The heartland theory.

As the Victorian era ended and the 20th century began, Britain was at the height of its power. Its Royal Navy was the unchallenged master of the oceans and the Union lack flag flew over colonies on all continents. In the heart of England, Halford Mackinder was teaching geography at Oxford University.

In 1904, he gave a paper at a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society entitled "The Geographical Pivot of History." In this paper, Mr. Mackinder put forward the idea that Eurasia, because of its geographic isolation and vast natural resources, would eventually be the heart of the world's controlling political power. Eurasia is usually defined as stretching from Ukraine in the west to Kyrgyzstan in the east. It includes southern Russia, the Caucasus, and Turkey. This is what Halford Mackinder called the heartland, of the "World Island" that was made up of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

He expanded his lecture into a book, Democratic Ideals and Reality, which was published in 1919. In it he wrote:

"Who rules the heartland commands the World Island;

Who rules the World Island commands the World."

This was geopolitics on the grand scale, and Mr. Mackinder saw the great struggles of history and those of the future as being between sea powers and land powers.

He said the conflict between ancient Athens, a naval power, and Sparta, a land power, was one of the earliest examples of this struggle. He tried to yearn the British that his country, a naval power, was heading for a conflict with Germany, a land power. He saw the two world wars coming before most people.

When the dust settled from those conflicts the land and sea struggle continued. The United States, a naval power, faced off against the Soviet Union, a land power. For almost half a century, these two superpowers were engaged in a geopolitical tussle for supremacy that came to be called the Cold War.

In 1991, the Soviet Union fell apart.

Now, there is a single super power, the United States. Some would argue that a new land-based power is emerging to challenge the sea-based power of America. The new challenger is Islam and the place where the battle is being fought is Halford MacKinder's heartland and its immediately neighbouring states of Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq.

GEOPOLITICS: A DEFINITION

Swedish political scientist Rudolf Kjellen coined a new word in 1899--geopolitics. He used the word to illustrate his belief that geography had a significant impact on relations among nations.

Mr. Kjellen said that the economic, political, and military characteristics of nations were determined by their physical features and environmental influences. He also argued that natural resources, such as oil, and human resources, such as population played a role in political interactions. Cultural characteristics, climate, and political structures also affected national actions.

Mr. Kjellen saw states as being in competition with each other for control of space with only the fittest surviving and prospering.