Geopolitical Theories

for AP Human Geo, 2025-26 (John, NVHS) :)

mahan

sea pwr; pwr is north of suez/panama canals

mackinder

most commonly talked about; heartland

haushofer

agreed w/ heartland theory/mackinder; split world into pan regions w/ core + periphery (hitler used to justify)

spykrman

environmental determinism; northern hemisphere more important; disagreed w/ heartland; rimland/inner crescent (US used to justify)

seversky

air pwr; at time US/USSR dominant so area b/t is pivotal

wallerstein

world systems theory

world systems theory

deterministic; econ+social system all global/world in scale; split world into core (brains), semiperiphery (manufacturing), + periphery (resources)

core

US/Canada/UK/most of Europe

semiperiphery

China/India/Russia/Mexico

periphery

most of Africa/Southeast Asia (Indonesia,etc)/Bangladesh

cohen

world interdependent system; maritime region + eurasian continental realm + shatter belt in b/t + independent states

maritime region

dependent on trade; 1st-order/most powerful in it = Japan/US/Europe

eurasian continental realm

interior in direction; 1st-order/most powerful in it = Russia/Soviet Union

shatterbelt states

area in b/t very diff areas; Middle East/use to be Yugoslavia

independent states

Pakistan/India/Thailand/Vietnam

khanna

trade/resources/infrastructure = PWR; colonies=once conquered now bought (ex:china); globalization = infrastructure over sovereignty

heartland

north/mid asia; easy to ctrl bc cold; ctrl it = ctrl of world island = Ctrl of world

rimland

“inner crescent”= W Eu/mid East/S Asia/SE Asia/Far E; ctrl it = ctrl eurasia = ctrl world