The document discusses three main approaches to political geography:
1) World Systems Theory, which views the global capitalist economy as hierarchical with core states dominating semi-peripheral and peripheral states through unequal exchange.
2) Post-structuralism, which argues that discourses shape reality and truth through particular power relations, rejecting the idea that governments can objectively characterize parts of the world.
3) Critical/feminist political geography, which looks beyond traditional state-based political organization to examine marginalized groups and the relationships, discourses, and power distributions within societies.
The document discusses three main approaches to political geography:
1) World Systems Theory, which views the global capitalist economy as hierarchical with core states dominating semi-peripheral and peripheral states through unequal exchange.
2) Post-structuralism, which argues that discourses shape reality and truth through particular power relations, rejecting the idea that governments can objectively characterize parts of the world.
3) Critical/feminist political geography, which looks beyond traditional state-based political organization to examine marginalized groups and the relationships, discourses, and power distributions within societies.
The document discusses three main approaches to political geography:
1) World Systems Theory, which views the global capitalist economy as hierarchical with core states dominating semi-peripheral and peripheral states through unequal exchange.
2) Post-structuralism, which argues that discourses shape reality and truth through particular power relations, rejecting the idea that governments can objectively characterize parts of the world.
3) Critical/feminist political geography, which looks beyond traditional state-based political organization to examine marginalized groups and the relationships, discourses, and power distributions within societies.
Is the relationship between space/place/territory and power?
3 Approaches Jones Reading
3 main approaches to Political Geography
World Systems Theory Dominant Approach to Political Geography
o Neo-Marxist Theory Post structuralism- discourse o Describe reality and disturbing reality Micheal Foucault, Jacques Derrida Critical or Feminist Geo Politics o Does not just occur in the national state o It also occurs in the sub state e.g the Household o Attention to different relationship to power that operate at different scale as opposed to between states o Security is not just about national security Protecting States through military processes they operate in different scales e.g. Human Security
Write a small paragraph about the 3 approaches
The key themes in Political Geography include
The inequitable relations between countries and regions of the world
(Desperate inequality and poverty) Citizenship, governance and social movements how does social movements challenge governments Borders, surveillance and control they are reinforced physically (materially) and discursively through discourse.
Geopolitics
Political geography and Geopolitics
The relationships that states have with each other and the nature/structure of individual states that influence these relationships E.g. North and South Korea
Tutorial Questions
Political Geography as a sub-discipline in Human Geography has
arguably gone through at least 3 stages. Read Jones et al Chapter 1 and list what these are; pay particular attention to the current Era of Revival, which is quite diverse and contains at least three different approaches The era of ascendancy The era of marginalisation The era of revival
Electoral geographers viewed the electoral process as a system comprised of various
interacting parts, following certain rules and having particular spatial outcomes but they also realised that other parts of the political world could also be conceived of and analysed as systems, including the state, local government, policy making and public spending (see Johnston 1979). Significantly, the mechanical principles underlying systems theory meant that adopting the approach rendered complex political entities suitable for mathematical analysis and modelling.
These three approaches are:
1. World Systems Theory; 2. Post-structuralism; 3. Critical/ feminist Political Geography/ Geopolitics International Relationship between countries These countries are arranged in a hierarchy. At the top of the pyramid are the core states that dominate the system. The core states use the global capitalist economy for their own elevation. Second level is the Semi-Periphery seeking to elevate their place to the core states. To incorporate the rapid development of developing countries. E.g. Vietnam Semi-periphery Periphery states are the weakness. System of unequal exchange will between them and the core. Core states will take in natural resources in exchange for old and unwanted technology or aid in return. Critics reduction in economic value One system and but shows the inequality that exists economically and politicalally in that system. Driven by their economy and capitalism.
Different classes within country
Post Structuralist Popular culture education, film
The idea that discourses create reality-enforced by particular power relations
We are the creators of truth through discourses
E.g. the rise in terrorism and the discourse of evil Muslim have been discussed in popular culture. Through movies and public discourse Reject the idea that government can characterised parts of the world because of different ideas of their discourse. To analyse this discourse and reject the reality that this discourses created. Concretise manifestation and institutional norms e.g. identify potential terrorism
post-structuralist- reject the idea of the rational subject, arguing that
subjectivity (the sense of who we are) is constructed through discourses (see Box 1.4) that are open to change and contestation, and that there is no external reality outside discourse. The claims to truth that are advanced by science, religion and other discourses are considered by post-structuralists to be enforced by particular power relations. At any given moment and theoretical understanding, we experience only limited aspects of the world and some of what we experience is based on falsehoods embedded in some of the discourses we have learned (falsehoods in the sense of not existing separately from the theoretical constructs, not even satisfying the coherence of defined objects within that discourse, as subject to investigation on the basis of the internal rules of coherence and fact of the discourse. Hegemony rule by consent. How consensus is created and maintained. This is created and maintained through discourse. Your Sidaway and Mamadouh reading for this week discuss the meaning and some key examples of Geopolitics. Can you briefly summarise these? (Your readings for next week on the state provide some further examples) Feminist approach marginalized groups
Looking at non-traditional political organization outside of
government E.g. Marginalized groups i.e. woman Critical to mean questioning relationship, discourses and distribution of power within the society Era of revival all this 4 approaches are critical in influencing the works of political geographers. How film create particular realties. E.g. discourse Geopolitics is concerned with the manifold ways in which states seek to exert power and influence beyond as well as within their
boundaries. The first question that needs to be addressed,
therefore, revolves around the methods used to achieve this political domination.