Name: Political Geography

Lecturers:Pauli Bauer, PhD. and Zachary Lavengood, Mgr.

Course description:

The course Political Geography has two principle objectives - first, to introduce general theoretical approaches regarding the relationship between territoriality and political, social and historical developments. Second, to apply these concepts in specific locations and highlight the spatial aspects of political and social controversies.

Nota: Occasionally, distant lesson via Zoom meeting platform will be provided. The link will be shared one week before the class.

Requirements:

Active participation (10%)

Students are required do read the mandatory texts for each class and be prepared to answer questions related to it in the class. Repeated failures to answer questions in class will lower student’s score.

Protocol to the texts presentation (20%)

What will be expected:

15 mn presentation:

- A brief general presentation of the text: subject, date, author.

- Situate the text in the social and political context, public debates, scientific fields, discipline, and approach.

- Present the main bibliographical references used by the author. Try to determine the sources used by the authors (primary or secondary sources).

- Present the argumentation and discuss it. Highlight the structure of the text

- Highlight key lessons and main conclusion.

- Limit of the text: point out the strengths and weaknesses.

- Confront with the proposition of another author, another case study, research, texts.

Paper based on the texts presentation (20%)

Students will write a short paper about the chosen text. The paper shall follow the structure of the presentation. Minimum length: 6400 characters with spaces.

Please send the paper via the Moodle teaching platform

Due date for the paper: May 27th, 2022. No late submissions accepted!

Final exam (50%):

Final exam will cover topics from classes, mandatory readings as well as student presentations. The final exam will take place on May 19th 2022.

Course program:

17.2. 2022

Introduction, course requirements, concept of geography, territoriality, political geography, human geography, physical geography

ZL + PB

24.2.

History of political geography:

Key Concepts in Political Geography: Gallaher et. al., Introduction chapter p. 1-14

ZL

3.3. NOTA: Distant Learning https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/93283700976

Nation building:

Fukuyama, Francis. 2004. "State of the Union: Nation-Building 101," Atlantic Monthly, 239, January/February. text available at http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2004/01/nation-building-101/302862/http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2004/01/nation-building-101/302862

Stephenson, Carolyn . "Nation Building." Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Information Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: January 2005 <http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/nation-building>.

PB

10.3.

History of geopolitics to the 20th century

Baylis et al. The Globalizatin of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations | Chapter 2 p.39-53

ZL

17.3.

Geopolitics of Water and Desert:

Yves Lacoste, "The Sahara: Geopolitical Perspectives and Illusions"

in Hérodote 2011/3 (No 142), pp.183-205.

Marwa Daoudy. "The Geopolitics of Water in the Middle East: Turkey as a Regional Power in Tvedt." The Currents of Power: Water and the New World Order, edited by Hagen & Chapman, 395-418. Center for Advanced Study, National Academy of Science and Letters, Norway & IB Tauris, 2010.

Text presentation:

PB

24.3.

World-systems analysis & 20th century political geography

Immanuel Wallerstein: Essential Wallerstein, New Press, 2010, World System Analysis, pp. 129-149.

Colin Flint, Peter Taylor: Political Geography. World-Economy, Nation-State and Locality, Routledge, 2018, Prologue, Chapter 1.

ZL

31.4. No lesson!

7.4.

Current geopolitical situation: Flashpoints & Conflicts

Students should familiarize themselves with the conflicts below, including the background and their present situation.

Territorial disputes in the South China Sea

Syrian and Yemeni Civil Wars

Background of EU-Russian tensions

Ethiopian Civil War & tensions with Sudan/Egypt

ZL

14.4.

Borders and frontiers

John Agnew, "No Borders, no Nations: making Greece in Macedonia, Annals of the Association of American Geographers vol.97, n°2, pp.398-422.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4620269?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=au%3A&searchText=%22John+Agnew%22&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3Fsi%3D1%26amp%3BQuery%3Dau%253A%2522John%2BAgnew%2522&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_SYC-4946%2Fcontrol&refreqid=search%3Adaa09fa5de229eb7a3888183a209fa1c&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

Jocelyn Parot, "Outer Borders, inner boundaries in Finland. The reconstructed Russian Border and the Changing Geography of memory", in Paul Bauer, Mathilde Darley (Eds), Border of the European Union: strategies of Crossing and Resistance, Prague: Cefres, pp.40-62.

PB

21.4.

Theories of critical political Geographies & Post modern Geographies

Edward Soja Post-modern geography: The Reassertion of Space in Critical Social Theory see, radical Thinkers, 2011. See article on Los Angeles.

David Harvey, The Right to the City, New Left Review, 2008, https://newleftreview.org/issues/II53/articles/david-harvey-the-right-to-the-city

Henri Lefebvre, State, Space, World, selected essays, Neil Brenner and Stuart Elden (eds.); translated by Gerald Moore, Neil Brenner, and Stuart Elden. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, c2009.

Michel Foucault, "Questions on Geography", in Jeremy W. Crampton and Stuart Elden (eds.), Space, Knowledge and Power: Foucault and Geography, Georgia State University and Durham University: Ashgate, 2007, pp.174-182. Sebastian

PB

5.5.

Geopolitics of climate change & energy

Baylis et al. The Globalizatin of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations | Chapter 24

US White House - Report on the Impact of Climate Change on Migration - 2021 | Sections I & II

ZL

12.5: Conclusive words with PB & ZL

19.5 Final examination:

Recommended:

Demographic aspects of geography - population growth, urbanization, population density, biopolitics

Harm deBlij: Geography Matters, Oxford University Press, 2005, kapitola Russia: Trouble on the Eastern Front

Harm deBlij: Geography Matters, Oxford University Press, 2005, kapitola Future Demography of Human Population

Recommended:Russia´s demographic problem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y93ip0lMNJ8

Politics of urbanism, geography of modern city, slums, satellite villages, Paris, Brasília

Readings: Jan Gehl: Life Between Buildings. Using Public Space. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1987 (excerpt).

Text presentation:

UN: The Challenge of Slums, 2003, pp. 17-31.

Recommended Literature:

The Times concise atlas of the world [kartografický dokument] London : Times Books, 2001 1 atlas (384 s.) : barev., [000212921] Signatura: H (přísně prezenčně)

Political geography / Martin Ira Glassner New York : Wiley, c1996 xii, 716 s. : il., mp. ; 26 cm., [000204495], PL-5127

World regional geography : the new global order / Michael Bradshaw Boston : McGraw-Hill, 2000, XVII, 622 s. : fot., mp., [000216665], DM-236

Environmental geography : science, land use, and earth systems / William M. Marsh, John Grossa, Jr., New York : Wiley, c2005, 455 s. : il., mapy ; 29 cm, [000393196], EK-2006

An historical geogra