German general and geopolitician Karl Ernst Haushofer, who also was one who influenced Adolf Hitler‘s expansionist strategies, after reading Halford‘s Mackinder‘s Heartland theory, exclaimed, ‘Never have I seen anything greater than these few pages of a geopolitical masterwork’ (Hee, 1998). The theory was published in 1904 and restructured in 1919. It proposed original methodology to the regional geopolitical structuralization of the Eurasian continent. Almost a century has passed since the approach was presented and global geopolitical trends were also emerging due to changing technological, political, economy and other factors. Hence, this essay will argue, that Mackinder‘s hypothesis to control of the Eastern Europe in order to reign the world is no more imperative. Since the thesis of the essay is related mostly with nowadays geopolitics, the research will examine Mackinder’s approach and meaning of Eastern Europe, then will focus on Spykman’s approach and finally will analyse what are the reasons why the theory is no more relevant. Firstly we need to define the location of the Easter Europe and why its role is so significant. To define that the most important is to understand Mackinder’s alloca-tion of natural seats of power. In 1904 Mackinder defines the most substantial region as a Pivot, which is central strategic position in the world (1904, p. 436). In 1919 he expands this region towards west, naming the region Heartland: The Heartland, […], includes the Baltic
BPQ#1- In the first half of the twentieth century, the disasters that befell Europe were related to the increased competition between the European states. These divisions have been a “long-standing feature of European political life” (982). This widespread competition lead to the rival alliances, which were “the Triple Alliance of Germany, Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Triple Entente of Russia, France, and Britain” (983). These alliances, in conjunction with increasing nationalism, lead to the start of the First World War. The Great Depression also had a large impact on Europe, as this economic crisis increased instability within all social classes.
Paragraphs: Paragraph One During the fur trade, Russia was a unified empire, but Europe was divided into many different competing states.(Topic Statement) Russia, which participated in
The West was a blank slate: a new land with uncharted areas with unfamiliar scenery, animals, and inhabitants, as well as different weather patterns. The West was an entire new place to view. It could be settled about in so many different avenues. It was up to the individuals in the East and South to move west and make it a place of success. Additionally, a whole new way of thinking was born into the region.
Since its beginnings America has been a land of great progress. After Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon in 1803, we have expanded our land and ideals. We undertook a noble mission to stretch our nation from coast to coast, labeling it Manifest Destiny. Men, women, and children from East coast took hold of their destiny and traveled westward on famous trails such as the Oregon trail. The journey west was not without its hardships.
Growing up, I have always had an interest in geography and thinking about different countries and what makes them the way that they are. I have not been in a geography class since middle school and Human Geography was a class that made me think about things I have never thought of before. The readings of both Kropotkin and Mackinder brought up very interesting points, some that conflict and others that agree. Each author writes in a way that stimulates and makes you think about geography and certain topics in different ways which I find to be very rare in writings from this time period. Discussing Kropotkin’s and Mackinder’s general ideas, points they disagree or agree on, and my own views on the topic will all be discussed in this final paper.
Topic: The impact of the Atlantic Trade System on the birth of capitalism. Thesis Statement: The Atlantic Slave Trade played a significant role in the birth and development of capitalism in a positive way in Western World. Slaves sold as a property for profit and these profits contributed to the growth of modern finance and also slave labor in the plantation for Atlantic trade contributed to the development of capitalism in a way that it enabled more production and stimulated the economy of time. 1ST MAIN IDEA: Growth of the slave plantation gave rise to increase in labor and contributed to growing more fertile and abundant product.
Napoleon Bonaparte has been the topic of historical debates and discussions since the end of his reign in 1815. Historians and scholars alike have analyzed his early years, his rise to power, his military conquests, his political actions during his reign, and his legacy on the modern state of France. Despite deeply negative criticisms of Napoleon’s motives, he is celebrated by many as a hero of French history. Napoleon is considered, by many, to be a “man of the Revolution” who ushered in a new era for France and paved the way for European integration. European integration is a theory based on the process of industrial, political, legal, economic, social and cultural integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or in simpler terms, European integration is known as “a Europe without borders.”
In the various chapters, the author successively examines detailed accounts about the past from primary documents with an objective of bringing to light the incidents that took place and collectively culminated to the eruption of the conflict. The military situations, political turbulence, social upheavals, ethnic and religious strife among other aspects receive considerate attention and the aftermath is
Every civilization throughout history has their ups and downs. What if these ups and downs could all be connected back to one main factor, to one influence? Throughout history, it can be noticed that the location of a civilization affects the shape of its culture, economy, trade, and security of its borders. It defines which societies rise to power and which lose power. Geography influences history in many ways, as can be seen in the Indus Valley, Greece, and Aksum civilizations.
The idea of “Globalisation” has successfully brought people and nations of the world together by the increased of non-territorial social activities, the growing speed of transportations and communications, and the rise of cross-border interconnections. Globalisation is everywhere, it is a combination of environment, culture, society, politics and economy. Economic globalisation is one of the most influential aspects to globalisation in this modern society, which introduces free trade, marketisation, liberalisation and the movement of labour. However, local and international may share different economic views, as to contrast this, two same news items on August 20th, 2014 covered by The Moscow Times (Reuters 2014) as local perspective and The Wall Street Journal (Hansergard 2014) as international perspective, are being used for the study. European markets are affected by the conflict between Russia and the West over Ukraine, especially the beer industries are now further suffering low consumer spending in Russia since last year restriction on beer.
How was the world interconnected in the early modern period, according to the introduction by Pomeranz & Topik? In what ways did the non-Western “peripheries” still have influence in their economic roles? The world was interconnected in the early modern period by trade. Many different countries traded goods with each other, and adapted different cultures and traditions.
The core regions benefited the most from the capitalist world economy. For the period under discussion, much of northwestern Europe (England, France, Holland) developed as the first core region. Politically, the states within this part of Europe developed strong central governments, extensive bureaucracies, and large mercenary armies. This permitted the local bourgeoisie to obtain control over international
The exceptionality of Europe is not only questioned, but defied, invalidated, on a geopolitical level as much as a more substantial, cultural
As the famous saying goes, “The strong do what they will while the weak do what they must," so let it be with the counties of the world and the role they play in International Politics. Eurocentrism is a concept that places Europe at the centre of the world. Assuming that it is self containing and self representing, the entire world is looked at with Europe at the centre. Eurocentrism bias leads to an illogical understanding of International Relations and makes politics and judgement to incline in the favour of the powerful. In this essay, I will critique the Eurocentric nature of International Relations theory and world politics.
The capitalist world-system is said to have begun in Europe in about the 1500’s and it expanded over the next few centuries to cover the whole world, as a result of the significant accumulation of capital. This significant accumulation of capital in Europe was enabled as a result of the capitalist world-economy being created by establishing long-distance trade in goods and linking production processes worldwide. In the process of this expansion the capitalist world system has consumed small mini-systems, world empires, as well as competing world-economies. But, these economic relationships were not created in a vacuum. The modern nation state was created in Europe along with capitalism to protect and to serve the interests of the capitalists.