Geopolitics is simply the study of geographical position in relation to politics both internally and internationally. Geopolitical threats are, therefore, factors that can hinder the cordial livelihood of communities in the same geographic area and with different political agendas. This paper will focus on the various levels of threats (tickers, slow tickers and talkers) in the nations selected for discussion. It will seek to justify their levels of threats according to their past and present political issues.
Tickers
The first ticker country to consider is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). From the very beginning, North Korea started the Korean war in 1950 when they crossed over to the Republic of Korea (South Korea). At the end of the Korean war in 1953, around five million soldiers and civilians had lost their lives. After that war, North Korea did not and have not toned down their acts of war. The country has invested heavily in its military with a record of 1.1 million soldiers for a country with a population of 24.9 million people. The country has also allocated almost 33.33% of its annual budget to the military. The country has in the recent years expanded its nuclear weapons arsenal. North Korea has even gone to the extent of constitutionally declaring itself as a nuclear-armed state. According to (Klingner, 2014) North Korea has full nuclear strike capability. In December 2014, the United States National Defense Commission issued a warning that North Korea had the ability to carry ultra-harsh war both targeting the mainland and cyber war. The country has also deployed close to seventy percent of its ground military within 90 miles of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. In recent years(2010), a ship was sunk after a massive explosion occurred in the Yellow Sea in South Korea's water. Around 46 sailors died. South Korea blamed the attack to North Korea. North Korea has appeared to get into peace talks but has refused to stop its nuclear program which has been among the key requirements for any peace deal to be signed. That said, it proves that North Korea is truly a ticker.
The second ticker is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The two countries in the Middle East have been fighting since the twentieth century and has been going on ever since. Among the many areas causing war are control of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements and the Palestinian right of return. The war, also, has been fostered by the disparities in religion, control of security issues and control of the rich historical and cultural sites in the various areas (Caplain, 2010). One of the most important wars to consider was the 1947-1949 war. The war was in Israel's favor where Israel took control of close to 80% of the Palestine territory. Golda Meir, Israel's Prime Minister, was once quoted saying that there was no such thing as Palestinians (Shenker, 1993). In the current war, the main issues are the control over Gaza and the continuous occupation of Palestinian lands by the Israelis forces. Despite the many treaties and peace deals signed, there seems to be no solution to the conflict between the two nations making them tickers.
Slow Tickers.
The first slow ticker to consider is Taiwan, which is still under the Republic of China. It is regarded a sovereign state in East Asia. The Taiwan-China conflict commonly referred to as cross-strait relations began in 1949 during the Chinese civil war. The end of the battle saw the formation of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China which houses Taiwan. The conflict between these two different nations is not physical, but the tension between them is palpable (Brooker, 2015). The calmness between the two countries does not solve the underlying issues such as the sovereignty of Taiwan or the inclusion of Taiwan to China. There is also the issue of Taiwan ever owning nuclear weapons, which they intend to own, that can spark an invasion by China. That said, it puts Taiwan as slow ticker since there is tension but there is no actual threat.
Another slow ticker is Japan, an island country in East Asia. The country has had many conflicts including the Japan-Korean conflict and the Japan-China conflict. Japan colonized Korea. Despite the end of colonialism in 1945, Japan has continued to poke holes to the Koreans. Several Japanese leaders have hurled insults to the Koreans something that has not settled well among the Koreans something that would one day be the leading cause of war between Japan and Korea. The geopolitical threats between Japan and China have been ongoing since time immemorial. The first Sino-Japanese war was fought for the control of Korea and followed by the second Sino-Japanese war which was part of World War II. According to (Jianyue, 2013) Japan claims to have fired warning shots at Chinese ships something that sparks a war between the two nations. That said, the two countries have not yet gone to actual war making both of them slow tickers.
Talkers
Philippine is considered to be one of the most peaceful nations something that has seen its economy grow considerably. Philippine in the recent years has only sent military help and have been involved directly in any war. The Philippine government last sent medics and engineers to the Iraq war of 2003-2004 where they withdrew them after the kidnapping of a Filipino, truck driver. Internally, Filipinos have conducted most of their internal affairs in a civilized way. According to (Clifford, 2016) the Filipinos carried out peaceful ousting of a dictatorial regime. With those clear facts, it is beyond any reasonable doubt that Philippine is a peaceful nation and qualifies to be a talker.
Qatar can be considered as among the most friendly countries in the unstable Middle East (Gray, 2013). The country has concentrated on its minerals and wealth creation. The state has distanced itself from the various wars in the Middle East making it one of the investment hubs in its geographical location. Qatar is also one of the nations that hosts the Diamond and is expected to host the FIFA World in 2022. This shows that the world has so much confidence in Qatar to let it host such world class events. Such confidence is only attained when a nation is an absolute talker. Qatar, therefore, stands out as a talker.
In a nutshell, the classification of nations has been carried out time immemorial. It is done to help analyze different geopolitical threats something that this paper has well covered.
References.
Brooker S.P, 2015, "Who Would Win In A China-Taiwan Conflict?," Value Walk, October 2015, viewed 30 April, 2016.
http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/10/china-vs-taiwan-conflict-1/
Caplain N. 2010, " The Israel-Palestine Conflict: Contested Histories", Wiley-BlackWell, Malden
Clifford T., 2016, "The People Power Revolution: 30 Years After the Overthrow of Marcos." Counter Punch, February 2016, viewed 30 April 2016
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/02/24/the-people-power-revolution-30-years-after-the-overthrow-of-marcos/
Gray M, 2013, "Qatar: Politics and the Challenges of Development" Lynne Rienner Publishers, Boulder
Jianyue G, 2013 "Japan and China On The Verge Of War", Antiwar literrary and philosophical selections, January 2013, viewed 30 April 2016
https://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/japan-and-china-on-the-verge-of-war/
Klingner B., 2014, "Allies Should Confront Imminent North Korean Nuclear Threat", Foundation Backgrounder, June 2014, viewed 30 April, 2016.
http://solutions.heritage.org/geopolitics-flash-points/north-korea/
Shenker I, 1993, "What Golda Meir Said About Palestinians", New York Times, 12 October, viewed 30 April 2016.
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/12/opinion/l-what-golda-meir-said-about-palestinians-766493.html
