Democratic Ideals and Reality: A Study in the Politics of Reconstruction
Halford Mackinder
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Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland:
Who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island:
Who rules the World-Island commands the World.
On January 25, 1904, Halford Mackinder read to the Royal Geographical Society an article titled “The Geographical Pivot of History” and created the modern field of geopolitics. He viewed the vast Eurasian landmass as one integrated supercontinent that will be the ultimate prize of Great Power competition. His theory was later developed further in his magnum opus Democratic Ideals and Reality: A Study in the Politics of Reconstruction in which he demonstrated prescience by predicting that the Great War will be followed by another great struggle for the fate of the Eurasia.
Democratic Ideals and Reality has since become one of the foundational books of geopolitics and continues to influence geopolitical thinkers and planners to this day.
Sir Halford John Mackinder was an English geographer best known for being the founder of the discipline of geopolitics. He was also a politician, an academic, and served as the Director of the London School of Economics.