The Revenge Of Geography: What The Map Tells Us... May 2026

Kaplan applies this geographic lens to several modern global "hot spots":

: He revives 19th- and 20th-century geopolitical thinkers like Halford Mackinder , who emphasized that control of the Eurasian "Heartland" is central to global dominance. The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us...

In his 2012 book, The Revenge of Geography , Robert D. Kaplan argues that despite our "flat" world of digital connections and globalization, the physical map remains the ultimate arbiter of power and conflict. He suggests that we have lost our "sensibility about time and space," leading to a dangerous over-optimism that ideology or technology can override the enduring realities of mountains, rivers, and borders. Core Thesis: Geography as a Persistent Constraint Kaplan applies this geographic lens to several modern