Do you know Alain Simon? The name could be very common. Google found 2600000 pages to a inquiry in the English & French pages on the names. Two first names: Simon and Alain flocked together. But past yesterday, Alain Simon has a new significance for me;Alain Simon opened my gate to the new world of Geopolitics. Alain Simon is a professional speaker, entertainer, world observer, and researcher, thinker with a vivid and alert mind. Alain Simon is an economist and lawyer by training; he leads a consulting firm International Development, Groupe Phileas and contributed to many magazines and publications. He accompanied for several years business strategies to COFACE. He is the author of two books, Le sens des cartes (1977) and geopolitique et strategies d’entreprises (1974) which was award best book of the year in the economic section. He gave last thursday, a brilliant 7 hours lecture to the APM group shared his reading of the economic world through the prism of Geopolitics using up to date observations.

What I enjoyed most was the use of multi perceptional positioning on different world maps with layers of different legends to read the intentions of the world political decision makers and by extension to identify their strategies and predict the possible moves. He told the group how to read an emerging trend as opposed to a breakthrough. 1985 according to him is a milestone date for contemporary world politics. The advent of M. Gorbachev at the helm of the then USSR marked the end of the cold war and the start of the next war.

I had always thought that the strength of the Euro was the making and initiative of the Europeans to conquer the supremacy of the green bill dollars. He proved my thinking wrong. A strong Euro is in the plan of the US. The Euro up to now is the currency traded for 20% of world trade which was the position of the D mark before the advent of the Euro. What is the use of being a strong currency whilst not being a sought after currency? No doubt the US is still the main player and dealer in world, may it be for world equilibrium of war & peace or world economy. He demonstrated that all the moves of the US in spheres of economics, cultural, trade are governed by its Geopolitical intent & strategies. According to him, American Geopolitics rules all. Economy is only one of the means of Geopolitics.

What then is Geopolitics? The study of geopolitics has undergone a major renaissance during the past decade. Multidisciplinary in its scope, Geopolitics includes all aspects of the social sciences with particular emphasis on political geography, international relations, the territorial aspects of political science and international law. With globalization, I now realize how Geopolitics influences all, including the smallest business one may operate in remote Mauritius. Entrepreneurs beware, keep watch. Understanding and following up Geopolitics is a must to succeed in international trade.

Merci Alain Simon