The Geopolitics of Emotions

Geopolitics is not only a matter of rationality, of interests and political calculations. It does not only carry out cold analyses of precise data concerning borders, economic resources and military or financial power, it also examines a whole panoply of emotions which contribute, in their turn, to modelling the world: fear vs. hope, hope vs. humility, humility vs. irrationality and violence, etc. There are positive emotions and negative emotions, what matters is finding the right balance and rejoicing and grieving moderately. There is, then, such a thing as a geopolitics and a geo-economics of the emotions, which powerfully emerged, during the last few years, in the Arab world, for instance, in relation with the economic crisis, with the growth and decay of the great powers, etc. Some evolutions became revolutions, or they degenerated into wars, there certainly was much passion. Mapping the emotions of the world can save us many unpleasant surprises, it can help us identify the moments when history accelerates and foresee the evolution of international relations for the following years. The Arab world, for instance, had been feeling humiliated for a long time, and it was expected to overcome its fears and go out in the street. They are only united by their submission to Allah and their hatred for the Western world. At the same time, it was clear that hope was revived in Asia, because the culture of hope that they had created millennia ago was resurfacing.