Misplaced Pages

#237762

72-568: By 2020, the V-Dem index had "more than 470 indicators, 82 mid-level indices, and 5 high-level indices covering 202 polities from the period of 1789–2019". V-Dem uses methodological tools to deal with the subject nature of ratings and their reliability. As of 2022, the V-Dem Institute published 483 indicators and republishes 59 other indicators. V-Dem publishes five core indices with several other supplementary indices. The core indices are

144-542: A basis of Colombian era empire (roughly from 1492 to the 19th century), and predicted the 20th century to be domain of land power. The Heartland theory hypothesized a huge empire being brought into existence in the Heartland—which would not need to use coastal or transoceanic transport to remain coherent. The basic notions of Mackinder's doctrine involve considering the geography of the Earth as being divided into two sections:

216-684: A country or coast to coast entity may be a polity if they have sufficient organization and cohesive interests that can be furthered by such organization. Geopolitics Geopolitics (from Ancient Greek γῆ ( gê )  'earth, land' and πολιτική ( politikḗ )  'politics') is the study of the effects of Earth 's geography on politics and international relations . Geopolitics usually refers to countries and relations between them, it may also focus on two other kinds of states : de facto independent states with limited international recognition and relations between sub-national geopolitical entities , such as

288-405: A country, or the government of a country subdivision. A polity may have various forms, such as a republic administered by an elected representative , the realm of a hereditary monarch , and others. When referring to a specific polity, the term " country " may refer to a sovereign state , states with limited recognition , constituent country, or a dependent territory . In geopolitics ,

360-495: A faction within a larger (usually state) entity or at different times as the entity itself. For example, Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan are parts of their own separate and distinct polity. However, they are also members of the sovereign state of Iraq which is itself a polity, albeit one which is much less specific and as a result much less cohesive. Therefore, it is possible for an individual to belong to more than one polity at

432-476: A fixed geography. French geography is focused on the evolution of polymorphic territories being the result of mankind's actions. It also relies on the consideration of long time periods through a refusal to take specific events into account. This method has been theorized by Professor Lacoste according to three principles: Representation ; Diachronie; and Diatopie. In The Spirit of the Laws , Montesquieu outlined

504-623: A fleet, were conducive to control over the sea. He proposed six conditions required for a nation to have sea power : Mahan distinguished a key region of the world in the Eurasian context, namely, the Central Zone of Asia lying between 30° and 40° north and stretching from Asia Minor to Japan. In this zone independent countries still survived – Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, China, and Japan. Mahan regarded those countries, located between Britain and Russia, as if between "Scylla and Charybdis". Of

576-572: A foreign policy vision for Britain with his Eurocentric analysis of historical geography. His formulation of the Heartland Theory was set out in his article entitled " The Geographical Pivot of History ", published in England in 1904. Mackinder's doctrine of geopolitics involved concepts diametrically opposed to the notion of Alfred Thayer Mahan about the significance of navies (he coined the term sea power ) in world conflict. He saw navy as

648-617: A foundation for the German variant of geopolitics, geopolitik . Influenced by the American geostrategist Alfred Thayer Mahan, Ratzel wrote of aspirations for German naval reach, agreeing that sea power was self-sustaining, as the profit from trade would pay for the merchant marine, unlike land power. The geopolitical theory of Ratzel has been criticized as being too sweeping, and his interpretation of human history and geography being too simple and mechanistic. Critically, he also underestimated

720-463: A global vision. However, in complete opposition to Ratzel's vision, Reclus considers geography not to be unchanging; it is supposed to evolve commensurately to the development of human society. His marginal political views resulted in his rejection by academia. French geographer and geopolitician Jacques Ancel (1879–1936) is considered to be the first theoretician of geopolitics in France, and gave

792-410: A grouping would have the capacity to outstrip America economically and, in the end, militarily. That danger would have to be resisted even if the dominant power was apparently benevolent, for if its intentions ever changed, America would find itself with a grossly diminished capacity for effective resistance and a growing inability to shape events." The main interest of the American leaders is maintaining

SECTION 10

#1732773200238

864-736: A large influence within the Russian military, police, and foreign policy elites and it has been used as a textbook in the Academy of the General Staff of the Russian military. Its publication in 1997 was well received in Russia and powerful Russian political figures subsequently took an interest in Dugin. According to Li Lingqun, a major feature of the People's Republic of China 's geopolitics

