Mackinders heartland theory

Power is defined as the ability to do something or act in a particular way in which you exert an authority, force or strength over a person, group or situation that you are in favor of. 

There is a man by the name of Halford Mackinder, who was an english geographer. Mackinder is considered to be the founding father of geopolitical strategy. Mackinder had many influences on the way the world viewed politics and military domination, for example Adolf Hitlers notion of Nazi control.

The heartland theory is: "Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland; who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island; who rules the World-Island controls the world." Mackinder saw the struggle between landmass and sea-based powers. He saw that the world had become a "closed" system, with no new lands left for the Europeans powers to discover, to conquer, and to fight over without affecting events elsewhere. Sea and land-based powers would then struggle for dominance of the world, and the victor would be in a position to set up a world empire.

Mackinder enforced the notion of "Man and not nature initiates, but nature in large measure controls". 

Mackinder's paper suggested that the control of Eastern Europe was vital to control of the world. The world-islands consisted of Europe, Asia and Africa. The offshore islands, including the British Isles and the Islands of Japan. The outlying islands, including the continents of North America, South America and Australia. 

Mackinder argued that the farther away you are from the heartland, the less influence you have. He also believed that Russia was the prime land, which was central to this theory. He believed that Russia had the advantage of landmass and natural resources. What Mackinder did not take into account was that Russia is easily attacked due to its massive size, making entry points possible from every direction, as well as limited year round ports because of the frozen coasts and having a weak central government for the most of the 20th century. Mackinders limited theory also did not take into account the development of technology. 

Thus he surrounded all of this power within Europe. The control of this land mass by any one state/country would enable it to organze an overwhelming amount of humans and material resources at hand, to detriment the rest of the world. The “heartland” of this landmass, or the center, would be impenetrable and inaccessible from attacks both land and sea. Victory would be inevitable if this type of monopoly would occur.

So is Mackinders theory relevant today? Have we seen anything close to this? Many would argue that during the Napoleonic wars had nearly been successful in its struggle against its successor, Russia. Mackinder warned that the game was changing, due to advanced technology. Sea mobility was now being matched by land mobility, with railroads and motor vehicles. Mackinder predicted that as both land and sea equaled in power, that there would be more bloodshed. So is this relevant today?