Mackyinder's Heartland Theory Summary

Political Geography

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Question 1

Mackinder presented his heartland theory in 1904, in his work, “Geographical Pivot of History”, where he posited that there is a continued struggle between sea and land powers with the ultimate goal being continental domination. According to Mackinder’s theory, the continental power was represented by a world island consisting of Africa and Eurasia which would make about seven eighths of the total global population and two thirds of the world’s land area (Mackinder, 1904). This region, named the heartland, was perceived as a natural fortress surrounded by geographical barriers.

All of these geographical barriers created easily defensible routes to the world island which would protect

In some situations, misperceptions may lead to increased tensions and eventually to war. Jervis (1988) argues that war is most likely when one party in an interaction overestimates the other’s hostility and usually misperception. In a political context, misperception refers to inaccurate inferences, wrongful estimation of consequences, and misjudgments about how others are expected to respond to policies. In a military context, misperception also includes military optimism, lack of confidence in long term military and diplomatic prospects, and incorrect anticipations of consequences. As history shows, states are more likely to overestimate each other’s military capability and hostility while inferring threatening intentions from unrelated events. They also tend to underestimate the extent to which their actions may be interpreted as threats by other parties.

The Cold War was a prolonged geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle that emerged after WWII between the then global superpowers, the Soviet Union, and the United States. It lasted from the end of WWII until the demise of the Soviet Union in December 25, 1991. The cold war is a particularly good example of when leaders formed misconceptions and had misperception about the intentions of the other side. This conflict was termed the cold war since there were never direct confrontations between the two powers with both preferring to continue

In the formative years, the UN faced complications resulting from the cold war and the related allies but later increased the enforcement of their mandate as they gained additional member states. In order to maintain good working relations with all member states, the UN charter also outlines the rights and responsibilities of members states to each other and to the organization. The organization is based on a principle of the sovereign equality of all members and requiring members to perform their obligations as per the charter. Another one of the rules as per Article 2 of the UN charter is that all members settle their international disputes through peaceful means to maintain international security, peace, and justice (Anan & Unies, 2000). All members are also required to refrain from the use of force against the political and territorial integrity of a state. Additionally, in order to prevent nations meddling in the affairs of another without proper authorization, the UN mandate does not authorize the organization to intervene in situations where the domestic state can resolve the