Abstract

A leading expert in aerospace mobility research and a geoeconomics specialist team up to discuss geopolitics from the perspective of "air," deciphering the "struggle for hegemony over the skies" that has been dramatically altered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine.

US-China conflict, tensions in the Middle East and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a Taiwan crisis, disruption of supply chains—how can we protect the air network in an era of geopolitical risk?

"He who controls the skies controls the world"—semiconductors and their manufacturing equipment, laptops and smartphones, pharmaceuticals and vaccines, and other valuable strategic materials that are indispensable to modern society are all transported by aircraft. And now, with rising geopolitical risks, the struggle for hegemony over the skies is intensifying.

This book visualizes the world's "air connections" using complex network analysis methods and explains the trends of major countries such as the United States, China, Europe, Russia, India, the Middle East, ASEAN, and Latin American countries from the perspective of "geoeconomics," which combines geopolitics and economic security.

This book introduces a new perspective to defense and security discussions, which have traditionally focused on "land" and "sea" and presents the latest research that has attracted attention from policymakers and corporate executives. It also explains the history of the development of aircraft and air traffic control, as well as the little-known full picture of the air transport system.

Author’s Information

- Eri Ito
Professor, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Tokyo. Born in Kyoto Prefecture in 1980. Completed doctoral studies at the University of Tokyo Graduate School (Aeronautics and Astronautics). After research experience at Eurocontrol, the Netherlands Aeronautical and Space Institute, NASA Ames Research Center, the Electronic Navigation Institute, Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), etc., she became a professor at the University of Tokyo in 2022 and assumed her current position in 2023. As a leading expert in aerospace mobility research, she has been involved in the formulation of international standards at the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and in the formulation of international standards and policies at government agencies both domestically and internationally. Her publications include "Introduction to Air Traffic Management Systems" (Corona Publishing) and "The Science of Air Travel" (Kawade Shobo Shinsha).

- Hitoshi Suzuki
Senior Researcher, Institute of Geoeconomics, International House of Japan. Born in Saitama Prefecture in 1974. Completed doctoral coursework in Political Science at Keio University Graduate School of Law. Completed Ph.D. in History and Civilization at the European University Institute. He holds his current position after graduating from Niigata Prefectural University, its graduate school, and working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His publications include "Thatcher and Nissan's British Plant" (Yoshida Shoten), "A Global History of Automobiles" (Chuko Shinsho), and "Introduction to Geoeconomics" (co-authored, Asahi Shinsho).