POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY THEORY AND THE GEOPOLITICAL ORDER
This research paper analyzes the contributions of various
political geography theories to an understanding of the current
and possible future geopolitical world orders. Recently, world
political and economic power alignments have undergone basic
changes. The three most important changes are: (1) the ending of
bi-polar dominance and the shift to a multi-power system; (2)
the transition of a globalized world economy via economic
restructuring from the Industrial to the Information Age; and
(3) the threat to the stability of the international order posed ì
by the intensification of aggressive nationalism and communal and
religious strife in the Third World. Traditional political
geography theory has only limited relevance to an understanding
of (1) above. The long cycle and the modern systems theorists
help clarify the meaning of all three types of changes, but the
latter's thought process reflects various biases. (The terms
"core-states," the "semi-periphery," and "peripheral areas," as
used herein, have the meanings assigned to them by world systems
theorist, Immanuel Wallerstein, -i.e. respectively, Great Powers,
states approaching Great Power status and all others.)1
The Partial Relevance of Traditional Political Geography
Traditional or pre-World War II political geographers
emphasized the importance of mineral and energy resources and
other sources of industrial and military strength as the basis
for a nation's power position in the world. Under Sir Halford
Mackinder's Heartland thesis, Central Asia was the pivot-area of ì
history: "He who controls the Heartland commands the World-
Island. He who commands the World Island commands the
8 a4 ìèworld"2German geopolitical writers in the 1920s and 1930s
argued the key to world dominance l...