Statesmen respond to the world as they perceive and imagine it-which may not be the way the world really is. In the conduct of affairs over vast geographical spaces, such as those appropriate to present-day American foreign policy, the environmental "mental maps," or cognitive frameworks, relied upon may be of critical importance. This article analyzes the mental geography of U.S. officials, in terms of both their "geographical mind," or articulated geographical concepts, and their "geographical field," or intuitively sensed spheres of activity. More specifically, it examines what are called image-plans, such as Zbigniew Brzezinski's notion of an "Arc of Crisis" around the Indian Ocean, and behavior-spaces, such as the spatial milieu as experienced by Secretary of State Vance in the course of his diplomatic travel. By bringing to the surface the patterns inherent in both, the article is intended to heighten our understanding of geographical considerations in foreign policy.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Ball, G.W. (1968) The Discipline of Power: Essentials of a Modern World StructureBoston. Little, Brown.
2.
Boorstin, D.J. (1976) The Exploring Spirit: America and the World, Then and NowNew York: Random House .
3.
Childs, M. (1949) "Washington and the Atlantic Pact." Yale Rev. 38 (June): 577-587.
4.
Clark, H.H. (1973) "Space, time, semantics, and the child," pp. 27-63 in T. E. Moore (ed.) Cognitive Development and the Acquisition of Language.New York. Academic.
5.
Downs, R.M. and J.T. Meyer (1978) "Geography and the mind: an exploration of perceptual geography." Amer. Behavioral Scientist22 (September-October): 59-77.
6.
DOWNS, R. M. and D. STEA [eds.] (1973) Image and Environment: Cognitive Mapping and Spatial Behavior.Chicago: AVC.
7.
——— (1977) Maps in Minds: Reflections on Cognitive MappingNew York: Harper & Row.
8.
Eaton, R. (1980) "Probing strategic images: a new approach to geopolitical analysis" State College: Pennsylvania State University. (mimeo)
9.
Ermarth, F.W. (1978) "Contrasts in American and Soviet strategic thought" , Int. Security3 (Fall): 138-155.
10.
Falk, R. (1975) A Study of Future WorldsNew York. Free Press.
11.
Galtung, J. (1971) "A structural theory of imperialism," J. of Peace Research8: 81-117.
12.
Gottmann, J. (1973) The Significance of TerritoryCharlottesville: University of Virginia.
13.
Gould, P. and R. White (1974) Mental MapsHarmondsworth, England : Penguin.
14.
Halsell, G. (1978) "The melting pot's Mexican roots" New York Times (July 25).
15.
Henrikson, A.K. (1975) "The map as an 'idea': the role of cartographic imagery during the second world war" Amer. Cartographer2 (April): 19-53.
16.
Ittelson, W.H. (1973) "Environmental perception and contemporary perceptual theory," pp. 1-9 in W. H. Ittelson (ed.) Environment and Cognition.New York. Seminar.
17.
Jones, S.B. (1955) "Views of the political world" Geographical Rev. 45 (July): 309-326.
18.
Kissinger, H. (1979) White House YearsBoston: Little, Brown.
19.
Koffka, K. (1935) Principles of Gestalt PsychologyNew York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
20.
Kristof, L.K.D. ( 1960) "The Origins and Evolutions of Geopolitics." J. of Conflict Resolution4: 15-51.
21.
Laponce, J.A. (1980) "The city center as conflictual space in the bilingual city: the case of Montreal," in Jean Gottmann (ed.) Center and Periphery. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
22.
——— (1975) "Spatial archetypes and political perceptions." Amer. Pol. Sci. Rev.69 (March): 11-20.
23.
Lewin, K. (1936) Principles of Topological Psychology (F. Heider and G. M. Heider, trans.)New York: McGraw-Hill.
24.
Lippmann, W. (1965) Public OpinionNew York: Free Press.
25.
Lovejoy, A.O. (1936) The Great Chain of Being: A Study of the History of an IdeaCambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
26.
Lynch, K. (1960) The Image of the CityCambridge, MA: MIT Press.
MOORE, G. T. and R. G. GOLLEDGE [eds.] (1976) Environmental Knowing: Theories, Research, and Methods.Stroudsburg, PA: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross.
29.
Neisser, U. (1976) Cognition and Reality: Principles and Implications of Cognitive PsychologySan Francisco: Freeman.
30.
New York Times (1977) Address by President Jimmy Carter, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, May 22, 1977. (May 23).
31.
Parrish, N.F. (1979) "The influence of air power upon historians." Harmon Memorial Lectures in Military History 21, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs.
32.
Piaget, J. (1973) The Child and Reality: Problems of Genetic Psychology Rosin, trans.)New York: Grossman .
33.
--- and B. Inhelder (1956) The Child's Conception of Space F. J. Langdon and J. L. Lunzer, trans.)London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
34.
Reischauer, F.O. (1977) The Japanese. Cambridge, MA : Harvard Univ. Press.
35.
Reston, J. (1978) "The world according to Brzezinski." New York Times (December 31).
36.
Simon, H.A. (1969) The Sciences of the ArtificialCambridge, MA: MIT Press.
37.
Spiro, H.J. (1974) "Interdependence: a third option between sovereignty and supranational integration," pp. 142-163 in G. lonescu (ed.) Between Sovereignty and Integration.London: Croom Helm.
38.
Sprout, H.H. and M. Sprout (1965) The Ecological Perspective on Human AffairsPrinceton, NJ: Center of International Studies.
39.
——— (1956) Man-Milieu Relationship Hypotheses in the Context of International PoliticsPrinceton, NJ: Center of International Studies.
40.
Time Magazine (1980) "Back to maps and raw power ." 115 (January 21): 24, 27.
41.
——— (1979) "Crescent of crisis." 113 (January 15): 18-20, 23-25.
Tolman, E.C. (1948) "Cognitive maps in rats and men." Psych. Rev.55: 189-208.
44.
Tuan, Yi-Fu (1975) "Images and mental maps." Assn. of Amer. Geographers Annals65 (June): 205-213.
45.
U.S. Department of Defense (1979) "Report of Secretary of Defense Harold Brown to the Congress of the FY 1980 Budget, FY 1981 Authorization Request, and FY 1980-1984 Defense Programs ." (January 25)
46.
U.S. Department of State (1979) Remarks by Deng Xiaoping, White House welcoming ceremony, January 29, 1979Department of State Bull. 79 (March): 2.
47.
——— (1978a) Address by Vice-President Walter Mondale, East-West Center, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, May 10, 1978. Department of State Bull. 78 (July): 22-25.
48.
——— (1978b) Statement by Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Harold H. Saunders, Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East, House Committee on International Relations, June 12, 1978. Department of State Bull. 78 (August): 29-33.
49.
——— (1977) United States Collective Defense Arrangements (September)
