ABSTRACT
The term 'territorial imperative' was coined by the American playwright and journalist, Robert Ardrey to denote the priority given by individuals and communities to the critical importance of territoriality as a determinant of human and animal behaviour. The importance of the territorial factor can perhaps best be demonstrated by looking at two pre-modern societies. The first of these was a byword in Classical times for its migratory movements, and the dangerous pressure it applied to both Greece and Rome. The threat posed by the great waves of Gauls from Northern Europe were probably as feared as the Viking invasions of Britain, Ireland and elsewhere in later years. The idea that militarism and therefore war are functions of land hunger is extremely persuasive. Land hunger may be said to arise from a number of economic or other circumstances.
