Since 1991, more than a dozen new land-locked states have emerged to be confronted with the established geostrategic problems of access and communications. For some, establishing transit routes is a crucial question for for the exploitation of their energy resources. In many developing countries the condition of land-lockedness has often been an intrinsic factor in their poor economic performance. With the end of the Cold War and subsequent cuts in political and economic support, new alliances are being forged between African and Asian land-locked states and their neighbours.

As the world undergoes rapid technological and economic change, so too the role and functions of the State are being challenged. There are those who argue that that the nation state has come to an end and that we are entering a new phase in the territorial ordering of the world system. Others hold that boundaries have disappeared and that a globalized world has no need or use for artificial, man-made, territorial barriers.

This compilation of writings looks at international wars, boundaries, cultural conflict and world economy in a bid to address the changing relationship between politics and geography.

The book examines Mackinder's global geostrategic view, from the perspective of geography, diplomatic history, political science, international relations, imperial history, and the space age.