Revisiting the Geo-Political Thinking of Sir Halford John Mackinder: United States—Uzbekistan Relations 1991—2005
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Revisiting the Geo-Political Thinking Of Sir Halford John Mackinder: United States—Uzbekistan Relations 1991—2005 A thesis Presented to the Faculty of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy by Chris Seiple In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 27 November 2006 Dissertation Committee Andrew C. Hess, Chair William Martel Sung-Yoon Lee Chris Seiple—Curriculum Vitae Education 1999 to Present: The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University: PhD Candidate 1994 to 1995: Naval Postgraduate School: M.A. in National Security Affairs 1986 to 1990: Stanford University: B.A. in International Relations Professional Experience 2003 to Present President, the Institute for Global Engagement (IGE) 2001 to 2003 Executive Vice President, IGE 1996 to 1999 National Security Analyst, Strategic Initiatives Group, Headquarters, United States Marine Corps 1997 National Security Affairs Specialist, National Defense Panel 1996 Liaison Officer, Chemical-Biological Incidence Response Force 1990 to 1994 Infantry Officer, United States Marine Corps Publications • Numerous website articles on Christian living, religious freedom, religion & security, engaging Islam, just war, and Uzbekistan (please see the website: www.globalengagement.org) • “America’s Greatest Story.” The Review of Faith & International Affairs. 4, no. 2 (Fall 2006): 53-56. • “Uzbekistan and the Bush Doctrine.” The Review of Faith & International Affairs. 3, no. 2 (Fall 2005): 19-24. • “Realist Religious Freedom: An Uzbek Perspective.” Fides et Libertas (Fall 2005). • “Understanding Uzbekistan,” an Enote publication distributed by the Foreign Policy Research Institute (1 June 2005). • “Uzbekistan: Civil Society in the Heartland.” Orbis (Spring, 2005): 245-259. • “Religion & Realpolitik,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, 12 November 2004. • “The 9/11 Imperative,” Outlook, GovtExec.com, 13 September 2004. • “Shaping Tomorrow’s Foreign Policy.” In America Moving Ahead, ed. Art Shostak, Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2005. [Originally published on IGE’s website as “Youthful America,” 6 January 2004]. • “Uzbekistan and the Central Asian Crucible of Religion and Security.” In Religion and Security: The New Nexus in International Relations, co-authored with Joshua T. White, ed. Dennis Hoover and Robert A. Seiple (New York: Roman & Littlefield, 2004). • “Religion and the New Global Counterinsurgency.” In The Iraq War, ed. Art Shostak, Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. [Originally published on IGE’s website, 2 September 2003]. • “Implications of Terrorism in Uzbekistan,” an Enote distributed by the Foreign Policy Research Institute (12 April 2004). • “Heartland Geopolitics and the Case of Uzbekistan,” an Enote distributed by the Foreign Policy Research Institute (25 January 2004). • “The Grand Strategy: Sustainment.” In In the Shadow of War, ed. Art Shostak, Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. [Originally published on IGE’s website, 25 April 2003]. • “Baghdad Spring.” In Victorious Hawks, Hopeful Doves, ed. Art Shostak, Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. [Originally published as an Enote for the Foreign Policy Research Institute, 24 March 2003]. • “Waging Peace,” Outlook, GovtExec.com, 20 May 2003. • “On Frailty & Freedom.” The Review of Faith & International Affairs. 1, no. 2 (Fall 2003). • “Of Wars and Rumors of Wars.” The Review of Faith & International Affairs. 1, no. 1 (Spring 2003). • “Three Mile Island—The 20th Century's Introduction to the 21st Century Crisis,” with Michael J. Hillyard; concluding chapter in Hillyard’s book, Homeland Security and the Need for Change: Organizing Principles, Governing Institutions and American Culture. (Aventine Press, March 2003). • “Geo-Christianity: Back to the Future.” Prism (May 2003). • “Humanitarian Action and Private Security Companies: Opening the Debate,” an International Alert publication (June 2002). Co-authored with Tony Vaux, Gregg Nakano and Koenraad Van Brabant. • “Homeland Security Concepts and Strategy.” Orbis (April 2002): 259-273. • “The ‘Lessons’ of Kosovo.” The Marine Corps Gazette (June 2000): 39-41. • “Commentary & Reply,” Parameters, Spring 1999 (Response to “Interagency Operations Centers: An Opportunity We Can’t Ignore,” Parameters, Summer 1999). • “Window into an Age of Windows: The U.S. Military and the NGOs.” Marine Corps Gazette (April 1999): 63-71. • “Wrestling with Humanitarian Operations,” Marine Corps Gazette (December 1998): 24 [Published under “Gazette Staff”]. • “Consequence Management: Domestic Response to Weapons of Mass Destruction.” Parameters (Autumn 1997): 119-34. • “A ‘forward presence’ in a violent world,” by General Charles C. Krulak and Admiral Jay L. Johnson, The Washington Times, November 25, 1996 [ghost-written]. • “Combating the New Terrorism.” Proceedings (October 1996): 9. • The U.S. Military/NGO Relationship in Humanitarian Interventions. Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the U.S. Army Peacekeeping Institute, April 1996. Professional Associations • Senior Fellow, The Foreign Policy Research Institute, Program on National Security (Philadelphia) • Member, The Council on Foreign Relations (New York and Washington) • Member, The International Institute for Strategic Studies (London) • Member, Board of Directors, Wycliffe Bible Translators, USA (Orlando) Abstract This dissertation asks a simple question: Does Sir Halford John Mackinder’s geo-political thinking provide a suitable basis for examining and explaining the bilateral relationship between the United States and the Republic of Uzbekistan, 1991—2005? This dissertation re-visits Mackinder’s geo-political thinking, concluding that it is a living and comprehensive philosophy consisting of two perspectives which were meant to be applied in tandem to each new strategic era. These mutually dependent perspectives include the geo- communal view of man’s local interaction with and perception of geography, and the geo- strategic of a state’s understanding of, and interaction with, the Heartland (central Eurasia). Re-visited as such, this dissertation demonstrates the context and origins of Mackinder’s geo- political thinking (chapters 1 and 2), before modeling its explanatory suitability through an analytical narrative of the U.S.—Uzbekistan relationship (chapters 3 and 4). The dissertation also suggests a general set of hypotheses (chapter 2) that summarize and illustrate Mackinder’s comprehensive thinking, as applied through the analytic narrative of the U.S.—Uzbekistan relationship (chapter 5). Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to James Joseph Grey. He and his wife, Anne, lived across the street from me and Alissa. We spent many, many hours with them, loving and appreciating them more with each visit. We were fascinated by their service. Anne was a teacher; she had dedicated her life to the children in the Philadelphia school system. Jim was also a servant. He had fought in the Battle of the Bulge and he and Anne had served in George Kennan's Moscow embassy. Amidst work and the frenzy of everyday life, I looked forward to my conversations with Jim. We would debate the nature of God and leadership; who the “top three” Secretaries of State were in U.S. history; the elements of the Wehrmacht defeat in Russia; and, always, the exercise of American power. We would often sit back in his study, surrounded by the great books of world affairs. Or we would walk to downtown Narberth for a Friday lunch at “Greeks,” where we would talk geo-politics over a martini, or two. (Jim was old school State Department to the last). He always had time for me. He always listened. As I wrestled with the dissertation, Jim was indefatigably positive, always encouraging me. It was a powerful example. I can still see him walking along Anthwyn Road, the perfect gentlemen, greeting neighbors with the proper, and genuine, gesture or words. He was my friend. I miss him. Acknowledgements I am grateful to God for this experience and the people I have met along the way. As I approached the end of my Pentagon tour in 1998, I was thinking about getting out of the Marine Corps. That summer I met Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr., who recruited me to come to Fletcher. That fall, I met my wife, Alissa. We were married on 5 June 1999, I left the Marine Corps in July and we moved to Boston on 24 August 1999. I had planned to write my dissertation on managing the consequences of a WMD terrorist incident in the U.S. (something I had worked on at the Pentagon). In December of 1999, after completing my first semester of coursework as well as my first case study, it occurred to me that I wanted to write on something I knew nothing about…Uzbekistan. And thus I committed the cardinal sin of PhD students: I switched horses in mid-stream. Alissa supported me. Neither one of us, however, could have imagined that that Christmas 1999 decision would result in seven more years of “Ph.D. Candidate” status! I am thankful for Bob Pfaltzgraff. I am grateful to Mark Semioli for making me aware of the profound implications I faced one seemingly ordinary October night as I debated with him whether or not to leave the party, or ask this woman I had met at the door, Alissa, to dinner. “Your decision to stay or go could quite possibly be the biggest decision of your life.” Without this confluence of events, which I consider divine, this dissertation would not be possible. Along the way, I have been blessed with incredible friends and support. I am grateful to Sodyq Safaev who opened the door for me in Uzbekistan. Without him, I would not have met and learned from all the friends I have today in that great country. I am also blessed by the wonderful friends I have made in the U.S.; people like Matt Bryza, who selflessly serves our nation. I am filled with gratitude for the people who have also encouraged me along the way: my mom and dad (who introduced me to Sodyq Safaev); my sister, Amy, and her husband, D.B., who let me live with them in Providence R.I., for my last semester of coursework as Alissa took a job in New York; my brother, Jesse, who inspired me with his own graduate degree in conflict resolution; and Mike Hillyard, John Hillen and Pauletta Otis, each of whom nagged me about finishing the task.