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    Closed space and political practice: Halford Mackinder and Frederick Jackson Turner


    Kearns, Gerard (1984) Closed space and political practice: Halford Mackinder and Frederick Jackson Turner. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 2 (1). pp. 23-34. ISSN 0263-7758

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    Abstract

    urner's frontier thesis and Mackinder's heartland thesis are examples of closed-space thinking. Closed-space theories were current at the beginning of this century when public debate was penetrated both by biology and by geography. This conjuncture allowed spatial concepts to form the basis for the theoretical arguments advanced for political positions. The internal structure of closed-space theories allowed them to promote political conclusions, because the three central terms of those theories (environment, history, recent fundamental changes) were 'essentially contestable' and capable of interpretations which supported particular political arguments. The specific political arguments promoted by Turner and Mackinder dictated the interpretations they chose and thus the internal structure of their theories

    Item Type: Article
    Keywords: Mackinder, Halford; hearthland thesis; Turner, Frederick Jackson; frontier thesis; Closed-space theories; Environmental Studies; Geography; political conclusions; contextual interpretation;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Social Sciences > Geography
    Item ID: 12137
    Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1068/d020023
    Depositing User: Gerry Kearns
    Date Deposited: 14 Jan 2020 15:46
    Journal or Publication Title: Environment and Planning D: Society and Space
    Publisher: Pion
    Refereed: Yes
    URI:
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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