AP Human Geography

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Geopolitical Theories

• AP Human Geography

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GEOPOLITICS

• The study of power relationships past, present,
  and future
• Branch of political geography that considers the
  strategic value of land and sea area in the
  context of national economic and military power
  and ambitions

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Alfred Thayer Mahan 1890

• Sea power necessary to facilitate trade and
  peaceful commerce
• The country that possessed power would be one
  that could control the sea
• Development of a strong navy was essential
  ingredient to a powerful state as was the
  countrys location
• Most powerful country would have accessible and
  large coastline and good harbors

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Mahan
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Friedrich Ratzel

• Organic Theory of States
• lebensraum

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ORGANIC STATE THEORY 1897

• Founded by Friedrich Ratzel
• The state is an organism conforming to natural
  laws and forced to grow expand into new
  territories in order to secure resources needed
  for survival.
• State requires lebensraum
• Translates to living space
• Adolf Hitler used this theory to invade
  surrounding countries and build German
  nationalism
• Must devour other territories to achieve this goal

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HEARTLAND THEORY

• Founded by Sir Halford Mackinder
• World power is based on the assumption that the
  land based state controlling the EURASIAN
  heartland has the key to world domination.

• Advent of railroads released countries from
  dependence on navy to move to army
• Warfare would move from the water to land
• Railroads would make heartland easy to defend and
  hard to conquer

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Heartland Theory Contd.

• Summary
• Believed the physical geographical quantities
  (land) are the most important aspect of state
• Criticized for oversimplifying the complexity of
  factors that shape global geopolitics

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DOMINO THEORY

• Cold War and Eastern Europe
• Destabilization from any cause in 1 country can
  result in the collapse of order in a neighboring
  country leading to a chain of events that affect
  adjoining states in turn.
• Korea (1950)
• Vietnam (1964)
• Afghanistan (1980)

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Domino Theory Contd.

• President Eisenhower Speaks Out Against Communism
• https//www.youtube.com/watch?v1N1_JGG4XX8
• Domino Theory Presidents Perspective
• https//www.youtube.com/watch?vQP9QDRDLw6c

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Bush Doctrine

• Two main pillars are identified for the doctrine
  
• 1. preemptive strikes against potential enemies,
  and
• 2. promoting democratic regime change.

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Bush Doctrine

• preventive war,
• depose foreign regimes that represented a
  potential or perceived threat
• a policy of spreading democracy around the
  world, especially in the Middle East

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Close Read and Annotate

• Independently, close read and annotate Hitler
  and Lebensraum