THE PALCE AND INFLUENCE OF HALFORD MACKINDER’S THEORY IN BRITAIN’S GLOBAL POLITICS

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Assistant Professor, Europena Studies, University of Tehran, Iran

Abstract

This study attempts to explore the development and evolution of Mackinder's geopolitical thinking in global politics of British Empire and its influence thereafter. This research paper examines the characteristics of geopolitical perspective of Britain, through Halford Mackinder's Heartland theory during the three periods of the early twentieth century to the present time. In this regard, the paper will review variables of territorial status, power, geopolitical rivalries, and geopolitical determinism to explore the core thesis of Mackinder's geopolitics and implications of British international politics today. The article approaches realism/neorealism for understanding the role of Mackinder's geopolitical considerations in Britain's global politics. The Author argues that Mackinder primarily tried to identify geopolitical advantages and disadvantages of Great Britain, and then, finding solutions to sustain British Empire's life and prevent its decline. The findings show that interactions of identified factors played a role in policy development and geopolitical rivalries with other European powers. This article suggests that the foreign policy decisions of British statesmen have largely influenced by Mackinder's geopolitical variables in terms of balance of power and the continuity of Britain's influence during the Empire and in the present time in some parts of the world, including Eurasia and the Middle East.

Keywords

References

  1. الف) فارسی

    1. حافظ‌نیا، م. [Mj1] (1388)، نقش استراتژیک خلیج‌فارس و تنگۀ هرمز، تهران، سمت.
    2. دوورژه، م. (1365)، جامعه‌شناسی سیاسی. ترجمۀ ا. قاضی، تهران: دانشگاه تهران.
    3. عزتی، ع. ا . (1388)، ژئوپلیتیک. تهران: سمت.
    4. مجتهد زاده، پ. (۱۳۸۲)، جغرافیای سیاسی و سیاست جغرافیایی، تهران: سمت.
    5. میرحیدر، د . (1389)، مبانی جغرافیای سیاسی،  تهران: سمت.
    6. ویلسون ه. (1380)، آخرین سال‌های زندگی لُرد کُرزن، ترجمۀ ا. قراگوزلو، تهران: مؤسسۀ مطالعات تاریخ معاصر ایران.
    7. واعظ‌زاده، ح. (1391)، استراتژی سنتی بریتانیا در خلیج‌فارس، سومین همایش دوسالانۀ بین‌المللی خلیج‌فارس، دانشگاه تهران، 12-10 اردیبهشت.
    8. واعظ‌‌زاده، ح. (1395)، تحلیلی بر تحولات سرنوشت‌ساز در تاریخ بریتانیا و اروپا. تهران: مؤسسۀ اطلاعات.

