Heartland: Three Essays on Geopolitics

by Halford John Mackinder

Heartland is a fascinating introduction to a pioneer of geopolitics. Halford Mackinder's trailblazing ideas have influenced international politics to this day. His concept that world domination depends on the control of the global "pivot area" or "heartland" - the centre of the large land mass of Europe and Asia - has informed the political tactics and wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe through the decades. His theories have influenced politicians and political scientists for generations, most notably Zbigniew Brzezinski, adviser to a long line of U.S. presidents. In our times, the importance of Mackinder's heartland theory for the United States' fight to enforce global hegemony, Russia's struggle to stay independent and relevant on a world stage, and China's plans to establish a trade route between East and West, make Heartland essential reading for understanding our world.

108 pages, Paperback

Published March 3, 2022

About the author

Sir Halford John Mackinder (1861 – 1947) was an English geographer, academic, politician, the first Principal of University Extension College, Reading (which became the University of Reading) and Director of the London School of Economics. In January 1910 he was elected to Parliament as Liberal Unionist Party member for the Glasgow Camlachie constituency and was defeated in 1922.

Mackinder's work paved the way for the establishment of geography as a distinct discipline in the United Kingdom. His role in fostering the teaching of geography is probably greater than that of any other single English geographer. He became a full professor in Geography in the University of London (London School of Economics) in 1923.