C - Geopolitics

• What term was initially coined to highlight the relationship between space and power?

  Geopolitics
• What does geopolitics draw attention to?

  The relationship between space and power
• When did early thinkers on geopolitics emerge?

  Mid 19th century
• What did early thinkers explore regarding state power?

  The geographical basis of state power
• How did geography in the 19th century limit inquiry?

  Debates were restricted to society members
• What was geography associated with in Western Europe during the 19th century?

  Colonial expansion
• Who published "Politishe Geographie" in 1897?

  Frederich Ratzel
• What did Ratzel's theory lead to regarding state power?

  A racialised hierarchy among states
• How did Ratzel view states in relation to each other?

  As organisms struggling for survival
• Which theory influenced Ratzel's ideas?

  Darwin's theory of evolution
• What did Ratzel suggest about conflict among states?

  Conflict is always inevitable
• Who coined the term "Geopolitics" in 1899?

  Rudolf Kjellen
• What did Kjellen emphasize in his analysis?

  The tension between geography and politics
• How did Kjellen view geography?

  As scientific and rational
• What concept did Ellen Churchill Semple theorize about?

  Environmental determinism
• What did Semple argue about culture and characteristics?

  They are determined by geography
• How did Semple use geographic conditions to justify imperial expansion?

  By claiming geographic isolation of regions
• Who was Halford Mackinder?

  A zoologist and political strategist
• What did Mackinder argue about the post-Colombian age?

  We need to scrutinize political strategy
• What is Mackinder's Heartland Thesis?

  Future struggles for space will occur in Eurasia
• What does Mackinder's quote about the Heartland imply?

  Control of the Heartland leads to global dominance
• How is Mackinder's perspective described in terms of its focus?

  Eurocentric yet claims to be global
• What did the Versailles Peace Accords establish?

  The state of Yugoslavia
• How did the Versailles Peace Accords relate to Mackinder's ideas?

  They implemented his geopolitical concepts
• Who was Petr Kropotkin?

  A social Darwinist who believed in cooperation
• What did WEB Du Bois challenge regarding WW1?

  US involvement in the war
• How did Du Bois view imperial expansion?

  As a force creating racialized violence
• Who was Karl Haushofer?

  A political geographer influenced by Ratzel
• What did Haushofer examine regarding Germany's position?

  Its limitations post-Versailles
• How did Haushofer's ideas influence Hitler?

  Ideas of living space and land reclamation
• What was Isaiah Bowman's critique of Haushofer?

  Haushofer's geopolitics lacked empirical truth
• Why did the term 'geopolitics' decline post-WW2?

  Due to its association with Nazi ideology
• What are the key characteristics of classical geopolitics?

  • Role of space in international relations
  • Often referred to as 'imperial geopolitics'
  • Emerged from environmental science and evolutionary biology
  • Emphasized conflict and struggle for territory
• What influenced the reluctance of geographers to use 'geopolitics' after WW2?

  • Association with Nazi ideology
  • Perception of geopolitics as distorted
  • Shift towards more empirical and scientific approaches
• What does Critical Geopolitics seek to challenge?

  Certain representations of the world
• What is at the heart of Critical Geopolitics?

  Questions of power and storytelling
• What was the time frame of the Cold War?

  1947-1991
• How was the world divided during the Cold War?

  Into US/NATO and Soviet/Warsaw Pact blocs
• What happened to geopolitics as an intellectual practice post-WW2?

  It fell from favour but ideas endured
• Who defended Mackinder’s ideas of geopolitics in 2004?

  Colin Gray