Between land and sea. H.J. Mackinder‘s concept of Heartland and N. Spykman‘s concept of Rimland

Abstract

The article outlines geopolitical concepts developed by Halford John Mackinder and Nicholas Spykman and presents examples of their practical application in international politics. Paper focuses mainly on discussing the concept of Heartland and Rimland, which was developed, in a way, in an opposition to the former. Both had significant theoretical importance and greatly influenced development of geopolitics, entering permanently into the terminology used in this field of science. Especially the latter concept has played an important political role during the “Cold War”, because during that period of rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Uni- on it became basis for specific programs aimed at “containment” of the expansion of the Soviet sphere of influence. Third part of the paper overviews that issue. The very last part is devoted to attempts to adopt the earlier geopolitical concepts to a multi-polar world, which began to take shape after the collapse of the Soviet Union, especially in the context of the increasing role of People‘s Republic of China on the international stage.