ABSTRACT
A hundred years is a long time in strategic history. It is a testament to the integrity of Sir Halford Mackinder's strategic thinking that so much of what he had to say is still seen as having a contemporary relevance. This is despite his ideas having had a phoenix-like existence in the post-1945 period, as far as academic communities in Britain and America are concerned. Professor Colin Gray has succinctly evaluated the rare talent that he brought to bear in terms of geopolitical analysis when he suggests in his chapter in this book that Mackinder ‘got the really big things right enough’. The big things as far as Mackinder's strategic writing is concerned are usually perceived as the three versions of the Heartland Theory. However, the aim of this chapter is to focus on an almost forgotten aspect of Mackinder's work, which he also got right enough, the geopolitics of Anglo– Irish relations. This relationship can be described as being close but tortuous. Furthermore, this relationship has a longevity which, is at least as impressive as the Heartland theory. The aim of this chapter to raise a number of important questions concerning the geopolitics of Anglo–Irish relations. First, to what degree does geopolitics, a theory of spatial relations and historical causation, provide a way of evaluating both past and future developments in this relationship? Second, if it is accepted that Mackinder's ideas have this utility in that they can facilitate both description and prescription, what sort of roles are fulfilled? Finally, is there any evidence that the geopolitical ideas of Mackinder concerning Anglo–Irish relations has moulded the perceptions and actions of policy makers both in the past and in the present?
