IRS 250 Political Geography

This course will examine the ever-evolving relationships between space, people and power, or territory, nation and state. Over the past 350 years the territorial nation-state has become the dominant actor in world politics. The development of this role, specifically looking at the origins of the state and the concept of territorial right will be central to the course. We will continue by examining state expansionism and imperialism, the challenges of inter-state relations from a geopolitical perspective, and more recently, the impact of non-state actors and supra-national institutions on state sovereignty. Understanding issues of hegemony, identity, locality, migration and how global space is perceived will be fundamental in our analysis.