The most important country you’ve never heard about
Summary
TLDRLe petit pays de Djibouti, stratégiquement situé au point d'étranglement de la mer Rouge, est au cœur des tensions géopolitiques mondiales. La vidéo explore l'importance de cette région pour le commerce mondial, la sécurité et les rivalités entre les grandes puissances. En effet, Djibouti abrite des bases militaires de la part de la France, des États-Unis, du Japon, de la Chine et d'autres, ce qui crée un équilibre délicat. La présence de ces puissances est essentielle pour la stabilité du commerce et de l'approvisionnement en énergie, mais aussi pour la sécurité face aux menaces comme les pirates et les conflits locaux. La vidéo souligne comment Djibouti navigue habilement entre ces intérêts pour assurer sa propre stabilité économique et politique, tout en étant un reflet des défis futurs pour la coopération internationale.
Takeaways
- 🚢 Le point d'étranglement de la mer Rouge est une zone stratégique importante pour le commerce mondial, avec 30% des navires conteneurs et un grand nombre de barils de pétrole qui y passent chaque jour.
- ⚓️ Les pirates ont détourné des milliers de navires dans la région, exigeant des rançons qui s'élèvent à des centaines de millions de dollars.
- 🔥 La guerre qui sévit dans la bande de Gaza a conduit les rebelles houthi, qui sont anti-occidentaux et soutenus par l'Iran, à tirer des roquettes sur les cargos qui traversent la région.
- 🏝️ Djibouti, un petit pays aride situé sur le point d'étranglement, abrite des bases militaires des États-Unis, de l'Union européenne, du Japon et de la Chine, reflétant les tensions mondiales et la rivalité des puissances.
- 💸 Djibouti tire profit des baux accordés à des pays étrangers pour construire des bases militaires, ce qui aide à développer son économie malgré sa pauvreté.
- 🌏 La position géographique de Djibouti en tant que passerelle commerciale pour l'Éthiopie, un pays sans accès direct à la mer, est cruciale pour le commerce de ce dernier.
- ⛓️ Les bases militaires étrangères ont un impact sur la vie quotidienne des habitants de Djibouti, allant de la présence de drones à la validation du régime non-démocratique du pays.
- 🏗️ La Chine a offert des projets d'infrastructure coûteux comme des gages pour gagner la faveur des locaux, ce qui a plongé Djibouti dans une dette importante envers la Chine.
- 🔄 Les rivalités régionales et internationales se jouent également au niveau de Djibouti, qui doit naviguer entre les intérêts de pays comme les Émirats arabes unis, l'Érythrée et l'Éthiopie.
- 🤝 Djibouti a montré une certaine habileté à gérer les intérêts des grandes puissances en jouant les uns contre les autres, mais cela pourrait devenir plus complexe avec l'augmentation de la rivalité internationale.
- ⚖️ Le rôle de Djibouti dans la balance des puissances mondiales est délicat et pourrait être affecté par une éventuelle nécessité de choisir un camp dans un contexte de compétition croissante.
Q & A
Quels sont les facteurs qui rendent la région de Djibouti stratégiquement importante?
-La région de Djibouti est stratégiquement importante en raison de sa localisation clé au niveau du goulot d'étranglement de la mer Rouge, qui est un point critique pour le commerce mondial et le passage de millions de barils de pétrole par jour. De plus, la présence militaire de plusieurs puissances mondiales y est un facteur supplémentaire d'importance.
Comment la crise des Pirats a-t-elle influencé la région de la mer Rouge et les efforts de la communauté internationale ?
-La crise des Pirats a menacé la sécurité des navires dans la région de la mer Rouge, entraînant des efforts concertés de la communauté internationale pour assurer la sécurité maritime. Les frappes militaires conjointes des États-Unis et du Royaume-Uni contre les rebelles houthistes, qui ont attaqué des navires de cargaison dans la mer Rouge, en sont une exemple.
