The Heartland Theory

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The Heartland Theory
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What is the theory?

• A theory of geopolitical relations proposed by
  Halford Mackinder in 1904.
• The world was divided into two parts the World
  Island (Eurasia and Africa) and the Periphery
  (everything else)
• Whatever country controled the Heartland (in
  Eastern Europe) could ultimately control the
  World Island (Asia, Europe and Africa) and then
  ultimately the entire world.

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Why Eastern Europe?

• At the time the vast resources of Eastern Europe
  were considered incredibly important (coal,
  farmland, and lots of flat land for expansion,
  urbanization)
• It is also protected from invasions by sea.
• The countries of the periphery were spread out
  and isolated from one another easier to
  conquer, one at a time.

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• According to the theory, once a country controls
  the Heartland, it will seek to control the
  so-called (in the theory) Inner Crescent -
  Africa and Asia (the rest of the World Island).
• It will do this by first gaining control of the
  warm water ports of western Europe, which will
  give it control over sea lanes and the coasts of
  Asia and Africa.

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• Eventually the Americas and Oceania would
  collapse and succumb to the overwhelming power of
  the country controlling the World Island.
• And, so, control of Eastern Europe was considered
  crucial.

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How valid is the theory?
The theory has relevance with respect to the two
World Wars, during the Cold War, and the Vietnam
War.
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Arguments against

• It did not take into consideration future rise of
  the USA as a major international power -
  militarily and economically.
• It did not foresee the rise of aircraft as a
  major military weapon.
• It did not foresee nuclear deterrence, nor
  intercontinental ballistic missiles.

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Arguments in support

• The USSR did try to expand out from the Heartland
  - it dominated the countries of Eastern Europe
  militarily and economically after WWII.
• NATO was the military alliance that was created
  to stop this expansion.
• Warsaw Pact was the military alliance of the
  Soviet bloc.

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• Hungary 1956, Czechoslovakia (Prague Spring
  1968), Poland 1980s are examples of how the
  Soviet government tolerated no independence.
• USSR sponsored communist parties outside Eastern
  Bloc and tacitly supported terrorist movements to
  undermine the security of western nations (e.g.,
  IRA and Britain).

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• Vietnam and Afghanistan can also be seen as
  efforts by the USSR to expand beyond the
  Heartland.
• They also supported a variety of governments
  throughout the developing world.

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Containment

• Containment was the West's response to Soviet
  expansionist threats as seen in the context the
  Heartland Theory.
• Containment was first proposed as a geopolitical
  theory by George Kennan in 1947.
• Based on the idea that isolation will lead to
  stagnation.
• A military siege is a tactic that uses the
  concept of containment.

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• Became the geopolitical policy of the US (and the
  rest of the West) to contain Communism within its
  borders.
• NATO, SEATO, and CENTO were military alliances
  set up, mainly through US pressure, to carry out
  the policy of containment.

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• Basically, Soviet expansion was contained to the
  Heartland by the threat of first strike nuclear
  retaliation if the Soviets invaded any allied
  member or threatened the security of any member
  nation.
• Soviet response to containment was to leap-frog
  Western Europe and to establish pro-Soviet bases
  (countries) elsewhere - Angola, Vietnam,
  Nicaragua, Cuba.

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• The Soviet response to containment was itself
  contained by the further threat of nuclear war -
  especially the case with Cuba (and the 1962
  Missile Crisis).

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• The Vietnam War was fought to stop the domino
  effect if one country collapsed the next would
  and so on.
• The US fought proxy wars with the Soviet Union
  throughout the third world, all to contain Soviet
  expansionism
• The guiding principle of Soviet expansion was was
  basically once in, never out.