Are you having trouble remembering everything you learned in your AP® Human Geography class? Do you remember what the Heartland Theory is?
Key Parts of the Heartland Theory
The Heartland Theory is a form of geopolitics. Geopolitics are politics influenced by geography. Since human geography is about how humans are impacted by geography, we would say geopolitics have a lot to do with APHG. The Heartland Theory is important to anyone taking the AP® Human Geography exam.
This theory was proposed by Sir Halford Mackinder in his 1904 essay, “The Geographical Pivot of History.” There is a lot to this theory and its importance, so let’s outline some key terms:
- Heartland=Eastern Europe
- Pivot Area=Heartland
- World Island=Europe, Asia and Africa
- Periphery=Rest of the world (including the Americas)
Keep in mind that big historical figures, like Hitler, believed in the Heartland Theory, and this theory was at the heart –no pun intended—of the politics in both World Wars, the Vietnam War and the Cold War. Plus, it discusses a little something called world domination. Are you starting to see why this is a BIG deal?
Mackinder thought that whoever controlled Eastern Europe –the Heartland—would control the world. The idea was that whoever gained control of Eastern Europe, controlled the Heartland –also known as the Pivot Area—and whoever controlled the Heartland, could easily gain control of the World Island (Africa and Eurasia). Naturally, if someone could control all that, they could easily take over the world, as they say.
What is the big deal with the Heartland? How does controlling that lead to world domination?
Why is the Heartland Important?
Eastern Europe holds some of the greatest resources in the world in terms of raw materials and agriculture – the basic ingredients you need to control a large military. A large military would make it easy to gradually take over the rest of the world. It sounds crazy, but the USSR actually tried this during the Cold War.
Previously, many people thought world conquest would come through sea power, but this theory proposes that land power can lead to world power. Mackinder thought that after gaining control of the Heartland and all its resources, one could easily gain the World Island by controlling the coasts and warm water ports, or the key areas that made international trade possible.
What about the rest of the world? The Periphery? The Americas? Well, Mackinder assumed that once the World Island was all under one power the Americas and Oceania regions would quickly fall under that one power. Now, if this seems crazy, it is.
You see, Mackinder didn’t account for a lot of things that we consider to be a part of our everyday world, and these things are what challenge his theory. In 1904, the wealth and military we Americans take for granted, the extreme power of the United States, was yet to be seen. This makes the idea of the Americas easily falling under the power of the World Island harder than Mackinder believed.
Mackinder also didn’t foresee the kinds of military technology we would have in the future, like nuclear weapons, high tech missiles, military air craft, etc. that complicates any scheme of taking over the world through the Heartland Theory. Perhaps this is why the USSR and Hitler eventually failed in their plots.
Do you see now why something like the Heartland Theory could likely pop up on the AP® Human Geography multiple choice or FRQ? How can you remember all these points about the Heartland Theory on exam day? Don’t worry, we’ll tell you how.
Remembering the Theory for the AP® Human Geography Exam
Let’s think for a second why Mackinder may have used the word “Heartland” to describe Eastern Europe. Picture where Eastern Europe is on the map. Eastern Europe is sort of in the top middle part of Eurasia. Your heart is at the top of your chest and also towards the middle (but slightly more to one side than the other). The heart also pumps the much needed blood throughout our bodies, and Eastern Europe has many good resources that can fuel an army as blood helps fuel our bodies.
Without the heart, our bodies can’t continue to be powered by our brains. Think of your brain as the one power that controls everything your body does, including what the heart does. Without controlling the Heartland, it was believed one power could not control the whole world, in our example the body. Continue with this idea of the heart for a bit longer.
As we said, the heart pumps blood from it out to the rest of the body, all the way to your toes and fingers. In the Heartland Theory, someone would gain power over Eastern Europe, and then their power would spread out from there until it covered the whole earth, like blood pumping out to power up the rest of the body. Just like the Heartland Theory, our bodies are susceptible to weapons that sometimes prevent the heart from controlling the rest of the body, like a nuclear bomb to the Heartland Theory. A bullet to a heart is enough to challenge the idea of the heart being able to result in supreme power of everything else.
If you think about the position and the role of your heart in your body, you can remember details about the Heartland Theory for the AP® Human Geography Exam.
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