    ب) خارجی

    1. Anderson, J. (2007). Singular Europe: An Empire Once Again. In W. Armstrong, & J. Anderson, Geopolitics of European Union Enlargement The Fortress Empire, Oxen: Routledge. pp. 9-29.
    2. Armitage, D. D. (2006). Thought in History, Literature and Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    3. Armitage, D. D. (2004).The Ideological Origins of The British Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    4. Ash, T. G. (2004). Free World: Why a Crisis of the West Reveals the Opportunity of Our Time. Allen Lane.
    5. Ashworth, L. M. (June 2011). Realism and the spirit of 1919: Halford Mackinder, geopolitics and the reality of the League of Nations. European Journal of International Relations, Vol. 17, No. 2 , pp. 279-301.
    6. Bentley, M. (2003). Lord Salisbury's World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    7. Black, J. (1998). America or Europe? British Foreign Policy. London: UCL Press.
    8. Black, J. (2007). Trade, Empire and British Foreign Policy. In The politics of a Commercial State Oxen: Routledge. pp. 55-183.
    9. Blouet, B. W. (1976). Sir Halford Mackinder As British High Commissioner to South Russia. The Geographical Journal, Vol. 142, No. 2 , pp. 228-236.
    10. Brighi, E. (2013). Foreign Policy, Domestic Politics and International Relations, London: Routledge.
    11. Brzezinski, Z. (1992). ‘The Cold War and its Aftermath’, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 71, No. 4, pp. 31–49.
    12. Carr. E. H. (1961). What is History? . Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
    13. Cowling, M. (1975). The Impact of Hitler British Politics And British Policy1933- 1940. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    14. Cox, R. (1953). The Idea of International Labor Regulation. International Labour Review, Vol. 68, No. 2, pp.191–196.
    15. Crouzet, F. (1990). Wars, Blockade, and Economic Change in Europe. In Crouzet, F. Britain Ascendant: Comparative Studies in Franco-British Economic History.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 295–318.
    16. Dalby, S. (1990) Creating the second Cold War. London: Francis Pinter.
    17. Darwin, J. (2009). The Empire Project, The Rise and Fall of the : British World-System, 1830–1970. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    18. De Booy, H. (1937). ‘The Lif Lines of the British Empire’, Pacific Affairs, Vol. 10, No. 2973, pp. 161-167.
    19. Dodds, K. (2007). Geopolitics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    20. Dodds, K. & Sidaway, J. D. (2004) ‘Halford Mackinder and the 'Geographical Pivot of History': A Centennial Retrospective’, The Geographical Journal, Vol. 170, No. 4, pp. 292-297.
    21. Dodds, K. (1994). Geopolitics in the Foreign Office: British Representations of Argentina. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers , pp. 273-290.
    22. Dodds, K. (Mar 1993). Geopolitics, Experts and the Making of Foreign Policy, Area, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 70-74.
    23. Flint, C. (2005). The Geography of War and Peace From Death Camps to Diplomats. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    24. Gaddis, J. L. (1982). Strategies of Containment: A Critical Appraisal of Postwar American National Security Policy. New York: Oxford University Press.
    25. Gallagher, B. (1982). ‘The Decline, Revival and Fall of the British Empire’. In Seal, A., The Ford Lectures. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.
    26. Ginzburg, C. (1995). ‘Killing a Chinese Mandarin: The Moral Implications of Distance’. In Hufton O., Historical Change and Human Rights: The Oxford Amnesty Lectures. New York: Cambridge University Press.
    27. Harvey, N. (2001). ‘The Political Nature of Identities, Borders and Orders’. In Jacobsen, A. & Lapid, Discourse and Strategy in the Zapatista Rebellion. University of Minnesota Press pp. 249–274.
    28. Hay, W. A. (2003). ‘Geopolitics of Europe’. Orbis. Vol. 47, No. 2, pp. 295-310.
    29. Headrick, D. R. (1981). The Tools of Empire: Technology and European Imperialism in the Nineteenth Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    30. Howard, C. (1967) ‘Policy of Isloation’ The Histotrical Journal, Vol. 10. No. 1, pp. 77-88.
    31. Hume, D. (1740). ‘A Treatise of Human Nature’.(ed. )L. A. , 2nd. In Bigge. S., & Nidditch, P., Of Contiguity, and Distance in Space and Time. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    32. Kearns, G. (2009). H J. Mackinder . Retrieved May 20, 2013, from Elsevier Inc: http://www.elsevierdirect.com/brochures/hugy/SampleContent/HJ-Mackinder.pdf
    33. Kearns, G. (2009). Geopolitics and Empire, the Legacy of Halford Mackinder. New York: Oxford University Press.
    34. Kenny, M. R. G. (1988). Engaging Gramsci: International Relations Theory and the New Gramscians. Review of International Studies , Vo. 24, No. 1, pp. 3–21.
    35. Mackinder, H. (1904). The Geographical Pivot of History. The Geographical Journal, pp. 421-37.
    36. Mackinder, H. (1911-1915). The Nations of the Modern World: An Elementary Study in Geography. London: George Philip and Son.
    37. Mackinder, H. (1996). Democratic Ideals and Reality. Washington, D.C.: National Defense University Press.
    38. Mahajan, S. (2002). British foreign policy 1874–1914: The Role of India. London: Routledge.
    39. Makinder Forum: The Geopolitical Challenge. (2009). Retrieved September 27, 2013, Retrieved from.oxfordscholarship: http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230112.001.0001/acprof-9780199230112-bibliography-1
    40. Mclean, I. (2010). What’s Wrong with the British Constitution? Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    41. Skinner, Q. & Phillipson N. (1993). ‘The Spirit of the Laws’. (eds.), Political Discourse in Early Modern Britain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    42. O’Dowd, L. (2007). ‘From Empire to the European Union via the National State’. In Armstrong, W. & Anderson & J., The Three Ages of the Irish Border Geopolitics of European Union Enlargement: The Fortress Empire. Oxen: Routledge. pp. 30-48.
    43. Parker, N. (2008). ‘Denmark’s and Britain’s Marginality Strategies Compared’. In Parker, N., The Geopolitics of Europe's Identity. England: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 103-120.
    44. Parker, N. (2008). Theoretical Introduction: Spaces, Centers, and Margins. In N. Parker, The Geopolitics of Europe's Identity. England: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 3-24.
    45. Parker, N. & Joenniemi, P. (March 22-25, 2006). ‘Playing the margin: Power, Agency and Resistance Away from the Centre of Power’ In Joenniemi, P. & Parker, N. Geometries of Order, Power and Marginal. ISA Conference. San Diego.
    46. Rippy, F. (1946). Historical Evolution of Hispanic America. Oxford.
    47. Rousseau, J. J. & Deudney, D. (2011). ‘"Summary" in Roosevelt, Reading Rousseau’. In Booth, K., Anarchy and Violence Interdependence, Realism and World Politics. London: Routledge. pp. 17-34.
    48. Spykman, N. (1944). The Geography of the Peace. Brace , New York: Harcourt.
    49. Talbott, S. (1995). The New Geopolitics: Defending Democracy in the Post-Cold War Era. The World Today, Vol. 51, No. 1 , pp. 7-10.
    50. Tuathail, G. & Agnew J (1992) 'Geopolitics and Discourse: Practical Geopolitical Reasoning in American Foreign Policy', Political Geography , Vol. 11, pp.190-204.
    51. Tuathail, G. Ó., & Toal, G. (1994). Critical Geopolitics and Development Theory: Intensifying the Dialogue, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 228-233.

