Overview

Geopolitical conditions influence all strategic behaviour - even when co-operation among different kinds of military power is expected as the norm, action has to be planned and executed in specific physical environments. The geographical world cannot be avoided, and it happens to ""organized"" into land, sea, air and space - and possibly the electromagnetic spectrum including ""cyberspace"". Although the meaning of geography for strategy is a perpetual historical theme, explicit theory on the subject is only 100 years old. Ideas about the implication of geographical, especially spatial, relationships for political power - which is to say ""geopolitics"" - flourished early in the 20th century. Divided into theory and practice sections, this volume covers the big names such as Mackinder, Mahan and Haushofer as well as looking back at the vital influence of weather and geography on naval power in the long age of sail (16th-19th centuries). It also looks forward to the consequences of the revival of geopolitics in post-Soviet Russia and the new space-based field of ""astropolitics"".

Full Product Details

Author:   Colin S. Gray ,  Geoffrey Sloan
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Dimensions:   Width: 14.80cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 21.00cm
Weight:   0.550kg
ISBN:  

9780714680538

ISBN 10:   0714680532
Pages:   298
Publication Date:   30 November 1999
Audience:   College/higher education ,  General/trade ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

"1. Why Geopolitics? Part 1. Geopolitical theory and strategy - The Words and the History of Ideas 2. Sir Halford Mackinder - the heartland theory then and now 3. Alfred Thayer Mahan, geopolitician 4. air power, space power, and geography 5. Geography in the Space Age - An Astropolitical Analysis 6. Understanding Critical Geopolitics - Geopolitics and Risk Security 7. Geopolitics - International Boundaries as Fighting Places 8. Information Power - Strategy, Geopolitics and the Fifth Dimension Part 2. Geography and Strategy - Geopolitics in Action: Inescapable Geography 9. Weather, Geography, and Naval Power in the Age of Sail - Some Thoughts on War and Geography 10. Geopolitik - Haushofer, Hitler and Lebensraum 11. ""Russia will not be Trifled With"" - Geopolitical Facts and Fantasies"

Reviews

The British Army Review For those for whom geopolitics is a closed subject, or are unclear as to what it is all about, this book (or parts of it at least) provides an interesting and painless entry. Geography, July 2000 Many geographers might think that there was little new to say, but these essays reveal subtle and dynamic view of the world order from the past. [sic] Crucially, the ideas are now extended into new areas in this book. ... This is a significant and readable book which ought to be essential reading for any serious student of geopolitics.

Author Information

Colin S. Gray, Geoffrey Sloan

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Countries Available

All regions