936-400: A multitude of organizations; many of these may form or are involved to the apparatus of contemporary states such as their subordinate civil and local government authorities. Polities do not need to be in control of any geographic areas, as not all political entities and governments have controlled the resources of one fixed geographic area. The historical Steppe Empires originating from

1008-610: A notable series of lectures at the European Center of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Paris and published Géopolitique in 1936. Like Reclus, Ancel rejects German determinist views on geopolitics (including Haushofer's doctrines). Braudel 's broad view used insights from other social sciences, employed the concept of the longue durée , and downplayed the importance of specific events. This method

1080-767: A perspective grounded in three assumptions: Connected with this stream, and former member of Hérodote editorial board, the French geographer Michel Foucher developed a long term analysis of international borders. He coined various neologism among them: Horogenesis : Neologism that describes the concept of studying the birth of borders , Dyade : border shared by two neighbouring states (for instance US territory has two terrestrial dyades : one with Canada and one with Mexico). The main book of this searcher "Fronts et frontières" (Fronts and borders) first published in 1991, without equivalent remains untranslated in English. Michel Foucher

1152-593: A pluralist conceptualization of democracy. According to him, V-Dem has moved away from its original emphasis on the conceptual varieties of democracy and adopted an uncontested view of democracy as liberal democracy while also ignoring the limitations of liberal democracy. The V-Dem dataset does not cover some countries, namely: Andorra , Antigua and Barbuda , Bahamas , Belize , Brunei , Dominica , Federated States of Micronesia , Grenada , Kiribati , Liechtenstein , Marshall Islands , Monaco , Nauru , Palau , Saint Kitts and Nevis , Saint Lucia , Saint Vincent and

1224-405: A polity can manifest in different forms such as a state , an empire , an international organization , a political organization or another identifiable, resource-manipulating organizational structure. A polity like a state does not need to be a sovereign unit. The preeminent polities today are Westphalian states and nation-states , commonly referred to as countries. A polity may encapsulate

1296-461: A threat from German (Teuton), Russian (Slav), and Japanese expansionism: The "fatal" relationship of Russia, Japan, and Germany "has now assumed through the urgency of natural forces a coalition directed against the survival of Saxon supremacy." It is "a dreadful Dreibund". Lea believed that while Japan moved against Far East and Russia against India, the Germans would strike at England, the center of

1368-527: A time. Thomas Hobbes was a highly significant figure in the conceptualisation of polities, in particular of states. Hobbes considered notions of the state and the body politic in Leviathan , his most notable work. Polities do not necessarily need to be governments. A corporation, for instance, is capable of marshalling resources, has a governance structure, legal rights and exclusive jurisdiction over internal decision making. An ethnic community within

1440-534: Is addressed by Bert Chapman in Geopolitics: A Guide To the Issues , in which Chapman makes note that academic and professional International Relations journals are more amenable to the study and analysis of Geopolitics, and in particular Classical geopolitics, than contemporary academic journals in the field of political geography. In disciplines outside geography, geopolitics is not negatively viewed (as it often

1512-409: Is among academic geographers such as Carolyn Gallaher or Klaus Dodds ) as a tool of imperialism or associated with Nazism, but rather viewed as a valid and consistent manner of assessing major international geopolitical circumstances and events, not necessarily related to armed conflict or military operations. French geopolitical doctrines broadly opposed to German Geopolitik and reject the idea of

SECTION 20

#1732773200238

1584-542: Is an expert of the African Union for borders affairs. More or less connected with this school, Stéphane Rosière can be quoted as the editor in Chief of the online journal L'Espace politique , this journal created in 2007 became the most prominent French journal of political geography and Geopolitics with Hérodote. French philosopher Michel Foucault's dispositif introduced for the purpose of biopolitical research

1656-718: Is attempting to change the laws of the sea to advance claims in the South China Sea . Another geopolitical issue is PRC's claims over the territories of Taiwan against the government of the Republic of China . Various analysts state that China created the Belt and Road Initiative as a geostrategic effort to take a larger role in global affairs, and undermine what the Communist Party perceives as American hegemony . It has also been argued that China co-founded

1728-525: Is based on loose justifications. This has been observed in particular by critics of contemporary academic geography, and proponents of a "neo"-classical geopolitics in particular. These include Haverluk et al., who argue that the stigmatization of geopolitics in academia is unhelpful as geopolitics as a field of positivist inquiry maintains potential in researching and resolving topical, often politicized issues such as conflict resolution and prevention, and mitigating climate change . Negative associations with

