CHAPTER THREE

INDIAN OCEAN REGION:

THE NEOMEDIEVAL ANALYSIS

BOHUMIL DOBOŠ

In the following article we will apply criteria connected to the study of the
neomedieval order^1 to the Indian Ocean region. This presented analysis
should give us a clearer picture of the geopolitical setting of the region and
highlight its stable and unstable sub-regions, parts with strong states, and
areas where other territorial actors play the leading role. Furthermore we
will be able to observe the tendencies towards violence, the influence of
outside powers, or the importance of regionalism in the studied area. This
brief examination should thus give us basic information about the complex
geopolitical realities of the region going well beyond state-centric analysis
and simple political maps, as the neomedieval perspective gives greater
focus to the alternative actors when compared to classical geopolitics and
neo-realist international relations. We start with the assumption that the
geopolitical setting of the world cannot be explained simply by focusing
on state actors. Nonetheless these actors remain important and cannot be
left out of the matrix. Using the historical medieval analogy combined
with the effects of technological unification and political and economic
globalization will help us pinpoint some major issues in the Indian Ocean
area and some structural phenomena which are characteristic of the region.
Our major questions are: What is the role of states in the area? What
power do the non-state actors hold? Is the nature of the region cooperative
or conflicting?

(^1) Theoretical background is based on author ́s Master ́s thesis which is available at
request. In case of an interest write at [email protected]