Bundeswehr University Munich

SOWI / Historical Institute

Instructor: Stefan Hbner, M.A.
(stefan.huebner@unibw.de)
Winter Trimester 2014
7 October, 2014 16 December, 2014
Tuesday, 3-4.30pm
Room: 033/1313

Eurasian Geopolitics during the Twentieth Century

(Bachelor Seminar, Module: IRuP Internationale Beziehungen in
Geschichte und Gegenwart)
Session
1
(7 October)

2
(14 October)

3
(21 October)

4
(28 October)

Themes (Lectures, Readings,

Presentations)

5
(? November)

6
(11 November)

Introduction
Geography and the rise of
human civilization
Eurasian geography
Geography and power
Types of empires
Empires and geography
Sea power and the Second
Punic War

Mandatory Readings

The Great Game

The Age of Imperialism I
Halford J. Mackinder I
Alfred Thayer Mahan
The Age of Imperialism II
The First World War I
Friedrich Ratzel: Lebensraum
Rudolf Kjelln: The state as a
living being
Friedrich Naumann:
Mitteleuropa
The First World War II
The Interwar Period
Jzef Pisudski: Prometheism
and Intermarium
Karl Haushofer I: Pan-Regions

The Second World War

Karl Haushofer II: The
Continental Block
Carl Schmitt: Groraum
Japanese geopolitics

Herfried Mnkler, Empires. The Logic of World

Domination from Ancient Rome to the United States
[Imperien. Die Logik der Weltherrschaft]. Reprint.
Cambridge / Malden 2008, chapter 3.
Peter Turchin, A Theory for Formation of Large
Empires. In: Journal of Global History 4,2 (2009), 191217.
Halford J. Mackinder, The Geographical Pivot of
History. In: The Geographical Journal 23,4 (1904), 421444.
Ola Tunanda, Swedish-German Geopolitics for a New
Century. Rudolf Kjellns The State as a Living
Organism. In: Review of International Studies 27
(2011), 451-463.
Bo Strth, Mitteleuropa. From List to Naumann. In:
European Journal of Social Theory 11,2 (2008), 171-183.
Christoph Mick, 1918: Endgame. In: Jay Winter (ed.),
The Cambridge History of the First World War, Vol. 1:
Global War. Cambridge 2014, 133-177, here: 133-144.
John OLoughlin / Herman van der Wusten, Political
Geography of Pan-Regions. In: Geographical Review
80,1 (1990), 1-19, here: 1-10.
Li Narangoa, Japanese Geopolitics and the Mongol
Lands, 1915-1945. In: European Journal of East Asian
Studies 3,1 (2004), 45-67.
Adolf Hitler, Eastern Orientation or Eastern Policy? In:
Gearid Tuathail / Simon Dalby / Paul Routledge (eds.),
The Geopolitics Reader. London / New York 1998, 36-39.

7
(18 November)

8
(25 November)

9
(2 December)

10
(9 December)

11
(16 December)

The Cold War and

Containment
Nicholas J. Spykman
Halford J. Mackinder II
George F. Kennan
Domino Theory and the Cold
War
The Middle East
The Vietnam War and China
Henry Kissinger
The End of the Cold War
Central Asia and the Middle
East
Zbigniew Brzezinski
The Bush administrations

The End of the Cold War

Eastern Europe
East Asia
Aleksandr Dugin
The Peoples Liberation Army
/ Navy
Eurasia during the 21st century
Pipelines and railways
General discussion

Robert D. Kaplan, The Geography of Chinese Power:

How far Can Beijing Reach on Land and at Sea? In:
Foreign Affairs 89,3 (2010), 22-41.

Alexandros Petersen, The World Island. Eurasian

Geopolitics and the Fate of the West. Santa Barbara 2011,
chapter 6.

Halford J. Mackinder, The Round World and the

Winning of the Peace. In: Foreign Affairs 21,4 (1943),
595-605.
X [George F. Kennan], The Sources of Soviet Conduct.
In: Foreign Affairs 25,4 (1947), 566-582.

Henry A. Kissinger, Diplomacy [Die Vernunft der

Nation]. New York 1994, chapter 28 (Foreign Policy as
Geopolitics).

Zbigniew Brzezinski, A Geostrategy for Eurasia. In:

Foreign Affairs 76,5 (1997), 50-64.
Michael Clarke, Chinas Strategy in Greater Central
Asia: Is Afghanistan the Missing Link? In: Asian Affairs
40,1 (2013), 1-19.

Recommended Readings
Robert D. Kaplan, The Revenge of Geography. In: Foreign Policy 172 (2009), 96-105.
Francis P. Sempa, Why Teach Geopolitics? In: International Social Science Review 65,1 (1990), 16-20.

Course Requirements and Grading:

Attendance:
Attendance is mandatory. Missing up to two sessions is acceptable, but students each time have to write a
summary of the mandatory readings. If a student misses a third session, a doctors excuse becomes necessary or
the student will be deregistered from the seminar. If a student misses more than three sessions, he/she will be
deregistered from the seminar.
Further Requirements:
Summaries of mandatory readings
Grading:
Active participation based on the mandatory readings (20%).
Presentation and discussion management (20%): You do not only have to give a presentation. You also have to
start a discussion (through questions / theses etc.) and to link the discussion to the mandatory readings (also
through theses / questions etc.).
Oral Exam (60%): The exam will take place during the exam week or slightly earlier.