through social media, may have led many of them to feel concerned, or even to fear a direct impact on their daily lives. As Pascal Ausseur points out in an interview with Défis Humanitaires, “this return to violence also reminds us of a word we had completely forgotten: vulnerability.”

While the multidisciplinary nature of geopolitics—encompassing history, political science, economics, and sociology—is appealing because it allows students to pursue cross-disciplinary career paths, it should be noted that opportunities to study this discipline in higher education remain limited. In fact, there are currently only two master’s programs in geopolitics in France, one doctoral school, and no bachelor’s degree specifically labeled as such.

Although geopolitics has gained recognition in academic and university circles, among both faculty and students, there is still a long way to go. With this in mind, Défis Humanitaires advocates for greater integration of this discipline into the humanitarian sector.

II. Humanitarian Action Guided by Geopolitical Analysis: Toward Better Risk and Crisis Management in the Field

Founded in 2011 by Alain Boinet, the journal Défis Humanitaires was initially created to highlight the cause-and-effect relationships between geopolitics and humanitarian action. Its aim is to open a space for dialogue and reflection on the innovations needed to optimize the effectiveness of humanitarian action. Through feedback from the field, analyses of conflicts and crises, and a focus on the tools developed by civil society organizations, it seeks to demonstrate that the deployment of NGOs and their programs cannot succeed without a solid understanding of the geopolitical contexts in which they operate.

As a full-fledged player in geopolitics, the humanitarian sector exerts a reciprocal influence on the territories, populations, and crises in which it operates. In the countries of the central Sahel, where Armed terrorist groups (ATGs) are rampant and exploit the failure of under-resourced states, addressing the prevailing precariousness, water stress, and limited access to healthcare can be a way to reverse the dynamics of cooperation between some local communities and these violent actors, who until then had presented themselves as the only alternative. Conversely, global geopolitics exerts a clear influence on the humanitarian sector and can easily restrict its operations. In the United States, the local context of resurgent nationalism, prioritization of domestic interests, and a return to protectionism through the “America First” doctrine championed by Donald Trump has had a crucial impact on public funding: the end of USAID in 2025.

Forced to adapt and reinvent itself due to the economic and political pressures weighing on it, the humanitarian sector would therefore benefit from taking greater account of the geopolitical contexts and environments in which it evolves, operates, and establishes itself.

Solidarités International’s HAACT (Humanitarian Analysis for Access in Challenging ConTexts) service is a perfect example. Created in 2019 to address issues related to field access and staff safety, this unit conducts remote analyses. As described on the NGO’s website, it “provides decision-makers and operational staff with visibility into the humanitarian situation in areas that are very difficult to access” and “shares actionable, conflict-sensitive recommendations on appropriate activities and intervention methods.” In 2021, the HAACT program notably facilitated a humanitarian response in the village of Ikarfane in Niger’s Tillabéri region, on the border with Mali.

Building on the approach initiated by Défis Humanitaires, it is essential to encourage the development of similar frameworks that, by taking better account of geopolitical factors, shed light on the rivalries, strategies, and actors at play, thereby providing a clearer understanding of the risks faced by aid workers, the needs they address, and the obstacles that could hinder their activities. Accurate mapping of sensitive areas, strategic points where intervention is possible, the distribution of conflicting actors across the territory, and the narratives that drive their strategies—some of which may at times clash with the objectives of humanitarian organizations—would help optimize the effectiveness and relevance of humanitarian action.

After 50 years of advocating for the recognition of geopolitics in academic circles, it is essential to continue this substantial work to better integrate the discipline into professional practice.

 

Salomée Languille.

Intern at Défis Humanitaires and Graduate student at the French Institute of Geopolitics.

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Discover the other articles of this edition :

• Humanitarian work, hit but not sunk, get up! – Alain Boinet
• Interview with Pascal Ausseur, Director of the Mediterranean Foundation for Strategic Studies (FMES)
• Interview with Manuel Patrouillard, Executive Director of the Handicap International Federation
• Humanitarian Aid: The End of the Golden Age, Major Uncertainties… Solutions? – Pierre Brunet