Environmental determinism (also known as climatic determinism or geographical determinism) is the study of how the physical environment predisposes societies and states towards particular development trajectories. Nineteenth century approaches held that climate and terrain largely determined human activity, especially in less centralized societies. Many scholars underscore that this approach supported colonialism and eurocentrism, and devalued human agency in non-Western societies. Jared Diamond, Jeffrey Herbst, and other theorists sparked a revival of the theory during the late twentieth century. Neo-environmental determinism examines how geographic and ecological forces influence state-building, economic development, and institutions.