Synopsis
This textbook has been revised to include substantive material on the ability of political geography to analyze and inform the political issues of the day. Additional sections cover the nature of power, the practical geopolitics of politicians in terms of general geopolitical world order and specific geopolitical codes. The major organizational departure from the first edition is the division of the original chapter on territory, state and nation into two sections. The first examines traditional spatial structure as a discussion of the world political map and theoretical material has been expanded in a discussion of the nature of the territorial states. The new section on the ideological heritage of nationalism compares theories of nationalism to alternative arguments for nationalism as resistance. In the discussion of electoral geography there are two new sections discussing elections in core and periphery and the final chapter includes a construction of the theory of politics in localities that has emerged in recent years.
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Review
'...undoubtedly the best political geography text on the market'. (Environment and Planning, on earlier editions)
'Simply stated Taylor has written the best textbook yet to come out of the revitalised political geography.' (Progress in Human Geography, on earlier editions)
From the Back Cover
We live in a rapidly changing world in which politics is becoming both more and less predictable at the same time: this makes it a particularly exciting topic to study. To make sense of the continuities and disruptions within this political world requires a strongly focused yet flexible text. This new (fifth) edition of Peter Taylor’s seminal Political Geography proves itself fit for the task of coping with a frequently and rapidly changing geo-political landscape. Co-authored again with Colin Flint, it retains the intellectual clarity, rigour and vision of previous editions, based upon its world-systems approach. At the same time new theories and approaches are blended into established frameworks to provide more nuanced ways of understanding political geography today. Additionally, coverage of topical political issues in a clear and accessible format provides both a twenty-first century feel and stimulating material for students to engage with.
Reflecting the backdrop of the world against which it is written - this is the Empire and war on terrorism edition in which the processes of globalization are discussed in relation to the violent practices of terrorism and counter-terrorism.
Key features
- Extensive coverage of and commentary upon the principal events and challenges of today’s world - political violence and terrorism, imperialism, ecological disaster, economic inequity, and exclusionary and fundamentalist attitudes towards nationalism and religion
- New case studies help ground the theoretical argument in the real world
- Concise vignettes show events of key political importance as presented in the media
- Mid and end-of-chapter summaries make the information more digestible and navigable
- Activities to guide readers through their own exploration of the book’s topics
This fifth edition remains a core text for students of political geography, geopolitics, international relations and political science, as well as more broadly across human geography and the social sciences.
Colin Flint is Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Peter Taylor is Professor of Geography at Loughborough University
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