Shatter belt (geopolitics)

Shatter belt, shatter zone^[1] or crush zone^[2] is a concept in geopolitics referring to strategically-positioned and -oriented regions on a political map that are deeply internally divided and encompassed in the competition between the great powers in geostrategic areas and spheres.^[3]

The term was first applied in geopolitics in 1961 by Gordon East, an American scholar from Bloomington.^[4] It was borrowed from geology, in which a shatter belt refers to a fault line, i.e. "belt of broken rock, produced by horizontal movement in a more or less vertical plane".^[1]

Definitions

The conceptual foundation of the shatter belt in geopolitics stems from the analytical approach of examining the world map of states and empires in terms of their geopolitical struggles and military and political relations. Shatter belts are defined as strategically positioned areas which are characterized by a greater inclination towards internal division, which gives rise to a high number of conflicts, and at the same time are strategically important for the great powers. The fragility of such regions is the result of long-standing clashes with a great deal of disruptive influence, light chaos, and, in general, a propensity for devastating conflicts in these regions.^[4] Hence the term "shatter belt" generally refers to a geographical region that is endangered by local conflicts within the states or between countries in the region, as well as the involvement of opposing great powers outside the region.^[5] Regions marked as a shatter belt are often blamed for interstate war and conflict, especially in relation to major power conflicts. Regarding their engagement and close connection with major and global conflicts of power, shatter belts are at the same time the main crisis hot spots or hard-to-reach areas in world politics and international relations.^[6] Unlike most geopolitical regions that have a different degree of cohesion, the regions considered shatter belts are global destabilizers.^[3]

The Balkans,^[7] Eastern Europe,^[2][4] Caucasus,^[8] Roof of the World and the Middle East^[9] have been associated with this concept.

See also

• Arc of Instability
• Buffer zone
• Political fragmentation
• Rimland
• Balkanization

References

1. Raffield, B. (2021). "Broken Worlds: Towards an Archaeology of the Shatter Zone". Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory. 28 (3): 871–910. doi:10.1007/s10816-021-09520-y. S2CID 234870497.
2. O'loughlin, J. (1999). "Ordering the 'crush zone': Geopolitical games in post-cold war eastern Europe". Geopolitics. 4 (1): 34–56. doi:10.1080/14650049908407636.
3. Cohen, Saul (2003). Geopolitics of the World System. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 43. ISBN 978-0847699070.
4. Gosar, Anton (2000). "The Shatter Belt and the European Core – A Geopolitical Discussion on the Untypical Case of Slovenia". GeoJournal – Spatially Integrated Social Sciences and Humanities. October vol. 52, 2 (2): 107–117. doi:10.1023/A:1013306804212. S2CID 140390836.
5. Hensel, Paul R.; Diehl, Paul F. (January 1994). "Testing empirical propositions about shatterbelts, 1945–76". Political Geography. 13, 1: 33–52. doi:10.1016/0962-6298(94)90009-4.
6. Шаревски, Марио (2017). "Геополитичката положба на Македонија како ранлива точка на балканскиот појас на кршливост во услови на бегалската криза". Геополитичката и геостратегиската положба на Република Македонија во услови на мигрантската и бегалска криза. Македонска академија на науките и уметностите: 159.
7. Humanist (2 October 2015). "Dictionary of Geography: Shatterbelt". Dictionary of Geography. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
8. Nation, R. C. (2015). "Russia and the Caucasus". Connections. 14 (2): 1–12. doi:10.11610/Connections.14.2.01. JSTOR 26326394.
9. Cohen, S. B. (1992). "Middle East geopolitical transformation: The disappearance of a shatterbelt". Journal of Geography. 91 (1): 2–10. doi:10.1080/00221349208979330.