Mackinder's Heartland Theory

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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

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