Quelle a été la réponse de la France à la construction du canal de Suez ?
-La France a répondu à la construction du canal de Suez en s'intéressant à la bande de côte peu peuplée au bord du goulot d'étranglement, qui est devenue Djibouti. Ils ont échangé la protection contre une partie de cette terre stratégiquement importante pour établir une colonie, appelée K Fran de Somali ou French Somaliland.
Comment la situation géopolitique actuelle en Afrique de l'Est affecte-t-elle le rôle de Djibouti ?
-La situation géopolitique en Afrique de l'Est rend le rôle de Djibouti encore plus complexe et important. Avec la présence de bases militaires chinoises et américaines, Djibouti doit naviguer entre les intérêts concurrents de ces superpuissances tout en gérant les dynamiques régionales avec des voisins comme l'Érythrée et l'Éthiopie.
Quels sont les défis auxquels Djibouti est confronté en raison de la présence de bases militaires étrangères sur son sol ?
-Djibouti fait face à des défis tels que la pression sur les droits de l'homme et la démocratie, la validation d'un régime non-démocratique, les accidents potentiels liés aux activités militaires, et le bruit et les interruptions causées par les activités des bases militaires.
Comment la situation en Djibouti pourrait-elle influencer la stabilité de la région et de la économie mondiale ?
-La situation en Djibouti, en tant que point d'étranglement clé pour le commerce et l'approvisionnement en énergie, pourrait avoir un impact significatif sur la stabilité régionale et mondiale. Des conflits ou des interruptions dans cette région pourraient affecter le flux de pétrole et de commerce, menaçant ainsi l'économie globale.
Quels sont les avantages économiques que Djibouti tire de la présence de bases militaires étrangères ?
-Djibouti bénéficie économiquement de la présence de bases militaires étrangères à travers les redevances versées pour l'hébergement de ces bases, qui contribuent à construire son économie et à réduire la pauvreté.
Comment la construction du canal de Suez a-t-elle changé l'importance géopolitique de la région de Djibouti ?
-La construction du canal de Suez a considérablement réduit le temps de parcours pour les Européens pour atteindre l'Asie, rendant la région de Djibouti, qui se trouve sur le goulot d'étranglement de la mer Rouge, extrêmement importante pour les empires européens et leurs routes commerciales vers l'Asie.
Quelle est la principale préoccupation des pays du Golfe en ce qui concerne leur avenir économique ?
-Les pays du Golfe sont préoccupés par le fait que le pétrole ne fera plus partie de leur avenir économique à long terme, étant donné que le monde progresse vers une dépendance moindre envers les énergies fossiles. Ils cherchent à investir dans la Corne de l'Afrique, qu'ils considèrent comme potentiellement leur future « panier à pain ».
Comment la situation géopolitique en Afrique de l'Est pourrait-elle affecter la coopération entre les grandes puissances ?
-La situation géopolitique en Afrique de l'Est, marquée par la présence de bases militaires concurrentes et des intérêts nationaux divergents, pourrait poser des défis à la coopération entre les grandes puissances. Cela pourrait mener à une compétition accrue pour contrôler et exploiter les géographies stratégiques vitales.
Quels sont les facteurs qui contribuent à la stabilité actuelle de Djibouti malgré la présence de puissances rivales ?
-La stabilité actuelle de Djibouti est le résultat d'une habileté politique de la part du gouvernement qui parvient à jongler entre les différentes puissances en place, en exploitant sa position géographique pour bénéficier de l'aide étrangère et en évitant de prendre parti de manière ouverte dans les rivalités internationales.
Outlines
🚨 La situation géopolitique critique de Djibouti
Le premier paragraphe aborde l'actualité concernant les risques d'attaques potentielles de G's Hy Rebels contre un navire commercial, mettant en évidence l'importance stratégique de la région. Il décrit la réponse aux attaques du mouvement houthi soutenu par l'Iran, et l'impact de ces événements sur les tensions mondiales. Le passage clé est le détroit de Bab el-Mandeb, un point d'étranglement critique pour le commerce mondial, particulièrement pour le pétrole et le transport maritime. Djibouti, un petit pays aride situé à cet emplacement stratégique, abrite des bases militaires de plusieurs puissances mondiales, reflétant ainsi la rivalité et la coopération dans cette région.
🌍 L'évolution géopolitique de Djibouti et son importance
Le deuxième paragraphe explore l'histoire de la région, en commençant par le passage du canal de Suez qui a transformé la valeur stratégique de Djibouti. La colonisation par les puissances européennes et la compétition pour le contrôle de cette nouvelle route vers l'Asie sont décrites. L'indépendance de Djibouti en 1977 et les défis économiques qui ont suivi, y compris la dépression économique et la guerre civile, sont également mentionnés. La solution pour Djibouti a été de revenir à son atout historique, sa position géographique, en hébergeant des bases militaires étrangères.
🏭 La transformation de Djibouti en un centre stratégique
Dans le troisième paragraphe, l'accent est mis sur l'émergence de Djibouti comme un point clé de la politique mondiale, en particulier après les attentats du 11 septembre. La présence militaire américaine et la situation géopolitique de la région sont analysées, y compris l'addiction mondiale aux combustibles fossiles et la montée de la Chine en tant que superpuissance manufacturière. L'importance de la stabilité de cette route pour l'économie mondiale est soulignée, ainsi que le rôle de Djibouti en tant que passage clé pour le commerce éthiopienn.
🔄 La présence militaire et les investissements chinois
Le quatrième paragraphe décrit l'expansion de la présence militaire internationale à Djibouti, y compris la base chinoise. Il discute des projets d'infrastructure chinois et de la dette accumulée par Djibouti envers la Chine. L'impact des bases militaires sur la population locale et la situation politique du pays est également examiné, mettant en lumière les abus des droits de l'homme et l'autoritarisme du régime en place.
🤝 La diplomatie et les rivalités régionales de Djibouti
Le cinquième paragraphe explore les dynamiques de pouvoir et les rivalités régionales qui affectent Djibouti, y compris les relations changeantes entre les États du Golfe et la situation avec la Corée du Nord. Il décrit comment Djibouti navigue parmi les intérêts des différentes puissances, en particulier lors des conflits entre les Émirats arabes unis et la Qatar, et la façon dont Djibouti a finalement cédé le contrôle du port à la Chine pour contrer l'influence des Émirats arabes unis.
🔍 L'avenir de Djibouti au cœur des rivalités mondiales
Le sixième paragraphe conclut en examinant le rôle futur de Djibouti dans un monde où les rivalités entre les grandes puissances deviennent plus aiguës. Il aborde les défis pour le gouvernement de Djibouti de maintenir un équilibre délicat entre les intérêts concurrents, tout en exploitant sa position géographique pour son avantage. L'auteur exprime son intention de continuer à suivre l'évolution de la situation, soulignant l'importance de la coopération internationale pour éviter un retour à des temps plus conflictuels.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Géopolitique
💡Point d'étau
💡Djibouti
💡Pirates
💡Base militaire
💡Mouvement Houthi
💡Rivaux
💡Économie globale
💡Émirats arabes unis
💡Éthiopie
💡Énergie fossile
Highlights
G's Hy Rebels 可能攻击商业船只，可能使航道瘫痪数周甚至数月。
全球紧张局势加剧，尤其是红海地区的紧张局势。
红海的咽喉要道宽度只有数十公里，但每天有数百万桶石油和30%的集装箱船通过。
近几十年来，海盗在该地区劫持了数千艘船只，勒索数亿美元。
美国和英国对也门胡塞叛军发动联合军事打击，以回应其对红海货船的袭击。
吉布提是位于咽喉要道的一个小国，对全球贸易至关重要。
吉布提是多个国家军事基地的所在地，包括美国、欧洲多国、日本和中国。
吉布提对邻国埃塞俄比亚至关重要，因为该国95%的贸易通过吉布提进行。
吉布提利用其战略位置，通过向外国出租军事基地来发展经济。
中国在吉布提建立了第一个海外军事基地，并提供了大量基础设施项目。
吉布提拒绝了俄罗斯建立军事基地的请求，同时美国增加了在该国的租赁费用。
吉布提政府被指控侵犯人权，但外国军事基地的存在有助于减少饥饿和支持经济。
吉布提位于多个国家冲突的中心，必须巧妙地平衡各方的利益。
吉布提通过将一个重要港口的部分控制权交给中国，从而避免了与阿拉伯联合酋长国的冲突。
吉布提的战略位置使其成为全球政治博弈的焦点，尤其是在大国竞争加剧的背景下。
随着全球秩序的变化，吉布提的角色将变得更加复杂，它必须在大国之间进行更精细的平衡。
吉布提的案例展示了地缘政治如何因地理位置而发生，以及小国如何在大国之间巧妙地生存。
Transcripts
breaking news because G's Hy Rebels they
could attack a commercial ship and could
bog the straight up for weeks if not
months there is a part of the world that
everyone is keeping an eye on right now
the joint military strikes were in
response to nearly two months of attacks
by the iran-backed houthi movement on
cargo ships in the Red Sea it is
becoming more and more important for the
global rivalries and tensions that are
heating up on our globe right now it is
this choke point in the Red
[Music]
Sea it's pretty small it's a few dozen
kilometers wide but through this little
choke point flows a lot of important
things the internet millions of barrels
of oil per day 30% of all Container
ships that connect Global
markets and this choke point is
surrounded by un stable situations
countries that are in Civil Wars Rebel
militias proxy wars unstable governments
failed States and pirates in recent
decades Pirates have hijacked thousands
of ships here extracting hundreds of
millions of dollars in ransoms a topic
we did a whole Deep dive on in another
video and lately as War has raged in the
Gaza Strip the fiercely anti-western
hooti rebels in Yemen have been firing
rockets at cargo ships traveling through
this water leading the US and UK to
strike back a ship attacked by Iran back
to the rebels last month sank in the Red
Sea the region is vital yet volatile all
at once and yet in the middle of all of
this is this one Beacon of stability a
little piece of land that is easy to
miss but that is more important than you
might think it is the country of jaib
[Music]
boti jibuti is this small arid country
right on the choke point and it is home
to the militaries of the United States
of several European powers of Japan
Japan's only foreign military base by
the way and right down the road from the
American base China's first Military
Base outside of its
[Music]
country katar has peacekeepers here the
United Arab Emirates ran the biggest
Port Eritrea seized some of its
territory recently and Ethiopia one of
the largest countries in Africa runs
almost all of its trade through Djibouti
Ethiopia's landlocked and this is their
like gateway to the world it's a lot
jibuti is a lot there's a lot going on
in jibuti which is why today we are
talking about this place I want to
explore why so many Powers want to be
here why everyone is converging on this
little tiny patch of land the size of
New Jersey and I want to ask if little
Djibouti one of the poorest countries in
the world can balance all these rival
Powers against each other without
falling victim to them you know 10 to
15% of global trade moves through the
Red Sea we will not hesitate to defend
lives and the free flow of
Commerce hey going to pause really quick
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today's video Let's dive back into the
story of jib
boti this little choke point is called
the Bob ALB or gate of Tears it used to
be nothing but a recipe for
shipwrecks it was known mostly for
strong winds unpredictable crosscurrents
and shallow reefs that made navigating
it dangerous and it wasn't very valuable
because if you go through it you just
end up in the Red Sea which was a dead
end for most of history that is until a
French company miraculously cut a canal
through this part of Egypt and changed
the world forever nearly having the time
that it would take for Europeans to get
to Asia where they were all racing each
other to conquer colonize and bring back
unfathomable wealth to their
[Music]
countries the Suz Canal was a massive
upgrade to this hunt for resources
was this video kind of an excuse for me
to buy these really old beautiful books
about the Suez Canal yes it was for
France this engineering Miracle called
the Suez Canal was their chance to beat
out their big rival the British Empire
who was clearly winning the race
dominating the routes to Asia before
Suez opened the canal was supposed to
change that so now you have a new front
in this race a Scramble for control over
this new route to Asia this windy little
choke point was no longer just the Gate
of Tears it was an important bit of
water one of the most important on Earth
at least for the empires they had to
keep an eye on
[Music]
it so the British take this little
Island right at the choke point they put
a lighthouse on
it they also take control of a port just
south of the choke point the Italians
then show up and purchase this bit of
Coastline from local Sultans eventually
taking over this whole stretch of Coast
called Eritrea and the French would
start fixating on this strip of sparsely
populated Coast right on the banks of
the choke point the land that would
become
jibuti The Sultans here told the French
that yes they could have a bit of this
newly strategic land in exchange for
protection the locals here knew what was
going on the great Empires were all
scrambling and racing and they were
going to use their Prime real estate to
get what they wanted to Leverage The
Situation smart and totally a theme
throughout this
[Music]
video so the French set up their colony
they call it K Fran de Somali or French
Somali land this choke point would
become a key base for projecting power
and refueling on their way to carve up
and plunder
Asia France would hold on to their
little Colonial invention for a long
time even as the world would decolonize
after World War II France held on to
this strategic Colony along the choke
point until eventually the locals rose
up there were protests they clashed with
the local authorities and it led to an
independence vote and in 1977 Djibouti
became a new
[Music]
country jibuti was independent but they
had a problem in the words of some New
York Times reporting from 1977 the tiny
new nation had no Army less than one
square mile of aable land and no
resources except for sand salt and
20,000 camels yeah not good so once
again they made a deal with France jib
boti wouldn't be France's anymore but
they would be allowed to retain a
military base in the country in exchange
for security and protection as well as
economic aid but this didn't change the
fact that jibuti had very little natural
resources or arable land their economy
fell into a crippling depression
eventually there was a civil war and it
wasn't looking good for Djibouti
djibouti's salvation would eventually
come when they realized that they should
hearken back to the old days and start
exploiting the thing that had made them
valuable all those years ago their
location let's go go go stop shoting
believe has crashed into the world TR
very Freedom came under attack a series
of deliberate and deadly terrorist Acts
3 months after 9/11 the United States
was about to come crashing into the
Middle East in a new way and they asked
jibuti if they could set up a base there
and jibou says yes suddenly after the
global war on terror America realizes
that it's one of the key locations it
matters to be there you had you know
alqaeda in Yemen you had alqaeda in even
Horn of Africa so they needed a base and
jibuti was one country which was willing
to offer them it would become America's
only permanent military base on the
continent of Africa and and it would be
a key jumping off point for George
Bush's war on terror and reminder that
it's now the 21st century things have
changed in the world and this little
choke point was becoming more valuable
again but for different reasons than the
old
days number one the world had become
addicted to fossil fuels oil and gas
which was the lifeblood of their
economies and most of that oil and gas
was coming from over here from the land
and Waters of the countries around this
Persian Gulf where it was then put on
ships and sent around the world a lot of
it heading west through this vital choke
point up the Red Sea into the Suez Canal
and onto Europe the world knew that
their energy was vulnerable because
Egypt in earlier decades had weaponized
the canal by closing it by blocking it
one time for 8 years inflicting
immediate pain on the countries that
rely on this constant flow of energy and
goods
[Music]
by the way semi side note this flow of
energy becomes even more important when
Europe almost entirely Cuts ties with
Russian natural gas after Russia invaded
Ukraine in 2022 so they have to get more
natural gas from this region Qatar was
not sad about that let's put it that way
anyway we're getting off topic Europe
needs this route to stay stable they
need these little dots to keep
flowing so that's one reason that the
choke point has become more vital than
ever the other reason is China
china Rose to become a manufacturing
superpower they make a lot of stuff and
they send it to the west and a lot of
that comes through this choke point and
all of this vital trade is happening in
a region that is full of unstable
governments rising anti-western militias
and Somali pirates making this route
precarious and dangerous and subject to
problems so jibuti has become this vital
place here at the choke point an
incredibly important strategic location
in a sea of turmoil okay but there's
more in addition to all of this global
economy importance there's also Regional
importance to Djibouti notice djibouti's
neighbor Ethiopia the second most
populous country in Africa and as you
can see one that is totally landlocked
it is not good to be a big country that
is landlocked because the water is where
we trade so jibuti is the gateway to E
Ethiopia's millions of people to trade
with the world 95% of Ethiopia's trade
passes through jibuti so jibuti this
colonial creation from France in the
1880s is now once again an incredibly
important place on the map it's become
once again a highly strategic
location and when there are highly
strategic locations superpowers start
moving in in 2011 Djibouti approved
Japan a passive IST sort of non-military
country to open a military base on jouti
their one and only foreign military
base then you have Italy who set up a
military base here in 2013 Spain and
Germany also have a military presence
here they are not permanently hosted
with a base they're actually hosted by
France and the soldiers live in these
hotels permanently okay that's not weird
at all but yeah as you can see the great
powers are back they're back in Djibouti
like the old days not to compete with
one another but to all band together to
police this vital choke point so that
the global economy that has brought
prosperity to all of us can stay stable
everything keeps flowing everyone is
happy and this solved a big problem for
Djibouti who again didn't have a big
industry or any kind of resource they
make a lot of money off of these leases
to foreign countries which has helped
build their economy and like the old
days when one side shows up the Rival
won't be far behind
China has agreed to set up a support
base in jibou so the Chinese base is
right here and they are going to be
watching us as we're watching them in
2016 jibuti announces that they've been
talking to China and that they've agreed
to give them land to open their own
military base which was built and opened
right down the road from the American
base in 2017 so China says they're there
because of pirates pirates have been
wreaking havoc in this area so they're
there to stabilize their economic
interests because of pirates but as we
discovered in our Deep dive on Pirates
by 2017 the pirate issue was basically
over there was almost no hijackings in
this region I me look at this graph oh
and the Chinese base has this big deep
Pier that is like large enough to handle
an aircraft carrier and nuclear
submarines so this isn't about Pirates
China also did the most China thing when
they moved in here which was instead of
just building a base they also came with
of these big ticket infrastructure
projects as like gifts to win the favor
of the locals we're talking Railway
pipeline Port all very expensive all
putting jibuti into a lot of debt to
China they're doing this all over Africa
which we talk about in another Deep dive
video we did on the topic mapping all of
China's giant infrastructure projects in
Africa and what that means and a lot of
shout outs to other videos today huh so
jibuti is now the only place on Earth
where the United States and China these
two Rivals have military bases right
next to each other and so far everyone's
been playing nice there's been no
Shenanigans other than both sides
accusing each other of spying on each
other constantly oh and there was the
lasers the US says that China was
pointing lasers into the eyes of Pilots
while they were taking off which like if
they really did that that's just like
why why would you do that like why did
you do that don't do that okay but jibou
doesn't let every country in Russia
wanted to have their own base in jibuti
and jouti said no it probably helped
that the American national security
adviser flew to Djibouti and told them
that the US would double how much
they're paying for their lease if
Djibouti didn't let Russia
in okay but what about the people jibuti
isn't just one big military base there's
almost a million people who live here
and their day today probably consists of
a lot of jet engine sounds for got to
talk to my old grad school Professor
David Vine who is an expert on us
military bases and how they affect the
locals so what we were talking about is
a foreign government foreign military
occupying large swas of land fenced off
and uh hosting large amounts of Weaponry
high-powered Weaponry of many many
kinds because these bases are so close
to like the big city there have been
accidents especially with drones the US
used to take off their drones and some
would fall and actually crash onto like
civilian infrastructure so they had to
open a separate air
[Music]
strip apart from occasionally running
over cows the soldiers mostly keep to
themselves US soldiers don't even go
into the city to like buy stuff all of
it is flown in creating a little slice
of America right in Djibouti like they
don't even drink the water from jouti
it's all flown
in and then there's the dictator well I
want to welcome president G and his
delegations here today the US base in
particular but also the French and
Chinese bases which are the largest of
of the collection are all helping to
prop up undemocratic regime that has you
know been accused of widespread human
rights abuses every time a foreign power
makes a deal with jibuti and pays them a
lot of money in exchange for them being
able to be there they basically validate
this terrible dictator who's been in
power for 25 years there's no real
elections Free Press freedom of speech
plenty of Human Rights abuses but on the
other side there's at least one way that
regular people in Djibouti benefit from
all of this fewer people go hungry today
than at the conclusion of the Civil War
and even though the economy is still
poor all of this foreign aid still does
support it is that worth it to them I
don't actually know and another version
of this video that I want to do someday
is to go there and talk to the people
and hear what their thoughts are about
the bases in jib and what that feels
like to live so close to all of these
foreign militaries for now we're talking
about the geography the history the
[Applause]
geopolitics okay speaking of geopolitics
there is another angle to this story
that is devilishly complicated to get
into and I'm not going to get into all
the juicy details you'll understand why
when I start talking about it it has to
do with the regional geopolitics the
rivalries and the concerns and the
issues of all of these countries that
are right next to Djibouti not just the
outside Powers I want to just give you a
little sampling of what this looks like
because it's pretty wild so you have all
these Gulf countries and some of them
are not totally on the same team but
almost all of them are thinking about
the future and they're realizing that
oil is not going to be a big part of
their future because oil is not going to
be a big part of any of our future
hopefully and they're realizing that
they're going to need to invest in the
Horn of Africa this region here which
they believe is probably going to be the
future of their food their future Bread
Basket so so hold that for a second and
then look at Ethiopia and Eritrea
Ethiopia as we mentioned uses Djibouti
as their gateway to the world they need
it to feed their millions of people all
of this geopolitics is also playing out
in jibuti this little country that has
to navigate everyone's interests so
here's a quick episode of this drama to
give you an idea of what it looks
like the United Arab Emirates UAE used
to be like best friends with jibuti it
was like one of their most important
Partners the UAE built and owned this
giant Port that basically runs
djibouti's entire economy but then the
UAE got really close to jibuti neighbor
and kind of enemy Eritrea this was very
worrisome because jibou doesn't want
Eritrea to become the new jibou they're
a mortal threat they don't want the UAE
to just shut down djibouti's like
strategic offering okay fast forward to
like 2017 the UAE with their close
friends Saudi Arabia are in a feud with
Qatar which also has a military presence
in Djibouti right up here on this border
now that Qatar and the UAE are fighting
with each other they turn to jibuti and
say Hey you are too close with the UAE
we're out of here Qatar takes their
soldiers out of this border area and
right away Eritrea takes some of this
land from Djibouti this may seem like
some petty border skirmishes but
remember where we are here this is the
vital choke point Bob ALB every inch of
land matters every little conflict could
be the spark that stops the global
economy and what this little flareup
shows us is how Djibouti finds itself in
the center of conflicts between other
countries that it kind of doesn't want
to be in the middle of but like has
found itself in the middle of because it
hosts all of their militaries but wait
there's more Djibouti is actually really
good at this they know how to play the
game and to play all these Powers off of
each other and we'll see what happens
next so they're kind of beholding to the
UAE UAE has way too much leverage over
them so finally it all comes to a head
and they kick the UAE out from this
really vital port and they give a
massive chunk of it to wait for it China
the new arrival to jib boti that no one
wants to mess with they now have the
port and jibuti is now on their side and
the UAE can't do anything about it
jibuti saved itself from one power by
pleasing a bigger power do you see how
this works do you see what game they're
playing here
[Music]
so that is why this tiny country in East
Africa is so important it's kind of the
definition of geopolitics politics
happening because of geography to
project legitimacy this choke point is
only going to become more important day
by day we're seeing it happen I mean
like right now as I'm filming this the
houie rebels are like potentially
cutting internet cables in this choke
point three crew members have been
killed in a the first death since houthi
Rebels began attacking shipping in the
Red Sea after months of bombing Merchant
ships to punish the West for supporting
the IDF war in Gaza I mean it's this
kind of threat that jibuti was set up to
handle that is why all these foreign
militaries are here and yet for me there
is a subtler threat that is emerging
here which you can see when you just
look at this map of
bases jibuti hosts rival countries
during a time when we are Transit iing
away from a rules-based order where all
the great Powers have an incentive to
work together under one system that is
dominated by the United States that
deeply benefits the United States and
its allies but that works because the
United States imposes and protects those
rules those rules are being challenged
and what is emerging is a system that is
Messier more disruptive to these
reliable rules that have kept everything
stable kept the United States on top and
unfortunately we know all too well what
happens when great Powers start
competing with each other more and more
over vital resources and vital
geographies in fact most of the history
of war is what happens when great powers
are competing with each other it's ugly
it's messy it's violent it provokes a
zero Su way of thinking competition
racing to secure and control and exploit
vital geographies like strategic choke
points that lead into the most important
Waterway on the planet as this rivalry
heats up jibuti role is going to become
more complex its government will
continue to do what it's done playing
the big Powers off each other exploiting
its great real estate to benefit itself
but I believe that there comes a point
in every escalating conflict where you
kind of have to choose sides I want
jouti to continue to embody the positive
some thinking that has kept the world
relatively stable these last 70 years
but it's definitely playing with a very
delicate Balancing Act and there's a
chance that it could stumble so as you
all know I will be keeping an eye on the
global order as well as jib boti to try
to see where this is going to see if the
great powers can continue to cooperate
and compete but cooperate or if we're
heading back into the old days where
competition threatens to rip the world
apart I don't think it's inevitable but
it's going to take effort to avoid
[Music]
it hey thanks for watching and thanks to
the New York Times for having the times
machine which is every one of their
newspapers ever digitized in nice
highres so I can read what the New York
Times was reporting on in
1977 love it for those who don't know we
have a new channel called search party
which is coverage from my old colleague
Sam Ellis who was the creator of Vox
Atlas he now has his own channel that we
started together the search party is
geopolitics and Global Sports publishes
every couple of weeks is really good
stuff if you like the stuff on this
channel you'll probably like this stuff
over there I want to say a giant thank
you to The Newsroom members we have a
couple thousand contributors on patreon
that allow us to do independent
journalism in a rigorous way here on
YouTube I'm very grateful to them and um
for those who sign up you get a behind
thes scenes Vlog which is a behind the
scenes of how we make what we make on
the channel you get access to my scripts
and you get the warm fuzzy feeling of
supporting independent journalism I've
got a pretty exciting project coming up
that we've been working on since like
August um it has to do with Japan
and we've been working really hard to
get access to some very specific places
and people and things in Japan I'm
leaving on that trip very soon and I'm
very excited to share with you because
it's a deeper approach than I've done in
a long time if ever and it's going to be
really wonderful so stay tuned for that
subscribe if you are not subscribed and
you want to uh watch more videos that we
are making we're trying to make better
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improve for all of you so thank you for
being here I'll see you in the next one
[Music]
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