Introduction: Spaces and Places: Geopolitics in an Era of Globalization

Abstract

The selection of our theme for the International Studies Association's 2014 convention, “Spaces and Places: Geopolitics in an Era of Globalization,” was motivated by the need to indicate, and help to remedy, an imbalance in the intellectual attention devoted to time versus space and to raise the consciousness of scholars across international studies to the relevance of spatiality in its many forms. International relations scholars are keenly aware of the role that temporal dynamics play in international politics, and the influence of temporality is acknowledged in works adhering to a range of methodological traditions. It is important, however, both in refining extant theories of global politics and in developing new theories from evolving realities, to be attentive to the contexts of those theories and the phenomena to which they pertain. Thus, world politics must be contextualized not only in time (across history) but also across space. The study of international relations (or international politics, or world politics) sits at the convergence of human inquiry that crosses both time and space. In terms of time, analysts fall back on the seeming simplicity of locating events and explanations in the past, the present, or the future. Without such apparently simple categories, spatial or geographic elements have not been as frequently used to locate analysis. Yet, as geographers are always willing to tell us: No matter where you go, there you are. (Starr 2013:1) Whatever the units of analysis being studied (world systems, regions, states, or other international actors), both external and internal contexts must include not only time but space and place as well. Broadly, space includes the spatial dimension of how things stand in relation to one another across physical space, the various ways in which the distance between and among them may be conceptualized and measured, and the meaning …