[karmacondon]

Seconding this, it was a great article. Every now and then you come across a piece online that seems intimidatingly long but is utterly worth it. This expanded my perspectives on geopolitics and how nations become superpowers.

To sum it up in one word: Rivers. It seems somewhat counter intuitive, but the article explains how a network of navigable rivers makes all the difference. If the factors in an economy are Land + Labor + Capital, rivers drastically increase the capital side of things. Generally it costs 10X less to ship goods via water as opposed to over land. Countries that are well connected by rivers can ship things much more cheaply and as a result have a lot more money to re-invest in growth. Arid farming plains and having few access points for hostile neighbors also help a lot, but rivers make a big difference. This Stratfor report had several other unexpected insights along these lines and was definitely worth the read.