Concepts of Geopolitics

Author(s): Werner J. Cahnman

Source: American Sociological Review , Feb., 1943, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Feb., 1943), pp. 55-59
Published by: American Sociological Association

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 CONCEPTS OF GEOPOLITICS*

WERNER J. CAHNMAN
Chicago

AN INVESTIGATION into the concepts of political and geographical writing produced

German Geopolitics seems to be such a veritable host of literature, ranking
proper at a time when American soci- from scholarly contributions all the way
ologists, and more especially political soci- down to cheap journalistic exploits; nowhere
ologists, are asking themselves what they else has it been put into such emotional and
can contribute in this emergency. It appears up-to-date language. Even more so, it has
that geopolitics, American style, may be able been enhanced, under the name of Geo-
to fulfill the same mission in this country politics, to the dignity of a pivotal science
which it has fulfilled, in its German form, of statecraft.
in Germany. It could be a national peda- Characteristics of Geopolitical Theory.
gogical enterprise designed to awake people If we want to make a preliminary state-
from a feeling of false security and to show ment in characterizing geopolitics, we may
them the interconnectedness of social and say that it belongs more to the realm of
political phenomena upon this globe. It political science or political sociology than
could educate them, as the Germans put it, to the field of geography proper. Friedrich
to a "thinking in large areas." It could help Ratzel, the spiritual grandfather of Geo-
them to understand peoples and races in politics expresses in the preface to his
terms of the images by which these peoples Political Geography his conviction that the
and races are guided rather than in terms whole interconnected complex of the social
of their own images. It is in this sense that sciences could only be developed upon a
the lesson which a formidable foe teaches geographical foundation, but he adds that
could be taken to heart. in spite of this need social scientists had
In doing so, it should be noted that the thus far "built their states in the air" rather
basic concepts in the field are not strictly than considered, compared, and measured
peculiar to the German school of Geopoli- them in terms of space.2 It is in this sense
tics. They are shared by German historians that the Swedish Political Scientist Rudolf
and geographers on the one hand and by Kjellen tried to create what he called a
students of Political Science and Political "total" and "realistic" Political Science
Geography outside Germany on the other. with its feet literally on earth as over against
Karl Haushofer, the leading figure in Ger- the customary legalistic or idealistic ap-
man Geopolitics, quotes in his various writ- proach ; and it is in the same sense that
ings many English and American authors the editors of the Zeitschrift fur Geopolitik
among whom Sir Halford Mackinder, once (Z.f.G.), under the leadership of Karl
Director of the London School of Eco!- Haushofer, defined Geopolitics, in the first
nomics and Political Science,' is foremost of six theses which they published in 1928,
while the names of Brooks Adams, Turner, as trying "to investigate the relationship
Mahan, and Bowman are probably more of political events to a significant part of the
familiar to American readers. Yet, it is also earth's surface."4 Ratzel's grandfathership be-
true that nowhere else but in Germany has 2 Friedrich Ratzel, Politische Geographie, 2.
Auflage (MUnchen and Berlin, I903), and Anthro-
* Read before the Annual Meeting of the Mid- pogeographie. 2 vols. 4. Auflage (Stuttgart, I92I).
West Sociological Society in Des Moines, Iowa, 'Rudolf Kjellen, Der Staat als Lebensform (Ber-
April I942. lin and Leipzig, I9I7).
'Sir Halford Mackinder, The Geographic Pivot 4Karl Haushofer, Erich Obst, Hermann Lauten-
of History (London, I904), and Democratic Ideals sach, Otto Maull, Bausteine zur Geopolitik (Berlin,
and Reality (New York, I929). I928), p. 27.