     

     

    الف) فارسی

    1. حافظ‌نیا، م.  (1388)، نقش استراتژیک خلیج‌فارس و تنگۀ هرمز، تهران، سمت.
    2. دوورژه، م. (1365)، جامعه‌شناسی سیاسی. ترجمۀ ا. قاضی، تهران: دانشگاه تهران.
    3. عزتی، ع. ا . (1388)، ژئوپلیتیک. تهران: سمت.
    4. مجتهد زاده، پ. (۱۳۸۲)، جغرافیای سیاسی و سیاست جغرافیایی، تهران: سمت.
    5. میرحیدر، د . (1389)، مبانی جغرافیای سیاسی،  تهران: سمت.
    6. ویلسون ه. (1380)، آخرین سال‌های زندگی لُرد کُرزن، ترجمۀ ا. قراگوزلو، تهران: مؤسسۀ مطالعات تاریخ معاصر ایران.
    7. واعظ‌زاده، ح. (1391)، استراتژی سنتی بریتانیا در خلیج‌فارس، سومین همایش دوسالانۀ بین‌المللی خلیج‌فارس، دانشگاه تهران، 12-10 اردیبهشت.
    8. واعظ‌‌زاده، ح. (1395)، تحلیلی بر تحولات سرنوشت‌ساز در تاریخ بریتانیا و اروپا. تهران: مؤسسۀ اطلاعات.