1800-556: Is considered to be the first having coined the term in English as early as 1902 and later published in England in 1904 in his book Foundations of Modern Europe . Sir Halford Mackinder 's Heartland Theory initially received little attention outside the world of geography, but some thinkers have claimed that it subsequently influenced the foreign policies of world powers. Those scholars who look to MacKinder through critical lenses accept him as an organic strategist who tried to build

1872-637: Is more like Britain's than Russia's in the New Great Game, where Russia plays the role that the Russian Empire originally did. Chen stated, "Regardless of the prospect, China through the BRI is deep in playing a 'New Great Game' in Central Asia that differs considerably from its historical precedent about 150 years ago when Britain and Russia jostled with each other on the Eurasian steppes." In

1944-539: Is war) in 1976. This book symbolizes the birth of this new school of geopolitics (if not so far the first French school of geopolitics as Ancel was very isolated in the 1930s–40s). Initially linked with communist party evolved to a less liberal approach. At the end of the 1980s he founded the Institut Français de Géopolitique (French Institute for Geopolitics) that publishes the Hérodote revue. While rejecting

2016-729: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and New Development Bank to compete with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in development finance . According to Bobo Lo , the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has been advertised as a "political organization of a new type" claimed to transcend geopolitics. Political scientist Pak Nung Wong says that a major form of geopolitics between

2088-513: The Eurasian Steppe are the most prominent example of non- sedentary polities. These polities differ from states because of their lack of a fixed, defined territory. Empires also differ from states in that their territories are not statically defined or permanently fixed and consequently that their body politic was also dynamic and fluid. It is useful then to think of a polity as a political community. A polity can also be defined either as

2160-575: The Russian Academy of Sciences , Vadim Tsymbursky (1957–2009), coined the term "island-Russia" and developed the "Great Limitrophe " concept. Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov (retired), a Russian geopolitics specialist of the early 21st century, headed the Academy of Geopolitical Problems ( Russian : Академия геополитических проблем ), which analyzes the international and domestic situations and develops geopolitical doctrine. Earlier, he headed

2232-857: The World Island or Core, comprising Eurasia and Africa ; and the Peripheral "islands", including the Americas , Australia , Japan , the British Isles , and Oceania . Not only was the Periphery noticeably smaller than the World Island, it necessarily required much sea transport to function at the technological level of the World Island—which contained sufficient natural resources for a developed economy. Mackinder posited that

V-Dem Democracy Indices - Misplaced Pages Continue

2304-407: The federated states that make up a federation , confederation , or a quasi-federal system. At the level of international relations, geopolitics is a method of studying foreign policy to understand, explain, and predict international political behavior through geographical variables. These include area studies , climate , topography , demography , natural resources , and applied science of

2376-534: The propaganda of Nazi Germany . The key concepts of Haushofer's Geopolitik were Lebensraum, autarky , pan-regions , and organic borders. States have, Haushofer argued, an undeniable right to seek natural borders which would guarantee autarky . Haushofer's influence within the Nazi Party has been challenged, given that Haushofer failed to incorporate the Nazis' racial ideology into his work. Popular views of

2448-791: The British Empire. He thought the Anglo-Saxons faced certain disaster from their militant opponents. Two national security advisors from the Cold War period, Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski , argued to continue the United States' geopolitical focus on Eurasia and, particularly Russia, despite the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War . Both continued their influence on geopolitics after

2520-570: The Cold War, Kissinger argues, both sides of the Atlantic recognized that, "unless America is organically involved in Europe, it would later be obliged to involve itself under circumstances which would be far less favorable to both sides of the Atlantic. That is even more true today. Germany has become so strong that existing European institutions cannot strike a balance between Germany and its European partners all by themselves. Nor can Europe, even with

2592-520: The Grenadines , Samoa , San Marino , Tonga , Tuvalu , and the Vatican . Polities A polity is a group of people with a collective identity , who are organized by some form of political institutionalized social relations , and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any group of people organized for governance, such as the board of a corporation, the government of

2664-752: The Main Directorate for International Military Cooperation of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation . Vladimir Karyakin, leading researcher at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies , has proposed the term "geopolitics of the third wave". Aleksandr Dugin , a Russian political analyst who has developed a close relationship with Russia's Academy of the General Staff wrote " The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia " in 1997, which has had

2736-573: The Rimland must be prevented. Spykman modified Mackinder's formula on the relationship between the Heartland and the Rimland (or the inner crescent), claiming that "Who controls the rimland rules Eurasia. Who rules Eurasia controls the destinies of the world." This theory can be traced in the origins of containment , a U.S. policy on preventing the spread of Soviet influence after World War II (see also Truman Doctrine ). Another follower of Mackinder

