DEMOCRACY AND SECURITY in Southeastern Europe, No 1

Re vi ew
Co nse rva ti ve vs.
Pro gre ssi ve Ge o po li ti cs
Pi še: Sead Turčalo
Ke arns, Ge rry (2009):
Ge opo li ti cs and Empi re.
The Le ga cy of Ha lfo rd
Ma cki nder, New Yo rk:
Oxfo rd Uni ve rsi ty Press,
p. 344
The di scu ssi on on the hi sto ry of (cla ssi cal) ge opo li ti cs
is the di scu ssi on of its mi su se, of impe ri ali sm and “te -
rri to ri al de vi ati on”. Swe di sh po li ti cal sci enti st Ru do lph
Kje llen (1864 – 1922) is co nsi de red to be the fa ther of
ge opo li ti cs, which he si tu ated as one of the co urses in
the sci ence of the sta te, de fi ni ng its su bje ct of re se arch
as “the sta te as a te rri to ry”, but it is the Brit Ha lfo rd
Jo hn Ma cki nder, the gre ate st impe ri ali st amo ngst ge -
opo li ti ci ans, who is co nsi de red to be a true the ore ti -
cal sha per of cla ssi cal ge opo li ti cs.
The pre se nta ti on of his te xt “The Ge ogra phi cal Pi vot of
Hi sto ry” (1904) to the Ro yal Ge ogra phi cal So ci ety was
ma rked by mo de rn po li ti cal sci enti sts and hi sto ri ans as
a “de fi ni ng mo me nt in the hi sto ry of ge opo li ti cs” and a
wo rk of “ico no cla stic va lue”. When spe aki ng abo ut the
“ge ogra phi cal ca usa li ty of hi sto ry”, Ma cki nder de ve lo -
ped his Eu ra si an stra te gy or the the ory of the He artla -
nd (the he art of the wo rld be ing the te rri to ry co ve ri ng
Ru ssia, We st Si be ria, Ka za khstan, Si nki ang and Mo ngo -
lia) as the key to do mi na ti on of the wo rld. (pp. 151 –
159). For him the who le wo rld is a clo sed sta ge, in a
po st-Co lu mbi an era in which eve nts on one si de of the
wo rld are re fle cted to the re st of the glo be (pp. 131-
137). In such a co nte xt, altho ugh Ma cki nder avo ids usi -
ng this te rm, ge opo li ti cs is an ana lyti cal to ol for stu dyi ng
the ra ce of gre at po we rs on the clo sed sta ge. Addi ng to
his the ory of He artla nd in his 1919 bo ok “De mo cra tic
Ide als and Re ali ty”, he de fi ned his fa mo us tri ptych
The author is a Se ni or Le ctu rer
at the Fa cu lty of Po li ti cal Sci ences of the
Uni ve rsi ty of Sa ra je vo
„Who ru les Ea st Eu ro pe co mma nds the He artla nd;
Who ru les the He artla nd, co mma nds the Wo rld-Isla nd;
Who ru les the Wo rld-Isla nd, co ntro ls the wo rld “
a di ctum which he ho ped “a fla unti ng angel” wo uld
whi sper to Bri ti sh offi ci als whi le they we re ta lki ng to
the de fe ated Ge rma ns after the Fi rst Wo rld War. (Ma -
cki nder (1919) 2009)
The ana lysis of Ma cki nde r’s the ory and its influ ence
on mo de rn ge opo li ti cs is the su bje ct of the bo ok „Ge -
opo li ti cs and Empi re. The Le ga cy of Ha lfo rd Ma cki -
nder“ by au thor Ge rry Ke arns, pro fe ssor of
go ve rnme nt and inte rna ti onal affa irs and di re ctor of
the Scho ol of Pu blic and Inte rna ti onal Affa irs at Vi rgi -
nia Tech in Bla cksbu rg, USA.
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