THE NOTION OF MIDDLE EUROPE IN CONCEPTUAL ELABORATIONS OF EUROPEAN GEOPOLITICIANS FROM THE SECOND HALF OF THE XIX TILL THE EARLY XX CENTURIES: HISTORICALLY-THEORETICAL ANALYSIS
The article deals with the reasons of elaborating the conception of Central and Eastern Europe's peoples' union around the German Empire within the framework of the intergovernmental union Middle Europe. The conceptual elaborations of European geopoliticians, which have served as the basis of this union, are analysed. The conclusion, according to which Middle Europe had to provide a necessary and vital space for the German Empire in a peaceful way, strengthen its hegemony in the union support its status of a great nation, is argued.