Born in 1840 on the campus of West Point, where his father was an instructor, Alfred Thayer Mahan graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1859 and served in the Union Navy during the American Civil War. In 1884, he joined the faculty of the Naval War College in Newport,… Read more »
James Fairgrieve (1870-1953) was a British geographer and teacher who in 1914 wrote Geography and World Power (published in 1915), a work that sought to show how geography “controls” history. Fairgieve studied at the London School of Economics from 1903 to 1910, obtained a London University certificate in geography in 1912, and… Read more »
On Sunday, December 13, 2020, 1:30-3:00 p.m. Eastern Time (US), our final Mackinder Forum Seminar of the year took place. Professor Kent Calder addressed the following topic: “The Logic of Eurasian Integration.” TOPIC FOR CONSIDERATION: Geography arguably dictates many basic parameters of political-economic competition. It conveys certain latent, potential advantages… Read more »
Our next-to-last seminar for 2020 was scheduled on Sunday, December 6, 2020, 1:30-3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, US. Professor Andrew Latham of Macalester College presented a talk on “China: A Faltering Challenger.” ABSTRACT: Over the past year or so, China has made a series of bold moves across the Indo-Pacific region… Read more »
On November 22, 2020, 1:30-3:00 PM Eastern US Time, Gordon Chang presented “China’s Mackinderism” to the Mackinder Forum Seminar. ABSTRACT: Chinese policymakers are Mackinderites; and they are also believers in the Rimland Theory of Nicholas John Spykman, as evident from their all-out plan to build infrastructure in Central Asia. The… Read more »
On Sunday, November 8, 2020 at 1:30 – 3:00 PM (Eastern Time, US), Mr. David P. Goldman presented a talk on “Heartland Theory in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.” ABSTRACT: With regard to China’s global ambitions, Mackinder’s “Heartland” concept in some ways is more relevant than ever, but in other ways… Read more »
On Saturday, October 17, 2020, at 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Eastern Time, US), Dr. Robert Atkinson presented a talk to the Mackinder Forum Seminar on “Who Lost Lucent and What America Has to do to not Lose More Advanced Tech Industries to China.” ABSTRACT: In 2000 the United States was home… Read more »
by Bert Chapman (Purdue University) ABSTRACT The Arctic region possesses significant oil and natural gas resources and is becoming an increasingly important arena of geopolitical contention. Canada, China, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the United States are acutely interested in gaining and maintaining access to its waters and natural resources. Warming temperatures are… Read more »
On Sunday, October 11, 2020, 1:30-3:00 PM via WEBEX, Michael Hochberg presented a coauthored paper (with Leonard Hochberg) devoted to “International Business Needs Grand Strategy.” The authors presented an interdisciplinary justification for why western-based international businesses should begin analyzing their ongoing activities through the lens of grand strategy in order… Read more »
Brian Blouet College of William and Mary Why does Mackinder evolve from the Pivot paper (1904) to the Heartland thesis (1919)? In 1904 Mackinder identified four possible contenders for control of the core of Eurasia. The contenders were: the German empire, the Russian empire, China, and Japan. Mackinder added, should… Read more »