55

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56 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

comes especially clear in this connection be- the long run. To be sure, the actors upon
cause the expression "a significant part of the political scene are free to depart from
the earth's surface" points back to the most such a framework now and then, but the
important concept of his Anthropogeogra- close relationship of political events to the
phie the concept of Lage, meaning position earth's surface will certainly make itself felt
or location. Although this concept belongs to sooner or later." If we compare this sentence
Human Geography in general and as such with the passage from the Communist Mani-
has also been used in American regional and festo that all history, thus far, had been the
ecological studies, it has a decidedly political, history of class struggles, we can clearly see
and even military, meaning in Ratzel's con- that it implies a geographical sociology of
text. This holds even more true for the knowledge as contrasted to an economic one.
school of Karl Haushofer. To them, the spa- Geopolitics, however, proceeds on the one
tial aspect of states forms but a point of hand farther than any Marxist or demi-
departure. Geography provides a conven- Marxist Utopia, while, on the !other hand,
ient framework while the actual aim is a it expresses itself more cautiously. It goes
"total" political science comprising all the farther because it denies the "thus far": the
social sciences in their political aspects. influence that geographic environment
Hence, geopolitics is further defined as exerts over the actions of men is thought
providing "tools and guidance for political to represent a natural rather than a historic
action."5 It is classed as "an applied science relationship and hence will not cease to
(Kunstlehlre) that is intended to guide prac- operate at some moment of expected historic
tical politics up to the point where it has to redemption; yet, it expresses itself more
depart from the sure ground of science." "It cautiously because it takes geographic en-
is in this way only," the definition goes on, vironment only as a framework and not as a
"that knowledge will find its opportunity to determinant. Historic forces operating with-
guide action; otherwise ignorance will make in a geographic framework are supposed to
the road longer and more dangerous." This condition political action which, in turn, is
formula implies that the venture into the to determine the course of economic develop-
unknown, where decisions have to be made ment.
rather than blueprints to be enacted, can- It remains open to discussion whether
not be avoided by those engaged in action, "historic forces" would not include economic
but it also implies that before action is motivations, but the point is that "man-
taken the explorable part of reality should agerial" thinking, be it of a soldierly or an
be mastered to its utmost though limited engineering type, is posed as counterpart to
confines. In other words, a thorough economic reasoning both of a capitalistic
scientific training is considered to be the and a Marxist bent. Geopolitics is opposed
prerequisite to any serious attempt at poli- to the "principles of sound business" and
tics, and yet it is recognized that the sphere the creation of "monocultural areas" which,
of action as such remains distinct from the by that very fact, are deprived of their na-
sphere of knowledge. To be sure, not all tional independence.6 In contradistinction, it
adherents of Geopolitics live up to that prin- aims at a controlled economy which can
ciple. stand the vicissitudes of power politics. In
Accordingly, no rigid geographic deter- order to achieve that end, however, the geo-
minism is applied in Geopolitics. This can politicians themselves have to destroy the
be seen from the third thesis which runs as independence of smaller units and to fit
follows: "The features of significant parts of them into larger combinations which, in
the earth's surface as explored by geogra- turn, can enter into barter agreements. The
phers provide Geopolitics with a frame-
work into which political events must fit 6 "Zur Geographie der Monokultur," with con-
themselves if they are to lead to success in tributions by A. Haushofer, H. Hummel, G. von
Natzmer, K. Pintschovius, M. Reinecke, and K. Vo-
Haushofer, Obst, et al, op. cit. winckel. Zeitschrift fiir Geopolitik (Z.f.G.), I933, I.

