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Contents:
1 - Power, space and political geography; 2 - States and territories; 3 - The state in global perspective; 4 - The state's changing forms and functions; 5 - The political geographies of the nation; 6 - Politics, power and place; 7 - Contesting place; 8 - Democracy, participation and citizenship; 9 - Public policy and political geography.
Review:
The notion that applied ecology has a political dimension is no so old as to warrant no reaction. What is equally old is the lack of a broader theoretical political perspective on the topic. Thus we are presented with ideas of political reaction to ecological and environmental change but without the depth to analyse them further. In the meantime, political geography has been developing steadily to the extent that we can gain much from a study of this sub-discipline.
The aim of this text is to provide the reader with an introduction to the main areas of study. The sub-title of 'space, place and politics' gives some idea as to the direction taken. An introductory chapter provides a compact but useful overview of the development, rise, fall and rise of this area as well as giving a very brief review of the book's subsequent structure. From this point, the text is divided into three parts. The first looks at the nature of the state (one of the key concepts in the subject) and how this has changed through time. Chapter two starts with an exploration of the nature of the state, how it can be defined and the nature of the territory it holds. Using a range of examples (many with an environmental perspective we can see how the concept of state changes. Chapter three builds on this by looking at the state in a global context - globalisation and geopolitics. The final chapter, in contrast, goes to the local scale and examines how the state (or portions of it) can change. Part two, subtitled 'politics, power and place' discusses the nation and changes within it. thus chapter five starts by what it means to be a nation and how our perception defines it. Chapter six argues that despite our global viewpoints we are still very much connected to a place (i.e. local space) and that this space is the subject of continual re-appraisals. Finally, chapter seven looks at the ways in which this space is regulated, how and by whom. Part three looks at the idea of people getting involved. In context, part one takes the key topic, state and part two at how we perceive and alter space to fit into power relations. This leaves part three to look at the wider personal involvement in politics i.e. democracy, voting etc. Chapter 8 is devoted to electoral geography and the advantages and disadvantages of voting, protesting etc. The final chapter in the book describes how these actions are translated into public policy and how we can influence this.
Overall, this is an excellent text. There is a real need for a relatively brief but lively introduction to this topic because it is often overlooked in our, frankly, often simplistic view of environmental politics. All the key ideas are there and there is considerable debate. The text is enhanced by a very lively writing style along with the usual text boxes, illustrations and web and text references. Sometimes the text is complex (this is not the easiest of subjects to grasp as a beginner) which would reduce school usage but even there it should be seen as a 'must-buy' for the library and definitely seen as a set text in higher education.