Stratfor.com is an international security site, and one for which you have to pay. But here is a freebie.
The article, by George Friedman, is trying to discuss the balance of geopolitics and politics, a fascinating topic and one we have touched on a little here. Despite a somewhat inauspicious start- “Nowhere is that more important than in the Middle East, which increasingly has come to be defined in terms of the Arab-Israeli equation for reasons we don't fully understand”- the article touches base on things it does understand: how geopolitics imposes on politics. Concisely:
Geopolitics is being sucked into politics, and apparent breakthroughs are being turned into routine nonevents. The Israeli-Palestinian talks are being sucked into Palestinian politics. The Syrian-Israeli talks are being sucked into Lebanese politics and the complexities of American regional politics. The entire package of opportunities is being sucked into internal Israeli politics.
I would like to see more on how local political concerns influence international ones, but overall it is a good article and worth the read.
