Geopolitics and Peace: A Century of Change in the Discipline of Geography

Abstract

ABSTRACTPeace has re-emerged as a theme in political geography in the past few years, but it has a longer history in the discipline. Different positions on peace are epitomized by both the International Geographical Union, whose founding was proposed in London exactly a century ago, and by Halford Mackinder. That historical discussion, related to what was often called ‘political realism’, has been overtaken in recent years by a different disciplinary focus on geographies of peace understood as about much more than conditions of non-war between states. This insists that space and place are not the mere stage on which the real political dramas unfurl, but are active ingredients in peace. However, some critics claim these new studies don’t adequately deal with the geographies of contemporary peacemaking in particular. Simultaneously current global politics suggests that authoritarian conflict management is the emerging global pattern that emphasizes maintaining the existing order, rather than dealing with larger issues of justice and the sources of violence. Inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr’s global geographical ethic of peace, we consider how, looking forward, these contemporary issues are now especially pertinent for political geographers as accelerating environmental changes pose new challenges to the possibilities for peaceful societal transformation in the next phase of the Anthropocene.