On December 28, 2022, Research Assistants Mr. Ali Changezi, Ms. Hafsa Sherani, and Ms. Sakina Ahmed delivered a Capacity Building Talk to the Faculty members at BTTN.

The focus of the talks was the ‘Pivot of Geography’ which discussed the Heartland thesis of Halford Mackinder and the ‘Theory of Sea Power’ purported by Alfred Thayer Mahan.

Ms. Hafsa Sherani presented an overview of Halford Mackinder’s Heartland theory. Its significance, historical background, and its impact of geo-strategy and geopolitics. She highlighted the significance of the Euro-Asian region as the ‘Geographical Pivot of History’ and provided an in depth explanation of the significance that geography holds in major global relations, affairs, and policies.

Following this, Ms. Sakina Ahmed, delivered a talk on Alfred Thayer Mahan’s ‘Theory of Sea Power’. She analyzed the historical background of the thesis, the significance it bore on the policies of contemporary major naval powers especially the United States, and the overall constitutive elements of Sea Power which were necessary prerequisites for a nation to develop power at sea and project it’s power overseas.

Mr. Ali Changezi was the final speaker of the session. He provided a critical analysis of both the theories. In his talk, he mentioned the strengths and shortcomings of both the theories. Critical analysis of any theory is of paramount importance in scholarly research and his talk was aimed at highlighting the same.

The session was concluded with an interactive questions and answers session.