    ب) خارجی

    1. Anderson, J. (2007). Singular Europe: An Empire Once Again. In W. Armstrong, & J. Anderson, Geopolitics of European Union Enlargement The Fortress Empire, Oxen: Routledge. pp. 9-29.
    2. Armitage, D. D. (2006). Thought in History, Literature and Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    3. Armitage, D. D. (2004).The Ideological Origins of The British Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    4. Ash, T. G. (2004). Free World: Why a Crisis of the West Reveals the Opportunity of Our Time. Allen Lane.
    5. Ashworth, L. M. (June 2011). Realism and the spirit of 1919: Halford Mackinder, geopolitics and the reality of the League of Nations. European Journal of International Relations, Vol. 17, No. 2 , pp. 279-301.
    6. Bentley, M. (2003). Lord Salisbury's World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    7. Black, J. (1998). America or Europe? British Foreign Policy. London: UCL Press.
    8. Black, J. (2007). Trade, Empire and British Foreign Policy. In The politics of a Commercial State Oxen: Routledge. pp. 55-183.
    9. Blouet, B. W. (1976). Sir Halford Mackinder As British High Commissioner to South Russia. The Geographical Journal, Vol. 142, No. 2 , pp. 228-236.
    10. Brighi, E. (2013). Foreign Policy, Domestic Politics and International Relations, London: Routledge.
    11. Brzezinski, Z. (1992). ‘The Cold War and its Aftermath’, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 71, No. 4, pp. 31–49.
    12. Carr. E. H. (1961). What is History? . Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
    13. Cowling, M. (1975). The Impact of Hitler British Politics And British Policy1933- 1940. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    14. Cox, R. (1953). The Idea of International Labor Regulation. International Labour Review, Vol. 68, No. 2, pp.191–196.
    15. Crouzet, F. (1990). Wars, Blockade, and Economic Change in Europe. In Crouzet, F. Britain Ascendant: Comparative Studies in Franco-British Economic History.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 295–318.
    16. Dalby, S. (1990) Creating the second Cold War. London: Francis Pinter.
    17. Darwin, J. (2009). The Empire Project, The Rise and Fall of the : British World-System, 1830–1970. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    18. De Booy, H. (1937). ‘The Lif Lines of the British Empire’, Pacific Affairs, Vol. 10, No. 2973, pp. 161-167.
    19. Dodds, K. (2007). Geopolitics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    20. Dodds, K. & Sidaway, J. D. (2004) ‘Halford Mackinder and the 'Geographical Pivot of History': A Centennial Retrospective’, The Geographical Journal, Vol. 170, No. 4, pp. 292-297.
    21. Dodds, K. (1994). Geopolitics in the Foreign Office: British Representations of Argentina. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers , pp. 273-290.
    22. Dodds, K. (Mar 1993). Geopolitics, Experts and the Making of Foreign Policy, Area, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 70-74.
    23. Flint, C. (2005). The Geography of War and Peace From Death Camps to Diplomats. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    24. Gaddis, J. L. (1982). Strategies of Containment: A Critical Appraisal of Postwar American National Security Policy. New York: Oxford University Press.
    25. Gallagher, B. (1982). ‘The Decline, Revival and Fall of the British Empire’. In Seal, A., The Ford Lectures. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.
    26. Ginzburg, C. (1995). ‘Killing a Chinese Mandarin: The Moral Implications of Distance’. In Hufton O., Historical Change and Human Rights: The Oxford Amnesty Lectures. New York: Cambridge University Press.
    27. Harvey, N. (2001). ‘The Political Nature of Identities, Borders and Orders’. In Jacobsen, A. & Lapid, Discourse and Strategy in the Zapatista Rebellion. University of Minnesota Press pp. 249–274.
    28. Hay, W. A. (2003). ‘Geopolitics of Europe’. Orbis. Vol. 47, No. 2, pp. 295-310.
