Political Places and Institutional Spaces: The Intersection of Political Science and Political Geography

Abstract

Political geography is one of the most exciting subdisciplines to emerge from the "spatial turn" in the social sciences. Arising largely within the discipline of geography, political geography has deep implications for political science, and yet these implications have not yet been widely recognized among political scientists. Conversely, political geographers have not yet profited enough from the rich field of political science. Political geography has the potential to dramatically transform many areas of established political science research. We focus on two: (a) the study of "contextual effects" on political behavior and (b) the study of governance by applying the "new institutionalism." By spatializing the basic premises of these political science subfields, researchers can find new ways of looking at old questions. We conclude that political scientists should move beyond territorial questions of geography and begin thinking about the intrinsic spatiality of all political action, events, and institutions. DEFINITIONS AND BACKGROUND Definitions of "political geography" vary widely today, thanks to the effusive growth of this field of inquiry over more than a century. Most generally, political geography seeks to show "the relevance of the spatiality of all types of power and their interaction" (Flint 2003, p. 107). Within this most inclusive definition, the broadest division within political geography hinges on the definition of "political." Traditionally, political geography was concerned with the environmental, regional, and spatial aspects of the state, its subdivisions, and its relationships with other states. The second, and much more recent, category defines political geography as the study of the spatial dimension of gender, class, environmental, sexual, religious, and identity politics, no matter how those politics are connected to formal state institutions (

Cosmopolitan Immigration Attitudes in Large European Cities: Contextual or Compositional Effects?

“…In addition, twentiethcentury political contestation was organized around socioeconomic issues (the distinction between workers and capitalists and the extent to which government should intervene to counteract economic inequality), which cut across geographic differences (Lipset and Rokkan 1967). experiences that develop similar political attitudes. Existing work in this tradition has analyzed how different local economic and political contexts can shape voting behavior (Ethington and McDaniel 2007;Johnston and Pattie 2006). In addition, recent work highlights how political institutions and cultural norms create local and national 'discursive contexts' that shape how people view politics and policy options (Cinalli and Giugni 2011).…”

A Geographical Analysis of Dutch Electoral Volatility 1994–2012

“…A contextual geographic approach then forms a way forward for studies of political behaviour. Therefore, suggestions for a mutual engagement of political science and political geography made by authors such as Ethington and MacDaniel () and Clark and Jones (2013) are commended.…”

The role of Airbnb creating a “new”-old city centre: facts, problems and controversies in Porto

“…At the same time, the challenges resulting from the deep economic and social transformations of the last decades promoted the reorganization of the administration of most States, anchored in objectives and mechanisms oriented to deal with the effects of centralism, the opacity of political systems and excessive legislation and bureaucracy (Chamusca, 2012). In the context of this transformation, the spatiality of all types of power and authority gained importance (Ethington & McDaniel, 2007), stressing the increasing relevance of de-territorialisation of the state (Pugh et al, 2007) and the need to constitute mechanisms to represent collective action (Chamusca, 2012). So, over the last decades, the State has sought to reorganize and adapt to the new demands of an increasingly complex reality, which according to several authors (Brenner, 1999;Brenner, 2004;Gibbs et al, 2001;Vigar et al, 2005) involves three processes: decentralization, hollowing-out and devolution.…”