“Confining the Enemy”—Halford Mackinder’s Theory of Containment and the Conflict in Ukraine

Abstract

Before George Kennan outlined his vision of containment, Halford Mackinder articulated a vision of maritime geostrategic logic that prioritized some geographic locations over others. Because Mackinder’s writings have been marshaled to assess the ongoing U.S. commitment to Ukraine, it is important to appreciate how his theory applies to the current crisis