Major Geopolitical Schools: Part One

The "Organic School" by Friedrich Ratzel
The German scientist Friedrich Ratzel, a geologist, paleontologist and zoologist, is rightfully considered one of the founders of geopolitics. Friedrich Ratzel graduated from the Polytechnic University of Karlsruhe, then from the University of Heidelberg, where he attended a course of lectures by Professor Ernst Haeckel (the author of the term "ecology"). Ratzel's worldview and methodology were based on the ideas of evolutionism and Darwinism. In the system of views of the German scientist - the "father" of geopolitics - we can see many ideas of the founder of sociology, Frenchman Auguste Comte: evolutionism, recognition of the influence of the geographical environment on the development of the people, the state, the role of demographic and space factors in the functioning of political systems, the life of ethnic groups and the state.
"The Geographical Axis of History" by Halford Mackinder
The Englishman Halford George Mackinder (1861-1947) is one of the greatest figures among geopolitical scientists. A geographer by training, Mackinder taught at the University of Oxford, was director of the London School of Economics, was involved in political activities, and traveled as an envoy during the Civil War (1919-1920s) to southern Russia. He has the most original and revolutionary thought about the political history of the world. We find its origins in his report "The Geographical Axis of History" published in 1904 in the Geographical Journal. It summarized all the ideas of "political geography" expressed earlier and formulated the basic law of geopolitics.
Alfred T. Mahan's theory of "sea power"
In 1890, American Captain (Admiral) Alfred T. Meehan (1840-1914) published his first book "The Influence of Sea Power on History. 1660-1783". Subsequently, the works: "The Influence of Naval Power on the French Revolution and Empire" (1793-1812), "America's Interest in Naval Power in the Present and Future", "The Problem of Asia and Its Impact on International Politics", "Naval Power and Its Attitude to War".