The Emergence of the Post-WWII Rules-Based Order
After the Soviet collapse in 1991, political scientist Francis Fukuyama famously argued in The End of History that liberal democracy’s triumph marked the conclusion of ideological struggles between great powers. This led some to believe that traditional geopolitical competition had faded.
The Foundations of Classical Geopolitics
Geopolitics refers to the relationship between political power and geographic space, particularly in relation to territorial control, strategic influence, and resource access. Classical geopolitics were largely centered on territorial dominance, exemplified by Halford Mackinder’s 1919 “Heartland Theory,” which posited that controlling resource-rich Central Asia would yield global supremacy. The basic premise of geopolitics is that whoever controls the most strategic territory holds global power. This implies that territorial conquest has historically been a key path to great power status.
This view suggested that great power status was inherently tied to territorial conquest. However, the post-WWII rules-based international order supposedly “ended” geopolitics by emphasizing respect for state sovereignty—to the extent that territorial conquest was no longer seen as a viable option. The dominance of the US as a global hegemon reinforced the belief that liberal internationalism had supplanted traditional geopolitics. In addition, faith in economic interdependence –globalization and free trade– suggested that market-disrupting wars over territory were obsolete.
The Shift from Conquest to Influence
Classical geopolitics’ emphasis on territorial conquest was incompatible with the post-WWII order, which made direct annexation both costly and internationally condemned. Conquest’s disruptive potential made it costly in a globalized world, where international trade intrinsically linked economic stability with a stable international status quo. During the Cold War and after the fall of the Soviet Union, the U.S. used its military and financial sway to enforce political and economic sanctions on conquest through international organizations. Instead of using direct force, states pursued geopolitical influence through election manipulation, economic pressure, and proxy conflicts—covert methods that allowed them to circumvent international norms while still competing for power. Rather than expanding borders through invasion, great powers sought to install allied governments in strategic regions. The Cold War saw the U.S. and the USSR intervening in one out of every nine national elections in places such as Venezuela, Italy and Lebanon by using funding, propaganda, and covert operations to install favorable governments. Election manipulation thus became a modern form of geopolitical dominance—one that avoided the constraints of a rules-based world order, both diplomatic and military, while achieving the same strategic objectives.
The 21st century has seen a continuation of these strategies. A 2020 U.S. Senate report confirmed that Trump campaign aides had shared campaign internal polling data with Russian operatives, culminating in Russia-led cyberattacks on Democratic officials. In 2024, Canada’s Foreign Interference Commission found that China interfered in both the 2019 and 2021 elections through disinformation campaigns and support for preferred candidates
The Costs and Benefits of Covert Influence
Traditional conquest requires direct administration, which is costly, resource intensive, and heavily sanctioned. In contrast, covertly influencing a government avoids major economic penalties. Militarily, a state can install a friendly government that aligns with its military strategy, allowing for basing rights, arms deals, and proxy wars. Election interference provides geopolitical leverage without the immediate costs of war, but its influence is inherently unstable—governments can be overthrown, public sentiment can shift, and strategic control can erode over time. China’s foreign interference in Canada failed to change political outcomes, according to Canada’s Foreign Interference Commission, and renewed public interest in strong election security. Before invading in 2022, Russia attempted to secure control over Ukraine through covert political influence. While covert influence allows states to shape foreign governments without the costs of war, its instability—susceptible to political shifts, public backlash, and exposure—has made it an unreliable long-term strategy. As a result, great powers are increasingly turning back to direct territorial control to secure lasting strategic advantages.
The Resurgence of Territorial Conquest
Despite the belief that globalization made wars over territory obsolete, recent events signal the resurgence of traditional territorial ambitions. Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, China’s increasingly assertive claims in the South China Sea, and U.S. President Donald Trump’s public interest in purchasing Greenland underscore the enduring centrality of territorial control to great power competition.The ongoing war in Ukraine starkly challenges the assumption that territorial annexation has become obsolete in the post-WWII era. China’s militarization of artificial islands and its claims over Taiwan further challenge international norms of state sovereignty. Meanwhile, Trump’s repeated assertions of U.S. claims over Greenland frame it as an economic opportunity tied to its vast resources.
The Evolving Nature of Geopolitical Competition
The post-WWII international order marked a shift away from territorial conquest, emphasizing political and economic liberalism within a rules-based framework. Yet, through indirect methods such as election interference and influence options, global powers have continued to compete for strategic dominance without the overt risks of territorial annexation. These forms of influence, however, remain unstable because they often fuel internal political divides and erode long-term control. The resurgence of territorial ambitions–seen in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea–challenges the notion that territorial acquisition has lost its relevance in the modern geopolitical landscape. Global powers now employ a dual strategy: leveraging economic and political influence through covert operations while, when feasible, directly asserting territorial control. Far from a relic of the past, geopolitics never disappeared; it merely adapted to new constraints, and now it is reverting to older forms in response to shifting power dynamics.
Edited by Malin Braendeland
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and they do not reflect the position of the McGill Journal of Political Science or the Political Science Students’ Association.
Image by author (27/02/25) using Equirectangular projection world map without borders published by Ebrahim to wikimedia commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)