2808-537: The US and China includes cybersecurity competition, policy regulations regarding technology standards and social media platforms, and traditional and non-traditional forms of espionage. One view of the New Great Game is a shift to geoeconomic compared to geopolitical competition. The interest in oil and gas includes pipelines that transmit energy to China's east coast. Xiangming Chen believes that China's role

2880-713: The Voice and Accountability Indicator (includes V-Dem's Expanded freedom of expression, freedom of association, and Clean elections indicators). The Digital Society Project is a subset of indicators on V-Dem's survey that asks questions about social media's political status and the internet. Specifically, the Digital Society Project measures a range of questions related to internet censorship, misinformation online, and internet shutdowns. This annual report includes 35 indicators assessing five areas: disinformation, digital media freedom, state regulation of digital media,

2952-428: The assistance of Germany, manage […] Russia" all by itself. Thus Kissinger believed that no country's interests would ever be served if Germany and Russia were to ever form a partnership in which each country would consider itself the principal partner. They would raise fears of condominium. Without America, Britain and France cannot cope with Germany and Russia; and "without Europe, America could turn … into an island off

V-Dem Democracy Indices - Misplaced Pages Continue

3024-548: The balance of power in Eurasia. Having converted from an ideologist into a geopolitician, Kissinger retrospectively interpreted the Cold War in geopolitical terms—an approach which was not characteristic of his works during the Cold War. Now, however, he focused on the beginning of the Cold War: "The objective of moral opposition to Communism had merged with the geopolitical task of containing Soviet expansion." Nixon, he added,

3096-509: The centenary of The Geographical Pivot of History, Historian Paul Kennedy wrote: "Right now with hundreds of thousands of US troops in the Eurasian rimlands and with administration constantly explaining why it has to stay the course, it looks as if Washington is taking seriously Mackinder's injunction to ensure control of the geographical pivot of history." Friedrich Ratzel (1844–1904), influenced by thinkers such as Darwin and zoologist Ernst Heinrich Haeckel , contributed to 'Geopolitik' by

3168-641: The electoral democracy index, the liberal democracy index, the participatory democracy index, the Deliberative Democracy Index and the egalitarian democracy index. The table below shows V-Dem Democracy rankings published in 2024. A variety of other organizations use V-Dem's dataset in the construction of their indicators. The World Bank 's Worldwide Governance Indicators also use V-Dem's data to inform their Control of Corruption indicator (includes V-Dem's Corruption index), Rule of Law Indicator (includes V-Dem's liberal component index), and

3240-535: The end of the Cold War, writing books on the subject in the 1990s— Diplomacy and The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives . The Anglo-American classical geopolitical theories were revived. Kissinger argued against the belief that with the dissolution of the USSR, hostile intentions had come to an end and traditional foreign policy considerations no longer applied. "They would argue … that Russia, regardless of who governs it, sits astride

3312-466: The expansion on the biological conception of geography, without a static conception of borders. Positing that states are organic and growing, with borders representing only a temporary stop in their movement, he held that the expanse of a state's borders is a reflection of the health of the nation—meaning that static countries are in decline. Ratzel published several papers, among which was the essay "Lebensraum" (1901) concerning biogeography . Ratzel created

3384-623: The first time ever, a "non-Eurasian" power had emerged as a key arbiter of "Eurasian" power relations. The book states its purpose: "The formulation of a comprehensive and integrated Eurasian geostrategy is therefore the purpose of this book." Although the power configuration underwent a revolutionary change, Brzezinski confirmed three years later, Eurasia was still a mega-continent. Like Spykman, Brzezinski acknowledges that: "Cumulatively, Eurasia's power vastly overshadows America's." In classical Spykman terms, Brzezinski formulated his geostrategic "chessboard" doctrine of Eurasia, which aims to prevent

3456-611: The form of a hypothesized 'racial character,' to the factor of greatest significance in the constitution of human society. These differences led after 1933 to friction and ultimately to open denunciation of geopolitics by Nazi ideologues. Nevertheless, German Geopolitik was discredited by its (mis)use in Nazi expansionist policy of World War II and has never achieved standing comparable to the pre-war period. The resultant negative association, particularly in U.S. academic circles, between classical geopolitics and Nazi or imperialist ideology,

