Anssi Paasi

Julian Minghi

Milan Bufon

This book offers a substantial and up-dated discussion and presentation of the new European “frontiers” related to complex and controversial social and spatial (re)integration issues in multicultural and border regions. It represents an inter-disciplinary endeavour from human geographers, social and political scientists, and linguists to understand and interpret the current developments of the European “unity in diversity” paradigm, based on simultaneous and continuous processes of social and spatial convergence and divergence, changing territorialities and identities, particularly in the wider EU’s “inner” and “outer” border regions. These studies convincingly display the prominence of context in understanding the regional and local geo-histories and in making sense of the meanings of borders for social communities and wider societies. They also show how (re)integration potentials of border and multicultural regions are strongly dependent on the creation of a viable multi-level social and spatial planning and cooperation system, within which both “conflict-to-harmony” processes and “common cause” behaviours and practices may become effective, and thus give a new role to local communities in the numerous borderlands across Europe. The book offers both a synthesis of current theoretical-methodological approaches and an analysis of selected case-studies provided by internationally-acknowledged scholars. It represents a valuable instrument for researchers and students of social and spatial integration, human and political geographers, social anthropologists, and social and political scientists, as well as language planners.

Social and Spatial (Re)Integration Issues in Multicultural and Border Regions

The New European Frontiers

This volume seeks to provide a sense of purpose and order to the study of political geography. The editors devise a conceptual structure for the field, bringing political geography into line with trends in contemporary geography as a whole and with other social sciences. Not only do the selections contain a wide variety of contributions from other fields, but the introductory essays and annotated bibliographies suggest related research. The structure of the book enjoys close parallels in other social sciences.The organization of the book reflects the editors' definitions and structuring of political geography. Part I, ""Heritage,"" includes works that have contributed to the theoretical development of the field. Part II, ""Structure,"" comprises the concern to which political geographers have devoted most of their past attention. Parts III and IV, ""Process"" and ""Behavior,"" form the subject where much future theoretical and practical effort is needed. Part V, ""Environment,"" provides the context in which spatial structure, process, and behavior occur.The Structure of Political Geography includes selections from sociobiology, history, international relations, political economy, political science, social psychology, and sociology. The classics in the field are an essential inclusion since the book would be incomplete without them. The selections in the volume, originally published in 1971, remain useful and pertinent to political geographers of diverse persuasion and to social scientists interested in geographical approaches. The fact that there is a clear focus and conceptual interdependence in political geography is the volume's greatest contribution.

Julian Minghi

About

Books

Join the club