Geopolitics and the Quest for Dominance

352 Pages·2016·7.54 MB·English

by  Jeremy Black

Geopolitics and the Quest for Dominance
This page intentionally left blank
Geopolitics and the Quest for Dominance
Jeremy Black
Indiana University Press Bloomington & Indianapolis
This book is a publication of The paper used in this publication
meets the minimum requirements of
indiana university press the American National Standard for
Office of Scholarly Publishing Information Sciences—Permanence
Herman B Wells Library 350 of Paper for Printed Library
1320 East 10th Street Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA
Manufactured in the
iupress.indiana.edu United States of America
© 2016 by Jeremy Black Cataloging information is available from the
Library of Congress.
All rights reserved
ISBN 978-0-253-01868-7 (cloth)
No part of this book may be reproduced ISBN 978-0-253-01870-0 (paperback)
or utilized in any form or by any means, ISBN 978-0-253-01873-1 (ebook)
electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying and recording, or by
any information storage and retrieval
system, without permission in writing
from the publisher. The Association of
American University Presses’ Resolution
on Permissions constitutes the only
exception to this prohibition. 1 2 3 4 5 21 20 19 18 17 16
For Jane Hayball and Mark Ormerod
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Preface ix
Abbreviations xiii
1 Introduction 3
2 Geopolitics before the Term
Spatiality and Frontiers 20
3 Geopolitics before the Term
Maps 51
4 theGeopolitics of British
Power 1500–1815: A Case Study 89
5 Geography and Imperialism
The World in the Nineteenth Century 108
6 Geopolitics and the Age of
Imperialism, 1890–1932 117
7 Nazi Geopolitics and World
War II, 1933–1945 151
8 Geopolitics and the Cold War 177
9 Geopolitics since 1990 211
10 The Geopolitics of the Future 260
11 Conclusions 271
Notes 279
Selected Further Reading 309
Index 311
This page intentionally left blank
Preface
History and geography define the operation of power,
not only its range but also the capacity to plan and the ability to imple-
ment. The study of power in time and space—and, more specifically,
foreign policy and military action—is therefore an important element
in the understanding of international relations, military history, and
the development of states and of state systems. This study is the sub-
ject of this book. It provides a significant angle on strategy and policy,
the spatial angle, and relates this angle to the changing perceptions of
commentators. These perceptions throw light on the understanding of
power and the international system. These perceptions also prove an
important aspect of the soft power and related practice of acceptance (if
not compliance) that are so important to the reality of power, both on
the international scale and within states.
Thus, geopolitics, although claiming in some hands a scientific pre-
cision, is as much about ideas and perception as it is about the actual
spatial dimensions of power. Moreover, the latter themselves are not
as precise as they might appear. Indeed, the real, latent and possible,
spatial sources and degrees of strength are all open to debate. Certainly
that helps explain why the subject of geopolitics is both fascinating and
valuable, for it throws light on how ideas have developed and on the
varying political resonances of control over space. As such, the subject
repays consideration.
History and geography: this book also reflects two linked interests
of mine. As a historian, I have always been fascinated by geography;
indeed I nearly took the subject as a university student. Subsequently,

ix