The Geopolitics of Chokepoint Power

The ongoing war in the Middle East has revealed how the process of globalization has contributed to the weaponization of interdependence.

In the context of the ongoing war in the Middle East, we come across one crucial fact—the world’s energy security has been put in jeopardy by the weaponization of this interdependence. This jeopardy emanates from Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz triggered by America and Israel’s dastardly attacks. While the Islamic Republic did not possess the conventional military advantage over Tel Aviv and Washington, it, however, has managed to bring shipping in one of the world’s most strategically significant maritime chokepoints to a near halt through a combination of drones, fast-moving speedboats, and short and long-range missiles.

While commentators have spent a lot of time analyzing the belligerents’ power profile, one important matter that has eluded their attention is how Iran’s actions have given substance to a different form of power—chokepoint power.

The Strait of Hormuz Under Fire

Chokepoint power can be defined as the ability of an actor to exploit the vulnerabilities created by the strategic location of a geographical node for the purpose of inflicting costs—economically, militarily, and politically—on actors far beyond the theatre of the conflict. In this context,........

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