Is it possible for geopolitics, a science that studies macroscopically the potential of human relationships to exempt its categorical qualities, to set its territory apart from uncertainty?

Before proceeding answering the above question, one must ask himself: Can us humans, imperfect, ever-evolving and naturally uncertain beings, cease to be influenced by all the variable factors that surround our existence? Respectively, the politics cannot stay away from the effects of constantly changing geographical factors. Who would dare talk about certainty, when even a butterfly’s winging can cause natural disasters, when even 30 years after the end of the Cold War the risk of another one is present? This year marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of communism. The period that followed the end of Cold War seemed promising. 30 years later, is the world a safer place to live? Is world peace a reality for the planet? Is it beneficial, to approach current geopolitics hesitantly and fearfully? Are polarities what we need to worry about – or are unprecedented common threats such as climate change, terrorism, organized crime and cyber security winning the race of fear? Do the above require governmental measures or does responsibility to contribute to a possible solution lay on the individual as well?

Visit TEDxPatras at http://www.tedxpatras.com/. Othon Anastasakis is the Director of South East European Studies at Oxford (SEESOX); Senior Research Fellow at St Antony’s College; former Director of the European Studies Centre, St Antony’s College, Oxford; associate at the Department of Politics and International Relations. He teaches “South East European politics and European integration” and “EU politics” in Oxford. He is the Principal Investigator of the Greek Diaspora Project at SEESOX. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. He is the Region Head of Europe in Oxford Analytica. He received his BA in Economics from the University of Athens, his MA in Comparative Politics and International Relations from Columbia University, New York and his PhD in Comparative Government from the London School of Economics. His most recent books include Balkan legacies of the Great War: The past is never dead (with David Madden and Elizabeth Roberts, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016); Defining a new reform agenda; Paths to sustainable convergence in South East Europe (with Peter Sanfey and Max Watson, SEESOX 2013); Reforming Greece: Sisyphean Task or Herculean Challenge? (with Dorian Singh, SEESOX 2012); In the Shadow of Europe: Greeks and Turks in the era of post-nationalism (with Kalypso Nicolaidis and Kerem Oktem, Brill, 2009); Greece in the Balkans: Memory, conflict and exchange (with Dimitar Bechev and Nicholas Vrousalis, Cambridge Scholars Press, 2009). His current research interests include: Populism, illiberalism and Euroscepticism; Greek Diaspora; South East Europe and geopolitical challenges; Greek and Turkish foreign policies; Russia and the Balkans; Western Balkan party politics. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx