Geopolitical Thinkers

Geopolitical Schools Ranked by Alignment with Open Source Ecology (Top 50)

Rank (OSE Alignment)	School	Core Idea	Top Thinkers (3)	Video 1	Video 2
1	Distributed Civilization Systems	Civilization built through open collaboration networks	Elinor Ostrom; Buckminster Fuller; Marcin Jakubowski	Ostrom – Governing the Commons lecture	Fuller – World Game / Design Science lecture
2	Infrastructure Geopolitics	Infrastructure networks determine global power	Parag Khanna; Deborah Cowen; Bent Flyvbjerg	Khanna – Connectography talk	Khanna – Mapping Geopolitical Megatrends podcast
3	Network Civilization	Power flows through networks instead of states	Manuel Castells; Albert-László Barabási; Parag Khanna	Castells – Network Society lecture	Barabási – Network science talk
4	Commons Governance	Shared resources governed collectively	Elinor Ostrom; David Bollier; Michel Bauwens	Ostrom – Nobel lecture	Bauwens – P2P civilization talk
5	Regenerative Civilization	Economy aligned with ecosystem regeneration	John Fullerton; Kate Raworth; Donella Meadows	Raworth – Doughnut economics talk	Fullerton – Regenerative economy talk
6	Technological Abundance	Technology reduces scarcity	Buckminster Fuller; Peter Diamandis; Ray Kurzweil	Fuller – Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth	Diamandis – Abundance talk
7	Open Technology Civilization	Open hardware accelerates innovation	Eric von Hippel; Marcin Jakubowski; Neil Gershenfeld	Gershenfeld – How to Make Almost Anything	von Hippel – Democratizing Innovation talk
8	Distributed Manufacturing	Local digital fabrication networks	Neil Gershenfeld; Hod Lipson; Adrian Bowyer	Gershenfeld – Fab Labs lecture	Bowyer – RepRap project talk
9	Ecological Economics	Economy embedded within ecosystems	Herman Daly; Kate Raworth; Tim Jackson	Daly – Steady state economy lecture	Raworth – Doughnut economics keynote
10	Solar Civilization	Renewable energy reshapes geopolitics	Vaclav Smil; Amory Lovins; Tony Seba	Smil – Energy transitions lecture	Seba – Clean disruption talk
11	Bioregional Geopolitics	Politics aligned with ecosystems	Kirkpatrick Sale; Gary Snyder; Peter Berg	Sale – Bioregionalism talk	Snyder – Ecology and civilization lecture
12	Circular Economy	Closed-loop material flows	Walter Stahel; Ellen MacArthur; Ken Webster	MacArthur – Circular economy talk	Stahel – Performance economy lecture
13	Human Flourishing Theory	Geopolitics focused on human wellbeing	Amartya Sen; Martha Nussbaum; Jeffrey Sachs	Sen – Development as freedom talk	Sachs – Sustainable development lecture
14	Resilience Geopolitics	Distributed systems resist shocks	Nassim Taleb; Brian Walker; Fikret Berkes	Taleb – Antifragile lecture	Walker – Resilience thinking talk
15	Supply Chain Geopolitics	Logistics networks determine power	Deborah Cowen; Marc Levinson; Peter Zeihan	Cowen – Logistics revolution talk	Zeihan – Global supply chain lecture
16	Urban Network Geopolitics	Cities rival states	Saskia Sassen; Richard Florida; Edward Glaeser	Sassen – Global cities lecture	Florida – Rise of the creative class talk
17	Technological Geopolitics	Industrial innovation shapes power	Vaclav Smil; Carlota Perez; Mariana Mazzucato	Perez – Tech revolutions lecture	Mazzucato – Entrepreneurial state talk
18	Energy Systems Geopolitics	Energy systems determine alliances	Daniel Yergin; Vaclav Smil; Fatih Birol	Yergin – Energy geopolitics talk	Birol – Energy transition keynote
19	Geoeconomics	Economic leverage replaces war	Edward Luttwak; Ian Bremmer; Robert Blackwill	Bremmer – G-Zero world talk	Luttwak – Geoeconomics lecture
20	Institutional Liberalism	Institutions enable cooperation	Joseph Nye; Robert Keohane; Anne-Marie Slaughter	Nye – Soft power lecture	Slaughter – Networked governance talk
21	Soft Power Geopolitics	Cultural attraction shapes influence	Joseph Nye; Fareed Zakaria; Ian Bremmer	Nye – Future of power talk	Zakaria – Global order lecture
22	Complex Systems Geopolitics	Global systems behave non-linearly	Donella Meadows; Yaneer Bar-Yam; Geoffrey West	Meadows – Systems thinking lecture	West – Scaling laws talk
23	Demographic Geopolitics	Population structures shape power	Peter Zeihan; Nicholas Eberstadt; Jack Goldstone	Zeihan – Demography lecture	Eberstadt – Population collapse talk
24	Geographic Determinism	Geography shapes strategic options	Halford Mackinder; Nicholas Spykman; Robert Kaplan	Kaplan – Geopolitics in the 21st century	Kaplan – Revenge of geography talk
25	Sea Power School	Naval dominance shapes history	Alfred Thayer Mahan; Nicholas Lambert; James Holmes	Holmes – Sea power lecture	Mahan theory overview lecture
26	Realism	States pursue survival and power	Hans Morgenthau; John Mearsheimer; Stephen Walt	Mearsheimer – Great power politics lecture	Walt – Realism lecture
27	Neorealism	System structure shapes state behavior	Kenneth Waltz; John Mearsheimer; Robert Jervis	Mearsheimer – U.S. grand strategy talk	Jervis – Security dilemma lecture
28	Balance of Power	Alliance systems prevent dominance	Henry Kissinger; Kenneth Waltz; Hedley Bull	Kissinger – World order talk	Bull – International society lecture
29	Civilizational Geopolitics	Civilizations shape conflicts	Samuel Huntington; Arnold Toynbee; Oswald Spengler	Huntington – Clash of civilizations talk	Toynbee – History lecture
30	World Systems Theory	Core-periphery global economy	Immanuel Wallerstein; Giovanni Arrighi; Samir Amin	Wallerstein – World system lecture	Arrighi – Global capitalism talk
31	Dependency Theory	Periphery exploited by core	Andre Gunder Frank; Samir Amin; Raul Prebisch	Amin – Dependency lecture	Frank – Development critique talk
32	Constructivism	Ideas and norms shape global politics	Alexander Wendt; Peter Katzenstein; Martha Finnemore	Wendt – Constructivism lecture	Finnemore – Norms in international politics
33	Critical Geopolitics	Narratives shape geopolitical perception	Gearóid Ó Tuathail; Simon Dalby; Klaus Dodds	Ó Tuathail – Critical geopolitics lecture	Dodds – Geopolitics and media talk
34	Hegemonic Stability	A dominant power stabilizes order	Robert Gilpin; Charles Kindleberger; G. John Ikenberry	Ikenberry – Liberal order talk	Gilpin – Power and change lecture
35	Multipolarity Theory	Multiple great powers balance system	Henry Kissinger; Richard Haass; Charles Kupchan	Haass – Multipolar world lecture	Kupchan – Post-American world talk
36	Energy Transition Geopolitics	Renewable transition reshapes alliances	Fatih Birol; Daniel Yergin; Vaclav Smil	Birol – Energy future keynote	Yergin – New map talk
37	Climate Security	Climate drives geopolitical instability	Johan Rockström; Michael Mann; Katharine Hayhoe	Rockström – Planetary boundaries talk	Mann – Climate geopolitics lecture
38	Water Geopolitics	Water scarcity drives conflict	Aaron Wolf; Peter Gleick; Brahma Chellaney	Gleick – Water security talk	Wolf – Water conflict lecture
39	Food Security Geopolitics	Food systems shape political stability	Vaclav Smil; Lester Brown; Tim Lang	Smil – Food systems lecture	Brown – Food crisis talk
40	Migration Geopolitics	Population movement reshapes politics	Hein de Haas; Saskia Sassen; Douglas Massey	de Haas – Migration myths lecture	Sassen – Migration talk
41	Cyber Geopolitics	Digital infrastructure shapes power	Joseph Nye; Bruce Schneier; P.W. Singer	Schneier – Cybersecurity talk	Singer – Cyber warfare lecture
42	Platform Geopolitics	Technology platforms rival states	Nick Srnicek; Shoshana Zuboff; Yanis Varoufakis	Zuboff – Surveillance capitalism talk	Varoufakis – Techno-feudalism lecture
43	AI Geopolitics	AI capability determines global power	Nick Bostrom; Demis Hassabis; Yoshua Bengio	Bostrom – Superintelligence talk	Bengio – AI governance lecture
44	Space Geopolitics	Orbital infrastructure becomes strategic	Everett Dolman; Peter Garretson; Joan Johnson-Freese	Dolman – Astropolitics lecture	Garretson – Space power talk
45	Corporate Geopolitics	Multinationals rival states	Susan Strange; Ian Bremmer; Parag Khanna	Strange – Structural power lecture	Bremmer – Global political risk talk
46	Techno-Feudalism	Platforms replace traditional capitalism	Yanis Varoufakis; Shoshana Zuboff; Nick Srnicek	Varoufakis – Techno-feudalism talk	Zuboff – Surveillance capitalism lecture
47	Post-National Governance	Nation states weaken over time	Ulrich Beck; Jürgen Habermas; David Held	Habermas – Postnational constellation talk	Held – Global governance lecture
48	Cosmopolitan Globalism	Humanity transcends nation states	Kwame Anthony Appiah; Martha Nussbaum; Ulrich Beck	Appiah – Cosmopolitanism lecture	Nussbaum – Global justice talk
49	Planetary Civilization	Human civilization becomes planetary	Carl Sagan; Freeman Dyson; Kim Stanley Robinson	Sagan – Pale blue dot lecture	Robinson – Future of civilization talk
50	Collapse Theory	Civilizations collapse from complexity	Joseph Tainter; Jared Diamond; Peter Turchin	Tainter – Collapse lecture	Diamond – Collapse talk

