GEOG40450 Critical Geopolitics of Europe

Academic Year 2022/2023

Critical Geopolitics
Critical geopolitics is concerned with the geographical assumptions and designations that underlie the making of world politics. The goal of critical geopolitics is to elucidate and explain how political actors spatialize international politics and represent it as a “world” characterized by particular types of places. This module explores Critical Geopolitics as an approach to understanding political geographies. It begins by examining how Critical Geopolitics has emerged in Human Geography, and the reaction and misuse of 'Geopolitical' thinking in Europe. The module will examine conceptually and analytically the nature of Critical Geopolitics. Much of the empirical context for the module will be the EU politico-economic project. Drawing upon Professor Jones' research writing on EU governance, diplomacy and European geopolitics the module examines the notions of space and place in European elite thinking, situated political practices in EU governance, and the construction and implementation of geo-political narratives by EU elites. The nature of political change in Europe is interpreted through these components.