Critical geopolitics emerged in the 1980s and 1990s, shifting from classical geopolitics’ emphasis on geography as an objective reality to a focus on the role of language and discourse in shaping political perceptions. This approach recognizes that geographical knowledge influences how we define "us," "them," and "the enemy," and highlights how geopolitical discourses construct reality (Dittmer, 2014: 5). Critical geopolitics is divided into formal, practical, and popular branches, each contributing to our understanding of how geopolitical knowledge serves the state and its political agenda. Mahan’s focus on sea power and Mackinder’s broader vision of the geopolitical world (e.g., the "Heartland") contributed to geopolitics’ historical development, but their work, while significant, also reflects their desire to inform state policies (Dittmer, 2014: 15).