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 CONCEPTS OF GEOPOLITICS 57

logic of their argument, to which, to be sure, tion of biological concepts such as "life" or
they do not acknowledge in clear-cut terms, "force" lends a dynamic aspect to previously
would lead to a rigorously planned world static concepts such as "space" or "field."
economy as over against a system that oper- Ratzel's law of "growing areas" actually
ates through the automatisms of free enter- meaning the growth of political units rather
prise. than of mere spaces, points in the same
A whole philosophy of space has grown up direction. No wonder then that to geo-
in Geopolitics, but its central concept of political authors seemingly stable geographic
Raum cannot always be translated by positions change according to changing con-
"space."7 Geopolitics has been called "a ceptions of space. Karl Haushofer blames
combination of geography and history" so the customary "Atlanto-centric" maps for
that the normal three-dimensional space is our inability to keep pace with geopolitical
made to appear as a combination of time change.9 We are still slavishly clinging, he
and space which would seem to correspond says, to an arrangement of the continents
to the four-dimensional time-space concep- around the Atlantic while they should be ar-
tion of relativistic physics. It may be said ranged, if we were realists, around the Pacific
that the time extension of history is equal as indeed Ratzel had already done in support
to the space extension of geography in cre- of his theory that the Americas constituted
ating "Raum." A term such as Donauraum, the extreme east rather than the extreme
for instance, denotes not only a geographic west of this globe. With the appearance of
area stretching from the Black Forest to the the fast cruiser and the aircraft carrier the
Black Sea but also a historic growth in center of gravity in world politics has irrev-
which the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires, ocably shifted to the Pacific whose very
the Wittelsbach and Karageorgiewicz king- vastness suggests a planetary oganization.
doms as well as the concepts of a Danube Haushofer predicted in I924 that an enor-
Federation and a "Middle Europe" play mous race riot led by Japan and spreading
their part. We cannot, indeed, talk about a throughout Asia will be instrumental in
"Donauraum" in prehistoric times. Hence, bringing about "the decisive event of our
the concept of "Raum" is to be understood time": the final battle for world domina-
as proceeding from the simple concepts of tion, as he saw it, will be fought in the
"space," "area," "territory," or "region" to- Pacific area.
ward the multi-dimensional concepts of Geopolitics as a Gestalt-Sociology. We
"life-space," or, as we shall prefer to say, a may say that Geopolitics results in a field-
"field of force."8 theory of sociology. This implies a func-
It goes without saying that the introduc- tional interrelationship of space and time
as corresponding to a multi-dimensional and
7 Albrecht Haushofer, "Zur Problematik des dynamic system of multiple forces operating
Raumbegriffs." Z.f.G., 1932, II. within an expanding or declining social field
Karl Pintschovius, "Der Soziale Raum als Geo-
in contradistinction to a simple cause and
politische Frage." Z.f.G., 1932, II.
Max Baumann, "Raum und Staat." Z.f.G., 1933,
effect philosophy.10 Such a functional inter-
II. relationship stresses the "whole" as over
Rupert von Schumacher, "Zur Theorie des against the "sum," "configuration" as
Raumes." ZIf.G., 1934, II. over against "correlation," "structure" as
Otto Anderle, "Raum-Landschaft-Schicksal."
Z.J.G., I938, II.
over against "law," "experience" as over
8Many misinterpretations arose for linguistic against "existence," and "destiny" as over
reasons. To say that Geopolitics "deals with the against "causality." It is admitted that gen-
political organisms of space and their structure"
makes little sense; what is meant is "political organ- 9 Karl Haushofer, Geopolitik des Pazifischen
isms and their structure in a field of force." The Ozeans. I. Aufe. (Berlin, 1924), p. 119.
proper translation of Volk ohne Raum is not "people 10Max Spandau, "Staat und Boden." Z.f.6C.,
without space" but "a nation without a territory." I925, I, II.
These are only a few examples. Otto Anderle, op. cit.

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 58 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW

eral geographic or anthropological laws can vestigation along that latter line tends to
and indeed must be described in logical or isolate certain facts and to generalize upon
mathematical terms and under the presump- isolated findings or an agglomeration of
tion of a repetition of identical phenomena isolated findings. If we ask a person about
of causation. But it is also asserted that, his "field," we expect him to designate it as
whenever the social sciences penetrate into "physical geography," "population," "gov-
the core of their more specific problems, ernment" and so forth. If we have investi-
they will find them marked by individualiza- gated, say, the imperial institutions of
tion. Their aim, according to the theorists Japan, we like to dignify our scholarly
of Geopolitics, should be a Gestalt. It should efforts by labeling them a "study in autoc-
be noted that the meaning of "Gestalt," in racy." Geopolitical writers as exponents of a
this context, is only vaguely hinted at in Gestalt-sociology, on the other hand, believe
"configuration"; it is thought to be repre- that they choose a more "natural" field by
sentative of the totality of life in a unique directing their attention to Japan as a
location and situation. It is, like "Raum," a "segregated and dynamic whole." They take
four-dimensional term combining the aspects into account physical geography, popula-
of "shape" and "personality" into the con- tion, and government as interrelated parts
cept of a "living form" or, as Koehler puts of that whole rather than as parts of "physi-
it, a "segregated and dynamic whole."" cal geography," "population," and "govern-
As to Geopolitics then, geography has to be ment" in general.13 It was only in this way,
rounded out by ethnology while ethnology, they would say, that an all-inclusive and
in turn, is not concerned with an abstract hence realistic social and political science
"state" but with concrete states, not with could emerge at all.
"the people" as a general entity but with The meaning of this theory to sociology
actual races and nations, and not even with proper, be it the study of social and political
capitalism and socialism as ubiquitous institutions, rural and urban communities,
categories of social organization but with the racial and cultural groups, morale and col-
varying ways in which they tend to ma- lective behavior, may be inferred from the
terialize in different historico-geographic fact that Geopolitics regards itself as a
areas.12 Geopolitics employs the images descriptive science. But being descriptive
which people have as a basis for adequate does not imply that it is nothing else. Ade-
evaluation and subsequent prediction. quate description includes the knowledge of
American sociologists and political scientists related cases and thus invites classification
should try to systematize the scattered in- and comparison. Comparison, in a descrip-
sights of Geopolitics and compare them with -tive or historical science, takes the place
the results of their own research in the field which experiment holds in a correlative or
of race and culture contacts and interna- mathematical science. All this, however, can-
tional relations; a sociology of nations may not be handled in a dogmatic way, because,
grow out of such an effort. by definition, no "whole" or "Gestalt" can
Following our discussion, it is to be noted be equal to any other "whole" or "Gestalt"
that the concept of "field" as employed in and accordingly, "tendencies" rather than
a Gestalt-sociology differs from the concept"laws" are to be ascertained in a Gestalt-
of "space" inasmuch as it includes the time sociology. The character of these tendencies,
aspect in addition to the space aspect. But to be sure, limits the free play of intelligent
it also differs from the concept of the field social or political action within the frame-
as it is usually employed within an isolating work of the "Raum" as a unique "field
and generalizing sociology. Scientific in- of force" and yet allows for a variety of
possible modes of action within these limits.
" Wolfgang Koehler, Gestalt Psychology (New
York, 1929). 13As an example, consult: Karl Haushofer, Japan
2 Louis von Kohl, "Biopolitik und Geopolitik." und die Japaner; Eine Landes- und Volkskunde
Z.f.G., 1933, I. (Leipzig and Berlin, I933).

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 CONCEPTS OF GEOPOLITICS 59

In short, a comparative regional study, as tests, and techniques is thought to be essen-

indeed any comparative study in the social tial in an isolating and generalizing soci-
sciences, if conducted along the line of ology, nothing short of a trained ability of
Gestalt-sociology, results in a flexible mani- "understanding" will be of much help as
festation rather than in a rigid application soon as one moves within a unique "field of
of a general tendency. force." It is only upon a systematic and
Haushofer's dictum that "the best-in- comprehensive knowledge of facts, based on
formed will win the final battle" not only geographic data and proceeding toward eth-
fits excellently into this theoretical frame- nological and psychological interpretation
work but also indicates the line along which that an adequate judgment can be founded.
practical application actually proceeds. If this is true for regional studies, how much
Haushofer keeps in his Geopolitical Insti- more must it guide us in our efforts to com-
tute a file on almost everything and every- prehend and finally control a world situation
body in every country and in every part of where regional phenomena cannot be un-
every country on the face of this globe. He derstood but as part and parcel of one
utilizes "suggestive maps" to make social gigantic whole!
and political phenomena intelligible to the
Geopolitik," Bausteine, p. 43. "RUckblick und Vor-
general reader. While a mastery of tools,
schau auf das Geopolitische Karten/wesen." Z.f.G.,
1932, II. Compare also my paper on "Methods of
'4Karl Haushofer, "Die suggestive Karte," Bau-
Geopolitics" in Social Forces 21: 147-154, December,
steine, p. 343. "Grundlagen, Wesen und Ziele der 1942.

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