Research Committee on Geopolitics (RC 41) of the International Political Science Association (IPSA, www.ipsa.org) was officially recognized as a study group in 1995 and granted research committee status in 1999.

The Research Committee aims at promoting the study of geopolitics -- a concept that today includes those immutable physical, spatial and environmental variables important both for systemic international order and, at a second or national level, a particular country’s foreign policy options. These factors include, among others: a country’s positioning regionally as well as internationally, its relative power resources (economic, political, military, cultural etc.), and its relationship to globalization. Our research program in this second decade of the 21st century includes historical, empirical and in-depth individual case studies underlining the reciprocal relationship between geopolitical influences and foreign policy behavior. So, too, is it our goal to stimulate broader conceptualization and theorizing by RC 41 members on the interaction between geography and politics.

RC 41 was chaired by Robert Lieber (1999-2006) and Aharon Klieman (2006-2021).

 

RC 41 Co-Chairs (2021-2025)

Igor Okunev, MGIMO University, iokunev@mgimo.ru

Sharyl Cross, St. Edwards University, sharylcross@stedwards.edu

 

RC 41 Sessions organized around the world (2009-2014):

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