{"product_id":"democratic-ideals-and-reality-the-geographical-pivot-of-history-9781684226931","title":"Democratic Ideals and Reality: The Geographical Pivot of History","description":"\u003cp\u003e2022 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, \"\u003cem\u003eThe Geographical Pivot of History.\u003c\/em\u003e\" 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, \u003cem\u003eDemocratic Ideals and Reality\u003c\/em\u003e, 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eContents: 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Martino Fine Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50562120188178,"sku":"9781684226931","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_0e8fe087-fe13-402c-bbb2-6ddcf489ce8e.jpg?v=1731857314","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/democratic-ideals-and-reality-the-geographical-pivot-of-history-9781684226931","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}