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This course examines the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific region as the central arena of contemporary global power competition. It focuses on the interaction between political geography, regime types, historical legacies, economic statecraft, and security dynamics shaping state behaviour in the region. Students will gain an understanding of how geography, political systems, and material capabilities influence strategic decision-making, alliance formation, and economic competition among regional and extra-regional actors.
The course combines perspectives from geopolitics, security studies, international relations, and geoeconomics, with particular attention to maritime space, trade architecture, critical minerals, supply chains, and infrastructure competition. By the end of the course, students will be able to analyse the strategic behaviour of key Indo-Pacific actors and assess the region’s growing importance for global geopolitics. Last update: Wordsworth Ronan Peter, Mgr. (22.01.2026)
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Students are required to attend seminars with a maximum of two absences. In the case of health or other serious issues, students are expected to contact the lecturer in advance. The podcast project constitutes a major component of the course. Students are required to propose their podcast topic by Week 7, including a short written justification and preliminary research questions. The podcast consists of:
Interview questions must be developed in advance and submitted for approval prior to recording. The oral exam will assess students’ understanding of the course’s key concepts, regional dynamics, and analytical frameworks. Final assessment
Last update: Wordsworth Ronan Peter, Mgr. (22.01.2026)
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Week 1 reading: Understanding region formation through proximity, interests, and identity: debunking the Indo-Pacific as a viable regional demarcation Last update: Wordsworth Ronan Peter, Mgr. (20.02.2026)
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The course is taught in the form of a weekly lecture combined with seminar-style discussions based on required readings. Emphasis is placed on critical discussion, analytical thinking, and the application of geopolitical concepts to empirical cases. The use of AI tools is permitted in accordance with Faculty rules. Any use of AI must be explicitly acknowledged. Students remain fully responsible for the quality, originality, and academic integrity of their work. Last update: Wordsworth Ronan Peter, Mgr. (22.01.2026)
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The oral exam will focus on:
Last update: Wordsworth Ronan Peter, Mgr. (22.01.2026)
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The course consists of weekly 80-minute sessions combining lectures and discussion. Required readings will be assigned for each session and discussed during the weekly class. 1) Introduction Course introduction, objectives, key terminology, assessment overview 2) Political Geography and Regime Types in the Indo-Pacific Maritime and continental geography, chokepoints, island chains, regime types, strategic culture, and regime security 3) Historical Foundations I: Trade, Empire, and Early Indo-Pacific Connectivity Indian Ocean and Pacific trade networks, maritime empires, colonial economic and strategic legacies 4) Historical Foundations II: Cold War Order and Post-Colonial States Decolonisation, alliance systems, non-alignment, regime formation, strategic inheritance 5) Economic Statecraft, Technology, and Security Trade architecture, critical minerals, supply chains, infrastructure competition, economic coercion, geo-economics 6) The United States and the Indo-Pacific Order Alliance networks, military posture, economic statecraft, technology competition 7) China and the Indo-Pacific Political geography, regime security, maritime ambitions, economic and technological power 8) India and the Indo-Pacific Strategic autonomy, maritime turn, regional competition, economic and security balancing 9) Japan and Australia: Middle Power Strategies Economic security, alliance politics, defence–economics nexus, order maintenance 10) France, Europe, and External Actors in the Indo-Pacific Overseas territories, European Indo-Pacific strategies, globalisation of regional competition 11) Alliances, Minilaterals, and Regional Architecture ASEAN, bilateral alliances, minilateral groupings, institutional competition 12) The Indo-Pacific and Global Geopolitics Future scenarios, conflict risks, economic fragmentation, course synthesis and exam preparation Last update: Wordsworth Ronan Peter, Mgr. (22.01.2026)
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