Heartland, Rimland, and the Grand Chessboard Deciphering the Great Power Politics in Central Asia

Abstract

As the twenty-first century progresses, struggle for the control of Central Asia is growing, as rising China increases its economic and political clout while Russia is trying to regain its lost glory. The American presence in the region was considered as a threat not only by China, but also Russia who feared that the US is determined to carve out its sphere of influence at their expense. The recent withdrawal of the US forces from Afghanistan and Taliban re- taking Kabul further complicates the geopolitical calculations. China and Russia have been cooperating to ensure that the adjoining region, typically falling under Russian sphere of influence, may not become an American influenced area. Where China has emerged as one of the biggest trading partners of the Central Asian Republics, and Russia has signed several bilateral and multilateral security agreements to ensure its continued influence therein. Eurasia generally and Central Asia specifically, once again, is back to the limelight of great powers politics. This study traces the conceptual evolution of geopolitics, from Ratzel’s Lebensraum, Kjellen’s theory of state as an organism, to the Mahan conception of the sea power, among others. It discusses the collective geopolitical insights of Halford Mackinder, Nicholas Spykman, and Zbigniew Brzezinski who focussed on the concepts of Heartland, Rimland, and Grand Chessboard, respectively, to decipher the geopolitics of Eurasia. Keywords: Central Asia, Geopolitics, Lebensraum, Heartland, Rimland.

Dynamics of Regional Integration in Central Asia: A Case Study of Belt and Road Initiative

“…Furthermore, the dynamics of relationships among Central Asia, Russia, China, and other SCO member states in economic and energy cooperation have been analyzed, indicating the influence of economic and energy cooperation on regional integration. In addition, Russia is attempting to reclaim its former glory while rising China expands its economic and political influence, intensifying the conflict for control of Central Asia (Mirza & Ayub, 2022). Moreover, there has been discussion regarding how the Ukrainian War has affected South Korea's diplomacy in Central Asia, with a focus on the necessity of releasing current diplomatic strategies and policies of economic cooperation toward Central Asia from the inclination to see these nations solely as Russia's sphere of influence (Ho, 2022).…”

Tres décadas de intervencionismo ruso en el espacio postsoviético: de la geopolítica al neoimperialismo

“…El Kremlin ha pivotado hacia Asia Central en los últimos años. Apoyado en el eurasianismo como soporte ideológico, Moscú ha considerado que la colaboración estratégica con China impactaba directamente en las cinco repúblicas de Asia Central (Mirza y Ayub, 2022), excediendo el marco de la Organización para la Cooperación de Shanghái (OCS). Entre las cinco repúblicas cabe destacar unas relaciones muy diferenciadas: desde la práctica realizada por Tayikistán del bandwagonig (que oscila entre los apoyos de Pekín o Moscú) o de Uzbekistán (Rusia, China o Turquía; con entradas y salidas de la OTSC, UEE o GUUAM), hasta repúblicas que practican una política exterior más multivectorial al margen de Moscú (Turkmenistán y Kirguistán).…”