The Geographical "Mental Maps" of American Foreign Policy Makers

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Abstract
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.

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