Political Geography

Bachelor 2020/2021

Category 'Best Course for Career Development'

Category 'Best Course for Broadening Horizons and Diversity of Knowledge and Skills'

Category 'Best Course for New Knowledge and Skills'

Type: Compulsory course (HSE University and University of London Parallel Degree Programme in International Relations)

Area of studies: Public Policy and Social Sciences

Delivered by: Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs

Where: Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs

When: 1 year, 1 module

Mode of studies: offline

Instructors: Andrei Skriba

Language: English

ECTS credits: 4

Contact hours: 44

Full Syllabus Ask Question

Abstract

This course is concerned with the ways in which political practice is bound up with geographical definition: with spatially defined conceptions of inside and outside, center and margin, core and periphery systems that are regulated by international law and governed by such concepts as sovereignty and national self-determination.

Learning Objectives

To understand the development of group identities such as nations and examine the linkages between these identities and the political organization of territory.
To examine states emergence with an emphasis on how internal and external forces work centripetally and centripetally on the integrity of state territories.
To develop an appreciation for the effects of boundaries on economic, political, and social processes.
To study in relevant details theoretical concepts and challenges underpinning the study of geography and politics.
To identity the political, economic, and environmental forces that are undermining the modern nation-state system.
To have a working familiarity with the most current research topics in political geography.

Expected Learning Outcomes

To study the concept of territoriality and sovereignty and be able to trace the connection between historical process of state formation and modern developments
To be able to analyse and interpret the key stages in the formation of the modern nation-state
To understand the origins of political systems and be able to draw on the examples of different regions to explain the diversity of world orders today
To develop the understanding of the main reasons and potential consequences of regional conflicts
To be able to apply geopolitical theory to analysing the phenomenon of failed states and its implications for the international politics
To develop a critical view on the process of globalisation by engaging with the contemporary challenges of the deepened interdependence and interconnectedness of the international arena
To understand the politics of integration and be able to articulate potential challenges to the conventional understanding of sovereignty
To understand the mechanism of territorial enlargement and legal clauses which underpin the process

Course Contents

Sovereignty and state on the world map
State as an independent political body, autonomy of power over a territory; history of sovereignty and formation of political borders
Nation and nation-state
Nation, nationality and identity under the roof of the same government; origins and sources of power; nation-state in terms of territorial allocation of people and power
Political geography of state government
Origins of different political systems and evolution of sovereign statehood; internal regional dynamics; diverse forms of state government on the world political map
Sovereignty: The limits and beyond
Limits of states' territories and political jurisdiction, status of other territories
Political geography of instability
Why states fail; origins and processes of such a phenomenon; regional dynamics of conflicts; historical and geographic factors leading to regional instability
Political geography as a discipline
Key elements on the world political map, their objective and subjective characteristics
State in the age of globalisation and beyond
Union building and preservation of sovereign goodwill exercised in a cooperation; forms of international and regional integration; integration in terms of sovereignty, regional institutional structures and their members
Sovereignty not for all
How a state could enlarge the horizons of its sovereign territory by law

Assessment Elements

Seminar Attendance and Participation
Medical certificate or any proof of academic activity (e.g. conference) should be handed in to the Administration Office if a student wants to make up for the missed opportunity to get credits. It is obligatory to notify the tutor or the assistants to ask for a special task for the related topic. The tutor should be notified by a student via e-mail during a student’s absence and a medical certificate (or any document explaining the valid reason) should be handed in not later than 2 days after a student has return to studying. Unless these steps are accomplished, a student will get the mark “0” for all seminars they missed.
In-Class Quizzes
Map Test

Interim Assessment

Interim assessment (1 module)
0.2 * In-Class Quizzes + 0.2 * Map Test + 0.6 * Seminar Attendance and Participation

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Conversi, D. (2016). Sovereignty in a Changing World: From Westphalia to Food Sovereignty. Globalizations, 13(4), 484–498. https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2016.1150570
Fisher, C. A. (2015). Essays in Political Geography. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1240134
Flint, C., & Taylor, P. J. (2014). Political Geography : World-economy, Nation-state and Locality (Vol. 6th ed). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=nlebk&AN=782852
Grotenhuis, R. (2016). Nation-Building as Necessary Effort in Fragile States. Web server without geographic relation, Web server without geographic relation (org): Amsterdam University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.10746755
Jones, M., Dixon, D., Hannah, M., Whitehead, M., Jones, R., & Woods, M. (2015). An Introduction to Political Geography : Space, Place and Politics (Vol. Second edition). New York: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=905853
Kofman, E., Knight, D. B., & Johnston, R. J. (2015). Nationalism, Self-Determination and Political Geography. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=861912
Martí Henneberg, J. (2017). The Development of European Waterways, Road and Rail Infrastructures: A Geographical Information System for the History of European Integration (1825-2005). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.F401C6CB
Minghi, J. (2017). The Structure of Political Geography (Vol. First edition). London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1588493
Perry, P. J. (2018). Political Corruption and Political Geography. London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1990105
Reeder, B. W. . V. (DE-588)1164035878, (DE-576)50810131X, aut. (2018). The political geography of rebellion : using event data to identify insurgent territory, preferences, and relocation patterns / Bryce W. Reeder, University of Missouri. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.511784449
Waterman, S., & Kliot, N. (2016). Pluralism and Political Geography : People, Territory and State. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1100935

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Bae, Y. J. (2019). Globalization. New York: Greenhaven Publishing. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=2006847
Boraine, A. (2014). What’s Gone Wrong? : On the Brink of a Failed State. New York: Jonathan Ball. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=789749
Edkins, J., & Zehfuss, M. (2019). Global Politics : A New Introduction (Vol. Third edition). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=2003604
J.S. Frankel. (2016). Integration. Lincoln: Finch Books. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1459655
Koss, D. (2017). Political geography of Empire : Chinese varieties of local government / Daniel Koss. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.490607667
Kumar, C., Riamei, L., & Gupta, S. (2017). Understanding Global Politics. New Delhi: KW Publishers. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1630583
Ritzer, G., & Dean, P. (2018). Globalization : The Essentials (Vol. Second edition). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1991330

Course Syllabus