Spatializing Authoritarianism - (Syracuse Studies in Geography) by Natalie Koch (Paperback)

About the Book

"Authoritarianism has emerged as a prominent theme in popular and academic discussions of politics since the 2016 US presidential election and the coinciding expansion of authoritarian rhetoric and ideals across Europe, Asia, and beyond. Until recently, however, academic geographers have not focused squarely on the concept of authoritarianism. Its longstanding absence from the field is noteworthy as geographers have made extensive contributions to theorizing structural inequalities, injustice, and other expressions of oppressive or illiberal power relations and their diverse spatialities. Identifying this void, Spatializing Authoritarianism builds upon recent research to show that even when conceptualized as a set of practices rather than as a simple territorial label, authoritarianism has a spatiality: both drawing from and producing political space and scale in many often surprising ways. This volume advances the argument that authoritarianism must be investigated by accounting for the many scales at which it is produced, enacted, and imagined."--Page [4] of cover.

Book Synopsis

Authoritarianism has emerged as a prominent theme in popular and academic discussions of politics since the 2016 US presidential election and the coinciding expansion of authoritarian rhetoric and ideals across Europe, Asia, and beyond. Until recently, however, academic geographers have not focused squarely on the concept of authoritarianism. Its longstanding absence from the field is noteworthy as geographers have made extensive contributions to theorizing structural inequalities, injustice, and other expressions of oppressive or illiberal power relations and their diverse spatialities. Identifying this void, Spatializing Authoritarianism builds upon recent research to show that even when conceptualized as a set of practices rather than as a simple territorial label, authoritarianism has a spatiality: both drawing from and producing political space and scale in many often surprising ways. This volume advances the argument that authoritarianism must be investigated by accounting for the many scales at which it is produced, enacted, and imagined.

Including a diverse array of theoretical perspectives and empirical cases drawn from the Global South and North, this collection illustrates the analytical power of attending to authoritarianism's diverse scalar and spatial expressions, and how intimately connected it is with identity narratives, built landscapes, borders, legal systems, markets, and other territorial and extraterritorial expressions of power.

Review Quotes

The success of the work springs from its convincing illustration that there is no one type of authoritarian state and that each one examined is in a continuing state of flux. Recommended.-- "Choice"

This is a wide-ranging and meritorious book: the timely topic is addressed from a variety of angles, in a range of places, and by a diverse set of authors.-- "Merje Kuus, The University of British Columbia"

This rich collection of historical and contemporary case studies from a wide variety of regional contexts makes a distinctive contribution to research on spatializing authoritarianism and to general debates about the persistence of nondemocratic regimes.-- "Martin Dimitrov, Tulane University"

This volume makes a significant contribution to the advancement of our understanding of the many spatial expressions of authoritarianism and of movements resisting them.-- "Virginie Mamadouh, University of Amsterdam"

About the Author

Natalie Koch is full professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment at the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs, Syracuse University.