If political geography is about gaining power,
what are ways that people exude power?
How is power shown?
Questions to consider…
• Which countries are the most
powerful?
• Which is more important…
economic or military power?
Origins of Geopolitics
• 19th century Europe
• A branch of political geography that considers
- Economic
- Political
- Military aspects of space
• End of the Age of Exploration
• Need to develop systems of explanations to
promote different imperial ambitions
• Resources and strategy
Types of Empires
1. Land: conquest by force through another
land (e.g. Spanish in Mexico)
2. Sea: use sea power to control an area
(e.g. Portuguese in Brazil)
3. Settlement: settlers intend to stay for a
long time (e.g. British in Americas)
Land Empire –
Spanish in
Mexico
Sea Empire –
Portuguese
in Brazil
Settlement–
British 13
colonies
Organic Theory
• Friedrich Ratzel (1897)
• State was like a living entity that constantly
needed to grow to thrive
• States constantly need new territory to meet the
demand of their ever-growing populations
• “lebensraum”: living space
• Justifies colonialism
Where should countries expand? Having control of
what land will provide you the best resources and
the best strategic position?
Mackinder’s Heartland Theory
Drawn from Ratzel’s geographic view of state as organism
Heartland Theory
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Sir Halford Mackinder (1904)
Major powers would be those that controlled land
Largest landmasses would be most powerful
World was divided into two parts: the World
Island (Eurasia and Africa) and the Periphery
(everything else)
• Whatever country controlled the Heartland (in
Eastern Europe) could ultimately control the
World Island (Asia, Europe and Africa) and then
ultimately the entire world
Heartland Theory
Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland
Who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island
Who rules the World-Island commands the world
Why Eastern Europe?
• At the time the vast resources of Eastern
Europe were considered incredibly important
(coal, farmland, and lots of flat land for
expansion, urbanization)
• Protected from invasions by sea
• Countries of the periphery were spread out and
isolated from one another – easier to conquer,
one at a time
Minerals
Largest market
Coal and iron ore
Largest petroleum
and natural gas fields
Coal, iron ore, natural gas
• According to the theory, once a country
controls the Heartland, it will seek to control
the “Inner Crescent” - Africa and Asia (the
rest of the World Island).
• It will do this by first gaining control of the
warm water ports of western Europe, which
will give it control over sea lanes and the
coasts of Asia and Africa.
Heartland Theory
Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland
Who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island
Who rules the World-Island commands the world
• Eventually the Americas and Oceania would
collapse and succumb to the overwhelming
power of the country controlling the World
Island
• And, so, control of Eastern Europe was
considered crucial
Operation Barbarossa:
Hitler’s Biggest Mistake
Validity
The theory has relevance with respect to the
two World Wars, during the Cold War, and
the Vietnam War.
Arguments against:
• It did not take into consideration future rise of the
USA as a major international power - militarily
and economically.
• It did not foresee the rise of aircraft as a major
military weapon.
• It did not foresee nuclear deterrence, nor
intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Arguments in support:
• The USSR did try to expand out from the
Heartland - it dominated the countries of Eastern
Europe militarily and economically after WWII.
• NATO was the military alliance that was created
to stop this expansion.
• Warsaw Pact was the military alliance of the
Soviet bloc.
Military Alliances
1979: Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
Domino Theory
Some disagree that heartland is key to power.
They argue that it is trapped by its own
geography – ice to the north, desert to the south,
and mountains to the east. Many start to think
control over coastal areas is key to power.
Rimland Theory
• Nicholas Spykman (1944)
• Coastal fringes (rimland) are the key to being
powerful
– Densest populations
– Most resources
• Combination of land and sea power
• “Godfather of containment”
• Who controls the Rimland controls Eurasia, who
controls Eurasia controls the world
World Systems Theory
• Immanuel Wallerstein (1970s)
• 2 varieties of world systems
1. World empires
2. World economy
• 3 geography areas
1. Core
2. Periphery
3. Semi-periphery
Immanuel WallersteIn’s
World-Systems Theory:
1. The world economy has one market and a
global division of labor.
2. Although the world has multiple states, almost
everything takes place within the context of the
world economy.
3. The world economy has a three-tier structure.
Construction of the World Economy
– Capitalism – people, corporations, and states produce goods and
services and exchange them in the world market, with the goal of
achieving profit.
– Commodification – the process of placing a price on a good and
then buying, selling, and trading the good.
– Colonialism – brought the world into the world economy, setting
up an interdependent global economy.
Three Tier Structure
Core
Periphery
Processes that incorporate higher
levels of education, higher
salaries, and more technology
* Generate more wealth in the
world economy
Processes that incorporate lower
levels of education, lower
salaries, and less technology
* Generate less wealth in the world
economy
Semi-periphery
Places where core and periphery
processes are both occurring.
Places that are exploited by the
core but then exploit the
periphery.
* Serves as a buffer between core
and periphery
Key Terms
• Core: Processes that incorporate higher levels of
education, higher salaries, more technology, and
generate more wealth (e.g. more developed
countries or MDCs)
• Periphery: Processes that incorporate lower
levels of education, lower salaries, less
technology, and generate less wealth (e.g. less
developed countries or LDCs)
More Theories…
• Alfred Thayer Mahan (1890): believed in sea
power (strong navy) – emphasis on trade
• A.P. de Seversky (1942): strong advocate of air
power (strategy and technology)
World Systems Today
• Saul Cohen
• 2 main geostrategic regions of world with
powerful first order states:
1. Maritime Realm (Japan, U.S., and European
community)
2. Continental Realm (China and Soviet Union, now
Russia)
• Middle East is shatter belt where Maritime and
Continental meet (caught in the middle of world
powers)
Irredentism
• The attempt by one country to provoke coups or
separatist movements in another country
• Can be through literature, radio programs, TV
ads
• U.S. did this in radio transmissions to other
countries to communicate benefits of capitalism
and democracy
– Sent from Florida to Cuba
– Sent to Eastern Europe during Iron Curtain Era
More Key Terms
• Delimitation: marking of a boundary
• Demarcation: process of physically representing
a boundary on landscape (e.g. border crossings,
fences, walls)