Democratic Ideals and Reality; a Study in the Politics of Reconstruction

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Democratic Ideals and Reality; A Study in the Politics of Reconstruction

Halford John Mackinder

Franklin Classics Trade Press

Democratic Ideals and Reality: A Study in the Politics of Reconstruction (Classic Reprint)

Democratic Ideals and Reality delves into the world of geopolitics in the immediate aftermath of the Great War but reflects even the tiniest realities of daily life. Halford John Mackinder was unusually prescient in noting the tremendous potential and danger of changing population demographics across the world and within Europe. He notes the new freedom of mankind to engage in large-scale idealism, where previously the capacity to spend time in building an ideology had been solely devoted to scrabbling for the means of survival. From the modern perspective it is easy to see Mackinder's anxiety about large populations across Europe, engaged in politics but without the education the author considered necessary for prudent decision making. With palpable unease this work recalls young men campaigning to cement self-rule in Ireland, the rapid growth of cities and the laissez-faire attitude of centralised modern nation states to this enormous era of social and industrial development. In thinking about the effects and origins of these social changes Mackinder does not flinch from reflecting in depth on the inner workings of British society. In an age of fragmented communities it is fascinating to see Mackinder's early misgivings about urban workers, atomised and disconnected and an elevated set of elites who detach themselves from their local communities and as a result create a fractured society. Each reader must face up to the author's questions about the direction of his world and determine for themselves whether society has confirmed his fears in the years since this work. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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Distant Lands: An Elementary Study in Geography (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Distant Lands: An Elementary Study in GeographyThe historical thread Of the present volume is cut short near the close of the eighteenth century, ex cept in regard to geographical exploration, which is pursued into the nineteenth century in order that the physical sketch of the world's surface may include a few ideas concerning the deep ocean and the Polar regions. Existing political geography is reserved for the fourth and last volume Of the series.Adhering as in the two preceding books to the idea that a text book should present a text, and that commentary and question can only come with vivid interest from the living teacher, I have refused to cumber my pages with an apparatus of notes and exercises which, so far as I remember my boyhood, made school books repellent.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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Excerpt from Distant Lands: An Elementary Study in GeographyThe historical thread Of the present volume is cut short near the close of the eighteenth century, ex cept in regard to geographical exploration, which is pursued into the nineteenth century in order that the physical sketch Of the world's surface may include a few ideas concerning the deep ocean and the Polar regions. Existing political geography is reserved for the fourth and last volume Of the series.Adhering as in the two preceding books to the idea that a text book should present a text, and that commentary and question can only come with vivid interest from the living teacher, I have refused to cumber my pages with an apparatus of notes and exercises which, so far as I remember my boyhood, made school books repellent.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

2022 Reprint of the 1919 Edition. Exact facsimile of the original edition and not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Studying the prerequisites for a stable peace settlement during World War I, the author developed a thesis in political geography that he had first outlined in a paper read to the Royal Geographical Society in 1904, "The Geographical Pivot of History." In it he argued that interior Asia and eastern Europe (the heartland) had become the strategic center of the "World Island" as a result of the relative decline of sea power as against land power and of the economic and industrial development of southern Siberia. His extended views were set out in a short book, Democratic Ideals and Reality, published early in 1919 while the Paris Peace Conference was in session. The role of Britain and the United States, he considered, was to preserve a balance between the powers contending for control of this heartland. As a further stabilizing factor, he urged the creation of a tier of independent states to separate Germany and Russia, much along the lines finally imposed by the peace treaty. The book included, apart from the main theme, many farsighted observations-e.g., his insistence on the "one world" concept, the need for regional organizations of minor powers, and the warning that chaos in a defeated Germany would inevitably lead to dictatorship. The book attracted little attention in Britain but rather more in the United States. 
Contents: Perspective. -- Social momentum. -- The seaman's point of view. -- The landsman's point of view. -- The rivalry of empires. -- The freedom of nations. -- The freedom of men. -- Postscript. -- Appendix: Note on an incident at the Quai d'Orsay, 25th January, 1919. -- Index.

Democratic Ideals and Reality: The Geographical Pivot of History

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"A stimulating paper." -The Nation "The most important general paper that has been communicated to us." -Geographical Journal "A notable paper ... makes a bold generalisation as to the geographical control of world politics." -Indian Ed. Halford John Mackinder's 1904 paper "The Geographical Pivot of History" is an attempt to exhibit human history as part of the life of the world organism by showing how the successive invasions of the Asiatic nomads from the steppe-land (the pivot) moulded the settled peoples of Europe. In some measure the strategic advantages of these nomads has been neutralized by the development of mobility upon the ocean. But the steppe-land is about to be covered with a network of railways giving a mobility of military and economic power greater than that of the sea, so that it will continue to be the pivot region of the world's politics.  The strength of Asiatic hordes lay in their mobility, and ceased when they entered the forests and mountains.  The grim determination of European peoples to check these successive hordes and not be crushed into a widespread despotism was the principal reason of European advance and unity during all these ages. Thus the spirit which stimulated the peoples of Europe and made them progress was the healthy and powerful reaction against pressure from the steppe lands of Asia.  The discovery of the New World changed the relations of Europe and Asia. Europe no longer watched in dread for what might come from Asia. She turned her back on Asia and founded new Europes beyond the oceans.  But now the whole world is occupied and well filled with people, save only the vast steppes of Euro-Asia. Europe is fenced in again as she was 400 years ago, and can expand no farther. The land power, the steppes of the Russian Empire and Mongolia, dormant while the oceans were being overrun, will now reassert itself. Railways are to give the steppes mobility and replace the horse and camel. Here there is room for hundreds of millions, who shall derive countless riches from the wealth of fertile plains, boundless forests, and neighboring mountains.  "The Geographical Pivot of History" thus formulated the Heartland Theory. This is often considered as a, if not the, founding moment of geopolitics as a field of study, although Mackinder did not use the term. Whilst the Heartland Theory initially received little attention outside geography, this theory would later exercise some influence on the foreign policies of world powers.  According to Mackinder, the Earth's land surface was divisible into:  The World-Island, comprising the interlinked continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa. This was the largest, most populous, and richest of all possible land combinations.  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.  The Heartland lay at the centre of the world island, stretching from the Volga to the Yangtze and from the Himalayas to the Arctic. Mackinder's Heartland was the area then ruled by the Russian Empire and after that by the Soviet Union. Later, in 1919, Mackinder summarised his theory as:  "Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland;  who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island;  who rules the World-Island commands the world."  Any power which controlled the World-Island would control well over 50% of the world's resources. The Heartland's size and central position made it the key to controlling the World-Island.  About the author:  Sir Halford John Mackinder PC (1861 –1947) was an English geographer, academic, politician, the first Principal of University Extension College, Reading and Director of the London School of Economics, who is regarded as one of the founding fathers of both geopolitics and geostrategy.

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Democratic Ideals and Reality; A Study in the Politics of Reconstruction

Democratic Ideals and Reality: A Study in the Politics of Reconstruction (Classic Reprint)

Distant Lands: An Elementary Study in Geography (Classic Reprint)

Distant Lands: An Elementary Study in Geography (Classic Reprint)

Democratic Ideals and Reality: The Geographical Pivot of History

The Geographical Pivot Of History

Eight Lectures on India