Geopolitical Cartographer: A puzzling name

By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana

I blamed myself for not knowing the term, Geopolitical Cartographer, but on inquiry found that none of my friends had heard of it either!

I was under the impression that Baroness Scotland, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth was in Sri Lanka for the 75th Independence Day celebrations but was surprised to learn from some media reports that she addressed a meeting convened by Geopolitical Cartographer on 3rd February in Colombo. Although her address was given wide publicity, only a few mentioned Geopolitical Cartographer. I wondered what she had to do with cartography; the science or practice of drawing maps! As far as I am aware, the Commonwealth, started by King George VI but enlivened by the late great Queen Elizabeth, has no intentions of redrawing the territories of the 54 countries already in the association or many countries awaiting to join and, therefore, has no need for a cartographer. Interestingly, Patricia Scotland’s Twitter-feed makes no mention of this lecture though reference is made to the attendance at the Independence celebration and meetings with the president, foreign minister and the leader of the opposition, which was intriguing.

Geopolitical, as defined in Oxford English Dictionary is “the political relations between countries and groups of countries in the world, as influenced by their geography; the study of these relations”. However, Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia most of us use nowadays, has this extended definition: Geopolitics is the study of the effects of Earth’s geography (human and physical) on politics and international relations. While geopolitics usually refers to countries and relations between them, it may also focus on two other kinds of states: de facto independent states with limited international recognition and relations between sub-national geopolitical entities, such as the federated states that make up a federation, confederation, or a quasi-federal system.” This extended definition tied up with cartographer meaning ‘a person who draws or produces maps’ intrigued me immensely. Thanks to the world-wide-web, free for use due to the foresight of its inventor Tim Berners-Lee, I was able to find the answers quick enough.

Geopolitical Cartographer calls itself an Indian Ocean Think Tank and states the following as the background “For over 8,000 years, the Indian Ocean has been a focal point of trade and contact between groups of people, and in recent centuries has been a focal point of International Economics. Today over one third of the global population resides in the Indian Ocean’s littoral states, 40% of global oil resources, and most goods loaded and unloaded in its connected landmass. As we move into 2023 of the 21st Century we can clearly see that the Geopolitical reshaping of the Indian Ocean will not only define populations and economics, but also the Century as a whole. The Indian Ocean continues to connect West to East, and as we enter the second half of the century the East to West trade will continue to grow, and will be more evident as these economies look to new markets for trade and contact. What will this mean for the Ocean, the Indo-Pacific, International Economics, Maritime Affairs, and regional trade groupings?”

Hold it! Have we in 2023, as highlighted above, already entered the second half of this century? Miscalculation perhaps or is it a projection for what is likely to happen in 28 years? Unlikely, as East to West trade and, in fact, West to East trade is continuously growing!

Its mission statement reads: “The Geopolitical Cartographer shall promote the study, research, and analysis of the geopolitical, geo-economic, and maritime affair developments in the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and the connected landmass, which are redrawing the global political order. The primary focus will be on the Indian Ocean and its littoral states including: 1) its emergence as an epicentre in the remaking of the global political order; 2) the creation of a single strategic maritime space resulting from the interconnection with the Pacific Ocean; and 3) other global developments having an impact on the mission of the Institute.

Having seeing that such a high goal has been set, I was very keen to find the personalities behind. The board of directors consist of Mahinda Haradasa, Channa Wickremesinghe and Rajaratnam Selvaskandan. I am not aware of their achievements and, unfortunately, the website simply mentions their names without giving any details. However, the following is stated about the executive director, Rishan de Silva: “Raised in the Western Indian Ocean littoral State of Kenya, Rishan completed his undergraduate degree from Columbia University in New York, USA, specialising in International Politics. Rishan then went on to work for a Tech company in the “Silicon Savannah” initially as Expansion Director and later as General Manager before moving to the University of Oxford to read a Masters in Social Anthropology.”

When Tech and Silicon were mentioned, I instinctively thought he had worked in Silicone-Valley but as the company was not named, I googled ‘silicone savannah’ andfound this on Wikipedia: Silicon Savannah is a term used to refer to the technology ecosystem in Kenya. The term is a play on Silicon Valley and the grassland savanna ecosystem that is a dominant feature of Kenya’s ecology.” Thanks to Geopolitical Cartographer, I learned another new term!

The founder and the patron of Geopolitical Cartographer is none other than President Ranil Wickremasinghe, who has stated: “It is the emerging geopolitical cartography of the Indian Ocean that will play a dominant role in shaping the equilibrium of power in the Indo-Pacific, the emerging global power house”.

True, as India is fast approaching superpower status, having displaced its former coloniser to be the fifth largest economy in the world, emerging geopolitics in the Indian Ocean will play a dominant role in shaping the equilibrium of power in the Indo-Pacific region. However, I find it hard to imagine cartography having anything to do with it; unless, Ranil is planning to redraw maps of the littoral states in the Indian Ocean! Threatening to impose 13A and giving an undeserved appointment to Erik Solheim, who is alleged to have a hand in the cartography of South Sudan, it is not difficult to imagine where Ranil is likely commence his new venture. Afterall, Geopolitical Cartographer may not be a puzzling name if the motive behind is sinister!