>[!abstract] >A concept in geopolitics referring to strategically-positioned and -oriented regions on a political map that are deeply internally divided and encompassed in the competition between the great powers in geostrategic areas and spheres. The term was borrowed from geology, in which a shatter belt refers to a fault line, i.e. a belt of broken rock, produced by horizontal movement in a more or less vertical plane. (Wikipedia, 2025). >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): — >- **West** (similar): — >- **East** (different): — >- **South** (downstream): [[Balkanization]]