Critical Geopolitics and the Control of Arms in the 21st Century

Abstract

Critical geopolitics is about challenging the taken for granted contextualizations of social phenomena on the large scale. Invoking insights from this burgeoning literature, this paper examines some of the key taken for granted geopolitical specifications in the discussion of arms control. In particular the case of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the United States and Russia, and the persistent discourses of Iranian threat are formulated within some obvious, but very important geographical premises. The possibilities of innovations in the structure of the world order cannot ignore how desirable futures are rhetorically mapped, any more than they can avoid the question of who controls which arms where, in that order. Geography is never innocent, and the analysis in this paper suggests caution is appropriate when assuming the efficacy of particular contextualizations in both academic analysis and policy prescription.