Europe
Just 3600 people live on these islands today, but in the 1980s they were the site of a war that killed 255 British military members and 649 Argentine troops and fundamentally changed modern naval doctrine. The Falkland Islands are famous for this namesake war, but you’re probably not aware of the rest of their dynamics. So how do the Falklands influence geopolitics?
Read MoreTucked inside Italy is a tiny country of about 34000 people that claims to be the oldest republic on Earth. San Marino has two heads of state and more cars than people, but it has outlived the Roman Empire’s successors, the Papal States, Napoleon, Mussolini, and every modern European war, all without an army of its own. So how has the world’s oldest republic survived over 1700 years, and what does its survival depend on today?
Read MoreVatican City is the smallest country in the world, with just half a square kilometer of land and under a thousand residents, and it’s the only country in the world that is fully surrounded by another country’s capital. Consequently, Vatican City and Italy share a really complex and fascinating history together, particularly when it comes to the way they engage with the rest of the world. So how do the Vatican and Italy coexist when it comes to geopolitics?
Read MoreThe Basque Country of Spain is best known for being incredibly distinct from the rest of the country. Its language is the only living language in its family, its culture is very different, and its people are genetically descended from those who lived on the Iberian Peninsula during the Iron Age, despite having intermingled with other groups for thousands of years. The natural question is how does a region that’s so different from the rest of its own country play into Spain’s broader geopolitical dynamics?
Read MoreDid you know that for over 500 years, Spain has technically been an African country? Obviously most of Spain is in Europe, but just like French Guiana makes France a South American country, the territories of Ceuta and Melilla in north Africa give Spain a very different geopolitical footprint than any other state in Europe, and they are a key player in Spain’s heated dynamic with Morocco. So how exactly do Ceuta and Melilla play into geopolitics?
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