Since their appearance in 1904, the geopolitical ideas of Halford Mackinder in relation to Central Asia have attracted both admiring praise and dismissive criticism, influencing the larger academic and political debate over the future of that region. Mackinder's vision of the Central Asian steppes as the 'pivot' or 'heartland' of the Eurasian landmass, destined to determine the world's balance of power, has showed an impressive resilience and flexibility in international strategic discourses, inspiring the foreign policy of great powers like Germany and the United States throughout the twentieth century. The end of the Cold War in 1991-and the sudden disintegration of the Communist bloc and emergence of new, fragile independent states in the former Soviet Union-again put Mackinder's vision at the centre of debates in international relations.
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