Theory of Geographic Determinism

The stronger, often discredited claim that human societies, their cultures, institutions, and technological trajectories are directly and inexorably shaped by their physical environment (climate, topography, resource availability). In its hard form, it suggests that geography is destiny, leaving little room for human agency, cultural innovation, or historical contingency. It's the idea that you can largely predict a society's fate by looking at a map.

Example: Hard Geographic Determinism would argue that the "laziness" attributed to certain tropical cultures is not cultural, but an inevitable adaptation to a hot climate where intense, sustained labor is physiologically dangerous, and food is abundant with little effort. It reduces complex history to environmental inputs, ignoring the vast diversity of societies that have arisen in similar landscapes. Theory of Geographic Determinism

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 3, 2026

Theory of Geopolitics Under the Covers

The study of how the private interests, familial connections, secret allegiances, and personal pathologies of national leaders clandestinely drive state policy, often subverting or overriding official ideology and strategic national interest. It's the recognition that geopolitics is not a clean game of rational actors, but is conducted by flawed humans whose vanity, grudges, friendships, and corrupt dealings can alter the fate of nations behind a veil of official rhetoric.

Example: A president launching a trade war not after a strategic review, but because a rival leader personally insulted them at a G7 dinner, is Geopolitics Under the Covers. It's the unspoken, personal driver—ego, a secret business deal for a crony, blackmail—that explains an otherwise irrational or disproportionate state action. Theory of Geopolitics Under the Covers

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 3, 2026

Theory of Politics Under the Covers

The analysis of how intimate, private relationships (romantic, familial, friendly) are fundamentally shaped by, and in turn shape, larger political power structures, ideologies, and economic realities. It asserts that the personal is not just political; the personal is a microcosm of the political. Who does the dishes, how a couple budgets, or what is discussed (or silenced) at the dinner table are all enactments of class, gender, and cultural power dynamics.

Theory of Politics Under the Covers Example: A "progressive" man who still expects his female partner to handle all the emotional labor and mental load of the household is practicing Politics Under the Covers. His public ideology clashes with the private, lived political economy of his relationship, revealing that his beliefs haven't conquered his ingrained social programming about gender roles.

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 3, 2026

Theory of Absolute Disautonomy

The philosophical or political stance that true, meaningful autonomy is an illusion. All actions, decisions, and thoughts are ultimately determined by prior causes—biological, psychological, social, or environmental—leaving no room for a "self" that exists outside these causal chains to make a truly free choice. It's not just limited freedom; it's the argument that freedom, as commonly understood, doesn't exist. You are a billiard ball in a cosmic game, believing you're choosing your path while physics does all the work.

Theory of Absolute Disautonomy Example: A dictator who believes themselves a god-like, independent actor is, under Absolute Disautonomy, just as determined as their lowest subject. Their paranoia, their ambition, their decisions are the inevitable output of their genetics, childhood trauma, the geopolitical pressures of their region, and historical precedent. Their belief in their own free will is just another programmed response in the system.

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 3, 2026

Theory of Relative Disautonomy

The idea that an individual, organization, or state possesses a limited degree of freedom, but this freedom is always conditional and exists within a web of external constraints, dependencies, and coercive influences. You have the illusion of choice, but your options are pre-filtered by larger systems (economic, political, algorithmic). It's autonomy with an asterisk—you can steer, but the road, the map, and the destination are largely determined by forces beyond your control. Your "free will" is exercised within a heavily patrolled playground.

Theory of Relative Disautonomy Example: A social media influencer has Relative Disautonomy. They can choose what brand to promote or what political take to voice, but their entire livelihood depends on an algorithm's favor, advertiser sentiment, and platform rules that can change overnight. They are free to dance, but only on a platform owned by someone else, who can pull the trapdoor at any time.

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 3, 2026

Field Theory

In a broad, conceptual sense, it's the idea that reality is fundamentally composed of interacting fields of influence rather than discrete particles. Think of the universe not as a collection of billiard balls, but as an ocean of invisible forces (gravitational, electromagnetic, quantum) where particles are mere excitations or "knots" in these fields. In social sciences, it's adapted to mean analyzing behavior within a network of social, psychological, and cultural forces that shape individual actions.

Example: In physics, Field Theory is exemplified by the Standard Model, where electrons are seen as excitations in an all-pervading "electron field." In sociology, analyzing a CEO's decision not just as personal choice, but as a product of the "corporate field" of board pressures, market forces, and industry norms, uses a social field theory approach.

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 3, 2026