Rimland Theory

A perspective on geopolitics and international relations, presented as a critical response to the Heartland theory proposed by J. Halford MacKinder. The Rimland theory was the brainchild of Nicholas Spykman, a political theorist and professor of international relations at Yale University. Spykman was a proponent of realism in international relations, a view which holds that political states act solely to promote their own interests and agendas. Writing in the 1940s at the height ofWorldWar II, Spykman suggested that the Heartland theory put forth by MacKinder several decades earlier was flawed, in that it overemphasized the role of the Heartland in determining the balance of power in global relations. Spykman also drew heavily on the writings of the American naval strategist Alfred Mahan in constructing his theory.

Although his academic training was not specifically in geography, Spykman considered the discipline to be of the utmost importance in analyzing and understanding international relations and the dynamics of global power. The Rimland theory appeared in Spykman’s 1944 book The Geography of the Peace, published posthumously the year following his untimely death. He adopted the basic spatial framework of the Heartland theory, but made some changes in terminology. Spykman retains the concept of the Eurasian landmass representing a “Heartland,” but calls the region that MacKinder labeled the “inner” or “marginal” crescent the “Rimland.” He rejectsMacKinder’s characterization of North and South America, Australia, Japan, and Great Britain as lying in the “outer” or “insular” crescent, and instead simply terms this region the “off-shore islands and continents,” although he agrees with MacKinder’s view that for these countries sea power is of paramount importance, and represents the main means of projecting power. In the Rimland theory, the Heartland does not represent the pre-eminent seat of power that it symbolizes in Heartland theory. Rather, it is the Rimland that is the foremost seat of power and is the key to dominating the Heartland. Paraphrasing MacKinder’s summary of the Heartland theory, Spykman offered his own summary:

Who controls the Rimland rules Eurasia;

Who rules Eurasia controls the destinies of the world.