GEOPOLITICAL PROBLEMS THAT THE WORLD FACES TODAY

GEOPOLITICAL PROBLEMS THAT THE WORLD FACES TODAY

There are many major geopolitical problems at the current situation that the world is facing and which can cause severe damage if not solved. One of these biggest problems is that we are running out of natural resources, which are essential for our day to day use, such as oil and water. First, our daily life has become so dependant on the use of oil, like in cars, planes, gadgets, machines in factories, ships to import and export things, apart of being used as transport too. Then there is the lack of water. Nowadays, almost everything works on electricity: offices, factories, homes, machines, computers… and for electricity we need lots and lots of water, and by making it, we waste 50% of the energy, plus, water is essential for our living too. Drinking, cleaning, washing…

Another one is war. The use of violent technology is not just limited to the weaker ones but is also very effectively used by major powers, (as mentioned in Doc.1 “…technologies with violent potential mean that very small groups of people can challenge powerful established states…”). Today in the geopolitical world we see stronger nations such as the U.S waging wars in poorer countries under the name of war on terror but coincidentally those countries either seem to be rich in natural resources such as oil or represent an important geographical position. Whether the war is against terrorism trying to hunt terrorists in Afghanistan or waging a full fledge war on Iraq to bring down just one man, millions of innocent people have been killed along the way to protect its own national security. The Israel- Palestine issue is another major geopolitical problem which has resulted in several wars. The most recent one in which 1400 Palestinians was killed. As a result we see many non-state organizations trying to fight the more powerful whether by launching missiles in Israel or defending their country from the U.S invasion in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Global warming has become another major issue as the forests are destroyed, provoking the spread of more and more deserts, resulting to less rain and so less water and higher climates. It can also provoke hurricanes, floods, melting of ice and mass migration.

Pollution caused by the use of oil, burning of fuels is affecting the planet a lot in terms of the atmosphere.

Nuclear energy is a drastic problem. If used in wars, it releases radio active waves which can cause cancer, health problems and has a severe impact on the people’s genetics which cause handicapped children to be born for generations.

Finally, over population. In countries such as China, India, or the continent of Africa, over population results in having less jobs, low salary, not good health care, bad education level and not enough schools for children. Because of fewer jobs there will be poverty, which will result in increasing the infant mortality rate and the make the average rate of life expectancy low. The HDI of such countries is very low.

Of course, we can help decrease the problems by making some sacrifices, even if they seem too much to ask for, but in the long run, will help us effectively.