2 – Geopolitics and Representation Flashcards
What was the main ideological division in the world during the Cold War?
US/NATO vs Soviet Union/Warsaw Pact
This division characterized international relations from 1947 to 1991.
What movement did many countries join instead of aligning with the US or Soviet Union during the Cold War?
Non-Aligned Movement
This movement sought to create a third path in international politics.
What shift occurred in geography after WWII?
Moved towards more scientific and quantitative pursuits
This change emphasized spatial science based on modeling and positivism.
What is positivism in geography?
The idea that there was an objective world detached from the viewer
Positivism emphasizes observable phenomena and scientific methods.
What marked the emergence of Critical Geopolitics?
A shift towards questions of power, agency, and representation after the ‘cultural turn’ in the 1970s
This shift reflected a growing politicization of the geographical discipline.
What did Critical Geopolitics challenge?
The objective view of the world that held a single truth - this was an idea that had become increasingly popular in geography
It emphasizes multiple perspectives and complexities.
Who is Yves Lacoste and what was his contribution to geopolitics?
He argued that maps are inherently geopolitical weapons(Lacoste, 1973) - he studied areas targeted by US bombing along the Red River Delta during the Vietnam War and found that the US targeted areas with higher population density
His work emphasized the biases in geographical representations.
What are the three geopolitical ideas identified by Gerard Toal in US strategy towards El Salvador?
Soviet Expansionism - a persistent account of inevitable expansion of the Soviet Union
Domino Theory - if El Salvador fell to communisim, this would lead to similar transformations in neighbouring countries
Geographical proximity and strategic interests - the conflict in El Salvador was folded into wider economic and political affairs
These ideas illustrate the broader geopolitical context of the conflict.
What is a criticism of classical geopolitical accounts?
They erase geography and politics by simplifying complex realities
This simplification often marginalizes alternative perspectives.
What are methods of deconstruction(Campbell, 1992)?
Policy language is considered to mask hidden or obscure political motivation
This involves analyzing language to uncover hidden political motivations.
What is a ‘disciplinary society’ according to Foucault?
A society that regulates conduct through institutions/disciplinary spaces - e.g. schools, factories, workhouses, prisons, asylums etc.
Examples include schools, factories, and prisons.
What is ‘discourse’ in the context of Foucault’s work?
How particular ideas are made meaningful and assumed to be common sense
Discourse shapes perceptions and legitimizes certain views.
What does Edward Said’s ‘Orientalism’(1978) explore?
The production of a discourse depicting the Orient as backward and submissive - his contention was that European culture managed the Orient and manipulated the discourse of it to legitimise and permit colonialism
This discourse legitimized colonialism by framing non-Western cultures negatively.
What is Arturo Escobar’s contribution to the discourse of development through his 1995 book ‘Encountering Development’?
He explores international development as a discourse legitimizing intervention in ‘underdeveloped states’
His work draws on Foucault to examine power dynamics in development.
What is geopolitical discourse?
The language and reasoning processes of geopolitics and their political functions
It shapes political debates and influences policy decisions.
