Alfred Thayer Mahan
Prophet of Sea Power
The American naval officer whose theories of sea power transformed global strategy. Mahan's ideas drove naval buildups from the United States to Japan and remain foundational to maritime strategic thinking.
Thinkers
The strategists and scholars who developed the foundational theories of geopolitics and international relations.
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Classical Theorists (pre-WWII)
Halford Mackinder
Father of Geopolitics
The British geographer who invented geopolitical analysis. Mackinder's Heartland Theory and vision of geography as the 'handmaid of statecraft' founded the field and shaped a century of strategic thinking.
Nicholas Spykman
Architect of American Grand Strategy
The Dutch-American scholar who reframed Mackinder's Heartland thesis and provided the intellectual foundation for American containment strategy. Spykman's Rimland theory shaped Cold War geopolitics.
Modern Strategists (post-WWII)
George Kennan
The American diplomat whose 'Long Telegram' and 'X Article' defined the strategy of containment that guided US Cold War policy. Kennan later became a critic of the very policies he inspired.
John Mearsheimer
The leading proponent of offensive realism, whose predictions about great power competition and NATO expansion have made him one of the most discussed—and controversial—international relations scholars of our time.
Zbigniew Brzezinski
The Polish-American strategist who shaped American Cold War policy and articulated the enduring importance of Eurasia. Brzezinski's 'Grand Chessboard' remains essential reading for understanding great power competition.