ExploringGeopolitics - Offering valuable academic insights into key geopolitical questions

Recent contributions

Last update

1 February 2010

Sovereignty: two competing theories of state recognition - William Worster

International Politics (Critical Geopolitics)

Next update

17 February

Geopolitical Passports of Professors Stéphane Rosière (Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne) and Mark Bassin (University of Birmingham)

Twitter

AllGeopolitics, Twitter page of this website

Fbordo, Twitter page of Federico Bordonaro

Recognition of new states

February 2010

William Worster currently serves as a lecturer at the Hague University and Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Dr Worster's contribution provides a legal perspective on the recognition of new states. Addressed issues include sovereignty, statehood and the Montevideo Convention:

Sovereignty: two competing theories of state recognition - William Worster

"The constitutive theory states that recognition of an entity as a state is not automatic. A state is only a state when it is recognized as such and other states have a considerable discretion to recognize or not. Moreover, only upon recognition by those other states does the new state exist, at least in a legal sense."

Critical Geopolitics master program

February 2010

ExploringGeopolitics aims to provide information about where to study geopolitics. This new course description concerns International Politics (Critical Geopolitics), a master specialisation of Newcastle University. More contributions about geopolitical courses remain welcome!

International Politics (Critical Geopolitics)

"Critical Geopolitics is an interdisciplinary degree programme featuring distinctive contributions from critical international politics and human geography. It focuses on the key theories, approaches and thinkers in the study of geopolitics. You will learn about the political dynamics, consequences and discourses of contemporary geopolitics and how to think critically about these important political currents."

Stuart Elden on his new book

January 2010

Professor Stuart Elden (Durham University) obtained a BSc (Hons) and PhD at Brunel University. In this interview, he elaborates on his new book, "Terror and Territory: The Spatial Extent of Sovereignty". Why did he start writing the book? Which thinkers have inspired him? And do the conclusions of his book leave room for further research?

Territory, Terror and Sovereignty - Stuart Elden

"Yet territorial integrity in international law, and the UN charter which was continually being referred to, also means territorial sovereignty: the idea that within its boundaries a state is sovereign and no external interference allowed. This was clearly not what was being meant by Bush and Blair."

Geopolitical Passport of Joe Painter

January 2010

Professor Joe Painter (Durham University) obtained a BA at University of Cambridge and a PhD at The Open University. His research interests include geographies of the state and citizenship and urban politics and governance. In this interview, professor Painter discusses among other topics North-South and East-West relations, socio-technical networks and political anthropology.

Joe Painter's Geopolitical Passport

"We also have to attend to the differences between geopolitics as an academic endeavour (the study of geopolitics) and geopolitics as a political activity (the practice of geopolitics) as well as to the continuous interaction between the two. Geopolitics is concerned with the difference space makes to politics."

Federico Bordonaro's view on 2009

January 2010

Federico Bordonaro is professor of geopolitics at Center of Excellence for the Stability Police Units and Rome’s University "La Sapienza". He gives his view on 2009 by analysing important geopolitical trends including the Nabucco, Southstream and Northstream projects:

A Geopolitical Review of 2009 - Federico Bordonaro

Recommended contributions

Geopolitical visions of EU

September 2009

Dr. Luiza Bialasiewicz (Senior Lecturer in Political Geography at Royal Holloway) explains the meaning of geopolitical visions and apllies this concept to the European Union. Why does the EU lack one geopolitical vision? Has the identity of the EU recently changed? And what has been the impact of the end of the 'Cold War' on Europe's borders?

European Union: geopolitical visions - Luiza Bialasiewicz

"It is curious how national political cultures and national histories still strongly influence member states’ geopolitical visions of and for Europe. These are often shaped by histories of strife but also by (ex)colonial ties."

Geopolitics in the 2000s

September 2009

Virginie Mamadouh (Associate Professor at University of Amsterdam) takes a fresh look at her 1998 article "Geopolitics in the nineties: one flag, many meanings." She further writes about the research agenda of contemporary geopolitics:

Geopolitics in the 2000s - Virginie Mamadouh

"Despite, or rather thanks to, its diversity, geopolitics has remained a powerful tool to study territorial conflicts and other spatial politics, more in particular international relations and global governance."

Geopolitical Passport of Simon Dalby

July 2009

Simon Dalby is Professor at Carleton University and co-editor of the journal Geopolitics. He is specialised in critical geopolitics, environmental security and the geographical dimensions of global politics:

Simon Dalby's Geopolitical Passport

"I don’t define geopolitics! It’s a term that refers to numerous modes of linking space and power and is best left that way; it’s a discursive mode, a matter of overlapping discursive practices, not a thing to be reduced to a stable definition."

Michel Foucher about borders

June 2009

Michel Foucher, Professor of geography and geopolitics at the Ecole Normale Supérieure (Paris Ulm) and member of the Council of Foreign Affairs (Paris), discusses the various roles of borders and the influence of borders on security and identity. This interview provides non-French speakers a unique insight into Mr Foucher's ideas which he has thoroughly discussed in numerous French publications:

Borders, security and identity - Michel Foucher

"Fear and policies of (in)security are the main drivers for fencing in the border scene which looks like a counter-model for the 'borderless world'."

Useful page with external links

If you are looking for links to freely available statistics and political information, please check this page:

Country Data

Events, Links and Quotes

Geopolitical Summer University 2010

The International Centre for Geopolitical Studies organises the course "Geopolitical Analysis of International Relations" from 12 until 17 July 2010 in Geneva. The course will adopt a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates strategic, geographic, historic, cultural and economic dimensions. For more information:

Geopolitical Analysis of International Relations

Course information at ICGS website