3528-462: The generalizations and broad abstractions employed by the German and Anglo-American traditions (and the new geographers ), this school does focus on spatial dimension of geopolitics affairs on different levels of analysis. This approach emphasizes the importance of multi-level (or multi-scales) analysis and maps at the opposite of critical geopolitics which avoid such tools. Lacoste proposed that every conflict (both local or global) can be considered from

3600-548: The geopolitics of renewable energy . According to Christopher Gogwilt and other researchers, the term is currently being used to describe a broad spectrum of concepts, in a general sense used as "a synonym for international political relations", but more specifically "to imply the global structure of such relations"; this usage builds on an "early-twentieth-century term for a pseudoscience of political geography " and other pseudoscientific theories of historical and geographic determinism . Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840–1914)

3672-520: The grain reserves of Ukraine, and many other natural resources. Mackinder's notion of geopolitics was summed up when he said: Who rules Central and Eastern Europe commands the Heartland. Who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island. Who rules the World-Island commands the World. Nicholas J. Spykman was both a follower and critic of geostrategists Alfred Mahan, and Halford Mackinder . His work

SECTION 50

#1732773200238

3744-459: The importance of social organization in the development of power. After World War I , the thoughts of Rudolf Kjellén and Ratzel were picked up and extended by a number of German authors such as Karl Haushofer (1869–1946), Erich Obst , Hermann Lautensach, and Otto Maull . In 1923, Karl Haushofer founded the Zeitschrift für Geopolitik (Journal for Geopolitics), which was later used in

3816-586: The industrial centers of the Periphery were necessarily located in widely separated locations. The World Island could send its navy to destroy each one of them in turn, and could locate its own industries in a region further inland than the Periphery (so they would have a longer struggle reaching them, and would face a well-stocked industrial bastion). Mackinder called this region the Heartland . It essentially comprised Central and Eastern Europe : Ukraine , Western Russia , and Mitteleuropa . The Heartland contained

3888-679: The planet – the Royal Geographic Society in London" Haushofer adopted both Mackinder's Heartland thesis and his view of the Russian-German alliance – powers that Mackinder saw as the major contenders for control of Eurasia in the twentieth century. Following Mackinder he suggested an alliance with the Soviet Union and, advancing a step beyond Mackinder, added Japan to his design of the Eurasian Bloc. In 2004, at

3960-492: The polarization of online media, and online social cleavages. It has been updated each year starting in 2019, with data covering from 2000–2021. Similar to other expert analyses like Freedom House , these data are more prone to false positives when compared with remotely sensed data, such as that from Access Now or the OpenNet Initiative . Political scientist Jonas Wolff criticized V-Dem for gradually abandoning

4032-467: The principle of spaces polymorphic faces depending from many factors among them mankind, culture, and ideas) as opposed to determinism. Due to the influence of German Geopolitik on French geopolitics, the latter were for a long time banished from academic works. In the mid-1970s, Yves Lacoste —a French geographer who was directly inspired by Ancel, Braudel and Vidal de la Blache—wrote La géographie, ça sert d'abord à faire la guerre (Geography first use

4104-577: The region being evaluated. Geopolitics focuses on political power linked to geographic space, in particular, territorial waters and land territory in correlation with diplomatic history . Topics of geopolitics include relations between the interests of international political actors focused within an area, a space, or a geographical element, relations which create a geopolitical system. Critical geopolitics deconstructs classical geopolitical theories, by showing their political or ideological functions for great powers . There are some works that discuss

4176-556: The role of geopolitics in the Nazi Third Reich suggest a fundamental significance on the part of the geo-politicians in the ideological orientation of the Nazi state. Bassin (1987) reveals that these popular views are in important ways misleading and incorrect. Despite the numerous similarities and affinities between the two doctrines, geopolitics was always held suspect by the National Socialist ideologists. This

4248-436: The shores of Eurasia." Nicholas J. Spykman 's vision of Eurasia was strongly confirmed: "Geopolitically, America is an island off the shores of the large landmass of Eurasia, whose resources and population far exceed those of the United States. The domination by a single power of either of Eurasia's two principal spheres—Europe and Asia—remains a good definition of strategic danger for America. Cold War or no Cold War. For such

4320-446: The strategic management of geopolitical interests…. But in the meantime it is imperative that no Eurasian challenger emerges, capable of dominating Eurasia and thus also of challenging America… For America the chief geopolitical prize is Eurasia…and America's global primacy is directly dependent on how long and how effectively its preponderance on the Eurasian continent is sustained." The Austro-Hungarian historian Emil Reich (1854–1910)