Geopolitical Thinker Map Relative to Open Source Ecology

Alignment Level	Category	Thinkers	Core Assumption About Civilization	Compatibility with OSE
Very High	Commons & Collaborative Civilization	Elinor Ostrom; Buckminster Fuller; Michel Bauwens; David Bollier	Civilization can organize through cooperative governance of shared systems	Extremely aligned – same philosophical foundation
Very High	Open Technology / Distributed Production	Neil Gershenfeld; Eric von Hippel; Adrian Bowyer	Innovation emerges from open collaborative engineering ecosystems	Directly aligned with OSE open hardware model
High	Ecological Civilization	Herman Daly; Kate Raworth; Donella Meadows	Economy must operate within planetary ecological boundaries	Strong alignment with regenerative infrastructure goals
High	Infrastructure Civilization	Parag Khanna; Bent Flyvbjerg; Deborah Cowen	Infrastructure networks shape global development	Aligned with OSE infrastructure-first civilization strategy
High	Technological Abundance	Buckminster Fuller; Peter Diamandis; Ray Kurzweil	Technology can eliminate material scarcity	Compatible with OSE post-scarcity industrial systems
Moderate	Complex Systems & Resilience	Nassim Taleb; Geoffrey West; Yaneer Bar-Yam	Societies behave as complex adaptive systems	Useful analytical framework for distributed civilization
Moderate	Institutional Liberalism	Joseph Nye; Robert Keohane; Anne-Marie Slaughter	Institutions and cooperation reduce conflict	Partial alignment but still state-centric
Moderate	Geoeconomics	Edward Luttwak; Ian Bremmer; Robert Blackwill	Economic leverage drives geopolitical power	Compatible analytically but assumes competitive states
Moderate	Technological Geopolitics	Vaclav Smil; Mariana Mazzucato; Carlota Perez	Industrial and technological capacity shapes global order	Compatible with OSE industrial development goals
Neutral	Geographic Determinism	Halford Mackinder; Nicholas Spykman; Robert Kaplan	Geography strongly constrains political power	Descriptive but not aligned with cooperative paradigm
Neutral	Demographic Geopolitics	Peter Zeihan; Nicholas Eberstadt; Jack Goldstone	Population structure drives geopolitical change	Informational but not philosophical alignment
Neutral	World-Systems Theory	Immanuel Wallerstein; Giovanni Arrighi; Samir Amin	Global capitalist hierarchy structures world economy	Critical analysis but not solution-oriented
Low	Realism	Hans Morgenthau; John Mearsheimer; Stephen Walt	States pursue power and survival in anarchic world	Conflicts with OSE cooperative assumptions
Low	Balance of Power	Henry Kissinger; Hedley Bull; Kenneth Waltz	Global stability arises from competing great powers	Assumes permanent geopolitical competition
Low	Civilizational Conflict	Samuel Huntington; Bernard Lewis; Niall Ferguson	Civilizations inevitably clash	Opposite of collaborative civilization premise
Very Low	Imperial Geopolitics	Karl Haushofer; Alfred Thayer Mahan; Halford Mackinder	Power derives from territorial and military expansion	Fundamentally incompatible with open civilization
Very Low	Authoritarian Strategic Thought	Alexander Dugin; Carl Schmitt; Leo Strauss (strategic interpretations)	Civilization organized through centralized power	Opposes decentralized collaborative governance

Peter Zeihan

Peter Zeihan is raw and humble, much wrong on feasibility of flexible fabrication and distributed enterprise. Centralist. But definitely idealistic? General critique of globalists is that they are formed by existing conditions, and therefore Divergent Thinking is not likely part of their game.

Other thinkers acc to Gemini:

Peter Zeihan is known for his distinctive approach to geopolitics, which heavily emphasizes demographics, geography, and resource availability. When looking for similar thinkers, it's helpful to consider those who share aspects of his analytical style. Here are some individuals and categories of thinkers who have similarities:

Individuals:

George Friedman: Zeihan worked for Friedman at Stratfor, a geopolitical intelligence firm. Friedman also focuses on long-term geopolitical trends and makes forecasts based on geographical and historical factors. Ian Bremmer: Bremmer, the president of Eurasia Group, analyzes political risk and global trends. He provides insights into how political factors influence economic and social developments. Parag Khanna: Khanna focuses on global connectivity, infrastructure, and the shifting power dynamics of nations. He pays close attention to how logistical and technological changes are reshaping the world. John J. Mearsheimer: Mearsheimer is a prominent realist scholar who emphasizes the role of power and competition in international relations. While his approach differs in some ways from Zeihan's, they both focus on the underlying structural forces that shape global events.

Realists

These seem to be in general realist asshats below. The fault of the realist camp seems to be first principle.grounding on scarcity, which is asshattish because scarcity does not stand, on first principles. There is only artificial scarcity, which changes with mindsets. Thus the primary work.of modern civ should focus on changing mindsets - that is the challenge. Nobodybsaid it would be easy.

Alexander Wendt (famous for contribution towards Constructivism)

Barry Buzan (famous for contribution towards Copenhagen School/Securitisation Theory)

James Fearon (famous for contribution towards Rationalism)

John J. Mearsheimer (famous for contribution towards Neorealism)

Joseph S. Nye Jr. (considered cofounder of Neoliberalism)

Kenneth Waltz (considered founder of Neorealism)

Martha Finnemore (famous for contribution towards Constructivism)

Robert O. Keohane (considered cofounder of Neoliberalism)

Samuel P. Huntington (famous for being the most controversial person in IR and for a certain book)

Stephen M. Walt (famous for contribution towards Neorealism)