The Threat of Geopolitics to International Relations: Obsession with the Heartland

About William MallinsonZoran Ristic

William Mallinson is Professor of Political Ideas and Institutions at Guglielmo Marconi University Italy and a member of the editorial committee of the Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies. He is a former Member of Her Majestys Diplomatic Service who left to study for and was awarded his PhD at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences Department of International History. Following a period in business as European Public Affairs Manager at ITTs European Headquarters in Brussels and then the Digital Equipment Corporation in Geneva he turned his attention to the academic world playing a pivotal role in introducing Britains first Honours degree in Public Relations. Since 1994 when he was awarded a Greek Government scholarship he has been perusing British Foreign Office Ministry of Defence Prime Ministers Office and Cabinet archives under the general rubric of Anglo-Greek relations during the Cold War including Cyprus. He has also published several articles in the press has been interviewed by BBC World Russia Today and Russia Channel One and spoken at numerous conferences. He has undertaken corporate consultancy projects and is an occasional Lecturer at the Greek National Defence School particularly on Britain and Russia/USSR. His publications include Public Lies and Private Truths (2000); Portrait of an Ambassador (1998); Cyprus: A Modern History (2005 2009 2010 2012); Partition through Foreign Aggression (2010); Cyprus Diplomatic History and the Clash of Theory in International Relations (2010); and The FCO Hegemonolingualism and the End of Britains Freedom (2014 2016) among others.Zoran Ristic is a Research Associate at the International Security Forum in Cyprus. He graduated from Kings College London where he focused on the political economy of war and conflict the intersection of politics and business interests and the invasion of Iraq. He completed his MSc at the London School of Economics and Political Science where he covered determinants of foreign direct investments corporate governance and determinants and risks to investments in conflict zones. His publications include The Balkans: Geopolitics on a Small Scale in South Slav Journal (2010).