In the business world, Donald Trump was a real estate agent.
He may become one of them if he becomes president.
His anticipated foreign policy for a second term has taken some unexpected turns, with recent talk of annexing Canada, purchasing Greenland and retaking the Panama Canal.
President Trump is speaking like a neo-imperialist, at least in our hemisphere, rather than the neo-isolationist he is often accused of.
Even if President Trump isn't doing any of these things (he's mostly just joking about the Great White North), his musings remind us of the vital importance of geography and territorial control. Let me do it.
The first thing you need to do to understand the world, and to a large extent understand the actions of nations, is to look at a map.
20th century strategist Nicholas Spykman said, “Geography is the most fundamental element in a nation's foreign policy because it is the most permanent.”
“Ministers come and go, even dictators die, but mountains stand unmoved.”
In the words of New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, the world has never been “flat” has become a catchphrase for complacent globalism.
No, the world is full of mountains and grasslands. river and coastline. Temperate, tropical, arid regions.
Some countries are geographically secure, while others are vulnerable. Some people are naturally rich, while others are resource hungry.
For example, the first thing you need to know about England is that it is an island, or, as Shakespeare said, “this precious stone in a sea of silver.”
This fundamental and unavoidable fact decisively shaped Britain's strategic direction and its national identity.
That's why the country became a naval power focused on global trade, and why faraway places were considered relatively close thanks to waves.
The English Channel has served as an essential buffer between us and continental Europe.
There is a reason why Nazi Germany invaded Poland, France, the Soviet Union, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Greece, Yugoslavia, and Italy, but it also invaded Britain.
Regarding Germany, Robert Kaplan writes in his enlightening book The Revenge of Geography that “Germany faces both east and west, has no mountain ranges to protect it, and has changed from militarism to early pacifism.'' to bring about and deal with the medical conditions up to,'' he wrote. It's a dangerous place. ”
The United States is uniquely endowed with its geography.
The fact that we are both a continental nation and an island nation, combining the vast resources that come with the former with the protection from hostile powers in Europe and Asia that comes with the latter, is of immense importance.
Our country has, among other things, rich natural resources, an extensive coastline, extensive river systems, and a disproportionate share of the world's best soils.
Our journey from sea to shining sea was no accident.
Our ancestors supported continental expansion as a matter of geopolitics, whether it was the Louisiana Purchase or the Mexican-American War.
They believed it would make us stronger and safer. Their methods weren't necessarily admirable, but they were right.
Territorial control is important, sometimes even for relatively small territories.
Consider Hawaii.
The archipelago's location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, across major sea lanes, is very significant.
Other powers surrounded the island in the 19th century, but the great naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan encouraged us to capture it.
We all know about Pearl Harbor's role in World War II, but as the “Crossroads of the Pacific,” Hawaii remains a major economic and military asset.
As for Greenland, the idea of buying Greenland from Denmark is no more ridiculous than other land purchases we have made in the past, including the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1917. . . From Denmark.
Greenland has attracted the attention of esteemed American politicians such as Harry Truman and William Seward.
Given the Arctic's strategic location and rich mineral deposits, this is an attractive proposition.
Geography isn't everything, but there is often no substitute for cold, hard real estate when it comes to geopolitics.
Twitter: @RichLowry
