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Issue 1 (42)

GEOPOLITICAL APPROACH TO THE ANALYSIS OF WORLD WAR I CAUSES: CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES OF THEORY
Year	2014	Number	1(42)
Pages	33-42	Type	scientific article
UDC	930(100)”1914/19”	BBK	63.1(0)5
Authors	Zubkov Konstantin I.	Topic	CENTENARY OF WORLD WAR I
Summary	Based on comparison of some present day historiographic trends the paper studies an issue of the need to use a geopolitical approach for the study of World War I causes, which would help better understanding the logics of opposing coalitions formation within the context of the then prevailing trends of global politics and economics. The author presents arguments in favor of the view that an attempt to relate the dynamic uncertainty of international relations of the pre-war period, and the short-term motivations underlying the choice of allies to the long-term global development trends requires building the generalizing models for the analysis of international antagonisms embracing the whole spectrum of specific circumstances leading to the outbreak of the war. By way of example of one of the most well reasoned geopolitical models the author refers to H. J. Mackinder’s theory of geopolitical dualism between the continental and the sea powers, the updated, modified version of which was elaborated by P. Kennedy in his model of a shift in the balance of global economic forces.
Keywords	The First World War, geopolitics, imperialism, international relations, strategy
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