FALLING DOMINOS OR THE ROLE OF GEOGRAPHIC MENTAL MAPS IN FOREIGN POLICY

Abstract

Geographic mental maps are commonly used to explain foreign policy behaviour of political
decision-makers. However, despite the proliferation of their usage, a theoretical account of
how mental maps influence foreign policy is still lacking. The current paper seeks to
contribute to the development of a theoretical framework which can support the use of mental
maps as an analytical concept for foreign policy analysis. Moreover, the paper uses the
domino theory as an example to illustrate how geographic cognition and reasoning effectively
influence foreign policy.