plawolf
Lieutenant General
An additional reason beyond the usual anti-China ones that some in the west are particularly alarmed by China’s bet and road initiative might be based on the Heartland theory by Mackinder.
It is a geopolitical theory that if one nation could dominate the ‘heartland’ of the Eurasia supercontinent, it would dominate the world.
The theory was framed in a context of land based vs sea based power, which have particular resonance for traditional naval powers like Britain and America.
How much Chinese scholars and strategists are influenced by this theory I do not know, but Mackinder‘s work seems to still be well known and have much sway with western strategists.
As such, they see China’s belt and road as an attempt for China to control the heartland. As such, China needs to expect pretty strong attempts by America to sabotage the belt and road at every turn, so needs to prepare accordingly.
It is a geopolitical theory that if one nation could dominate the ‘heartland’ of the Eurasia supercontinent, it would dominate the world.
The theory was framed in a context of land based vs sea based power, which have particular resonance for traditional naval powers like Britain and America.
How much Chinese scholars and strategists are influenced by this theory I do not know, but Mackinder‘s work seems to still be well known and have much sway with western strategists.
As such, they see China’s belt and road as an attempt for China to control the heartland. As such, China needs to expect pretty strong attempts by America to sabotage the belt and road at every turn, so needs to prepare accordingly.