    29. Headrick, D. R. (1981). The Tools of Empire: Technology and European Imperialism in the Nineteenth Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    30. Howard, C. (1967) ‘Policy of Isloation’ The Histotrical Journal, Vol. 10. No. 1, pp. 77-88.
    31. Hume, D. (1740). ‘A Treatise of Human Nature’.(ed. )L. A. , 2nd. In Bigge. S., & Nidditch, P., Of Contiguity, and Distance in Space and Time. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    32. Kearns, G. (2009). H J. Mackinder . Retrieved May 20, 2013, from Elsevier Inc: http://www.elsevierdirect.com/brochures/hugy/SampleContent/HJ-Mackinder.pdf
    33. Kearns, G. (2009). Geopolitics and Empire, the Legacy of Halford Mackinder. New York: Oxford University Press.
    34. Kenny, M. R. G. (1988). Engaging Gramsci: International Relations Theory and the New Gramscians. Review of International Studies , Vo. 24, No. 1, pp. 3–21.
    35. Mackinder, H. (1904). The Geographical Pivot of History. The Geographical Journal, pp. 421-37.
    36. Mackinder, H. (1911-1915). The Nations of the Modern World: An Elementary Study in Geography. London: George Philip and Son.
    37. Mackinder, H. (1996). Democratic Ideals and Reality. Washington, D.C.: National Defense University Press.
    38. Mahajan, S. (2002). British foreign policy 1874–1914: The Role of India. London: Routledge.
    39. Makinder Forum: The Geopolitical Challenge. (2009). Retrieved September 27, 2013, Retrieved from.oxfordscholarship: http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230112.001.0001/acprof-9780199230112-bibliography-1
    40. Mclean, I. (2010). What’s Wrong with the British Constitution? Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    41. Skinner, Q. & Phillipson N. (1993). ‘The Spirit of the Laws’. (eds.), Political Discourse in Early Modern Britain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    42. O’Dowd, L. (2007). ‘From Empire to the European Union via the National State’. In Armstrong, W. & Anderson & J., The Three Ages of the Irish Border Geopolitics of European Union Enlargement: The Fortress Empire. Oxen: Routledge. pp. 30-48.
    43. Parker, N. (2008). ‘Denmark’s and Britain’s Marginality Strategies Compared’. In Parker, N., The Geopolitics of Europe's Identity. England: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 103-120.
    44. Parker, N. (2008). Theoretical Introduction: Spaces, Centers, and Margins. In N. Parker, The Geopolitics of Europe's Identity. England: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 3-24.
    45. Parker, N. & Joenniemi, P. (March 22-25, 2006). ‘Playing the margin: Power, Agency and Resistance Away from the Centre of Power’ In Joenniemi, P. & Parker, N. Geometries of Order, Power and Marginal. ISA Conference. San Diego.
    46. Rippy, F. (1946). Historical Evolution of Hispanic America. Oxford.
    47. Rousseau, J. J. & Deudney, D. (2011). ‘"Summary" in Roosevelt, Reading Rousseau’. In Booth, K., Anarchy and Violence Interdependence, Realism and World Politics. London: Routledge. pp. 17-34.
    48. Spykman, N. (1944). The Geography of the Peace. Brace , New York: Harcourt.
    49. Talbott, S. (1995). The New Geopolitics: Defending Democracy in the Post-Cold War Era. The World Today, Vol. 51, No. 1 , pp. 7-10.
    50. Tuathail, G. & Agnew J (1992) 'Geopolitics and Discourse: Practical Geopolitical Reasoning in American Foreign Policy', Political Geography , Vol. 11, pp.190-204.
    51. Tuathail, G. Ó., & Toal, G. (1994). Critical Geopolitics and Development Theory: Intensifying the Dialogue, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 228-233.

     

     

     

POLITICAL QUARTERLY
Volume 46, Issue 2
September 2016
Pages 531-551

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History

  • Receive Date: 25 January 2015
  • Revise Date: 05 July 2016
  • Accept Date: 18 January 2016

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