4392-684: The term "geopolitics" and its practical application stemming from its association with World War II and pre-World War II German scholars and students of geopolitics are largely specific to the field of academic geography, and especially sub-disciplines of human geography such as political geography. However, this negative association is not as strong in disciplines such as history or political science, which make use of geopolitical concepts. Classical geopolitics forms an important element of analysis for military history as well as for sub-disciplines of political science such as international relations and security studies . This difference in disciplinary perspectives

SECTION 60

#1732773200238

4464-429: The territory which Halford Mackinder called the geopolitical heartland, and it is the heir to one of the most potent imperial traditions." Therefore, the United States must "maintain the global balance of power vis-à-vis the country with a long history of expansionism." After Russia, the second geopolitical threat which remained was Germany and, as Mackinder had feared ninety years ago, its partnership with Russia. During

4536-592: The two monsters – Britain and Russia – it was the latter that Mahan considered more threatening to the fate of Central Asia . Mahan was impressed by Russia's transcontinental size and strategically favorable position for southward expansion. Therefore, he found it necessary for the Anglo-Saxon "sea power" to resist Russia. Homer Lea , in The Day of the Saxon (1912), asserted that the entire Anglo-Saxon race faced

4608-427: The unification of this mega-continent. "Europe and Asia are politically and economically powerful…. It follows that… American foreign policy must…employ its influence in Eurasia in a manner that creates a stable continental equilibrium, with the United States as the political arbiter.… Eurasia is thus the chessboard on which the struggle for global primacy continues to be played, and that struggle involves geo- strategy –

4680-437: The view that man and societies are influenced by climate. He believed that hotter climates create hot-tempered people and colder climates aloof people, whereas the mild climate of France is ideal for political systems. Considered one of the founders of French geopolitics, Élisée Reclus , is the author of a book considered a reference in modern geography (Nouvelle Géographie universelle). Alike Ratzel, he considers geography through

4752-409: Was Karl Haushofer who called Mackinder's Geographical Pivot of History a "genius' scientific tractate." He commented on it: "Never have I seen anything greater than those few pages of geopolitical masterwork." Mackinder located his Pivot, in the words of Haushofer, on "one of the first solid, geopolitically and geographically irreproachable maps, presented to one of the earliest scientific forums of

4824-441: Was a frequent commentator on world naval strategic and diplomatic affairs. Mahan believed that national greatness was inextricably associated with the sea—and particularly with its commercial use in peace and its control in war. Mahan's theoretical framework came from Antoine-Henri Jomini , and emphasized that strategic locations (such as choke points , canals, and coaling stations), as well as quantifiable levels of fighting power in

4896-422: Was a geopolitical rather than an ideological cold warrior. Three years after Kissinger's Diplomacy , Zbigniew Brzezinski followed suit, launching The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives and, after three more years, The Geostrategic Triad: Living with China, Europe, and Russia. The Grand Chessboard described the American triumph in the Cold War in terms of control over Eurasia: for

4968-555: Was also adopted in the field of geopolitical thought where it now plays a role. The geopolitical stance adopted by Russia has traditionally been informed by a Eurasian perspective, and Russia's location provides a degree of continuity between the Tsarist and Soviet geostrategic stance and the position of Russia in the international order. In the 1990s, a senior researcher at the Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences of

5040-479: Was based on assumptions similar to Mackinder's, including the unity of world politics and the world sea. He extends this to include the unity of the air. Spykman adopts Mackinder's divisions of the world, renaming some: Under Spykman's theory, a Rimland separates the Heartland from ports that are usable throughout the year (that is, not frozen up during winter). Spykman suggested this required that attempts by Heartland nations (particularly Russia ) to conquer ports in

5112-469: Was inspired by the French geographer Paul Vidal de la Blache (who in turn was influenced by German thought, particularly that of Friedrich Ratzel whom he had met in Germany). Braudel's method was to analyse the interdependence between individuals and their environment. Vidalian geopolitics is based on varied forms of cartography and on possibilism (founded on a societal approach of geography—i.e. on

5184-499: Was understandable, for the underlying philosophical orientation of geopolitics did not comply with that of National Socialism. Geopolitics shared Ratzel's scientific materialism and geographic determinism, and held that human society was determined by external influences—in the face of which qualities held innately by individuals or groups were of reduced or no significance. National Socialism rejected in principle both materialism and determinism and also elevated innate human qualities, in

#237762