GEOG 122 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Geopolitics, Omnipotence, Domino Theory
Document Summary
Geopolitics studies the political and strategic significance of geography, defined as the location, size, resources and power of regions and nations. People who study international relations, geopolitics is important. Most fundamental factor in foreign affairs because it is most permanent. Alliances make come and go but geography is enduring. Pivot area or heartland = power base of landman (militarial army) Outer crescent = power base of seamen (nations with naval strong) Inner crescent = meeting zone, location of shatterbelts (points of conflicts between base of landman and seamen) Key geopolitical regions: world island, heartland, outer crescent, inner crescent (rimland) including shatterbelts. Key power relations: who rules eastern europe commands the heartland / who rules the heartland commands the world island / who rules the world island commands the world . Heartland => russia land, rimland => easter europe and area surrounding russia land part, world island => the sea ring around europe, russia, asia and africa part.
