The Structure of Political Geography

Book excerpt: 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.