Anssi Paasi - Böcker

The optimism heralded by the end of the Cold War and the idea of an emerging borderless world was soon shadowed by conflicts, wars, terrorism, and new border walls. Migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees have simultaneously become key political figures. Border and mobility studies are now two sides of the same coin. The chapters of this volume reflect the changing relations between borders, bordering practices, and mobilities. They provide both theoretical insights and contextual knowledge on how borders, bordering practices, and ethical issues come together in mobilities. The chapters scrutinize how bounded (territorial) and open/networked (relational) spaces manifest in various contexts. The first section, ‘Borders in a borderless world’, raises theoretical questions. The second, ‘Politics of inclusion and exclusion’, looks at bordering practices in the context of migration. The third section, ‘Contested mobilities and encounters’, focuses on tourism, which has been an ‘accepted’ form of mobility but which has recently become an object of critique because of overtourism. Section four, ‘Borders, security, politics’, examines bordering practices and security in the EU and beyond, highlighting how the migration/border politics nexus has become a national and supra-national political challenge. The chapters of this interdisciplinary volume contribute both conceptually and empirically to understanding contemporary bordering practices and mobilities. It is essential reading for geographers, political scientists, sociologists, and international relations scholars interested in the contemporary meanings of borders and mobilities.

Recent years have witnessed the most substantial changes in the world system of states and their boundaries since World War II. The key division between the states in the world system the former deep ideological divide between East and West has disappeared. The border between Finland and Russia was a frontier between East and West and had a long history as a fundamental dividing line between contrasting cultural and political systems. Territories, Boundaries and Consciousness is the first geographical analysis of how this critical border evolved. This original and well-illustrated book is much more than a local study. It presents both a theoretically informed analysis of the construction of territories and their boundaries and a richly detailed geohistory of the changing geography of Finland. It traces the nature of the nation-building process, the rise of the nation state and the changing position of this emerging new state in the world geopolitical landscape. The history of the construction of the Finnish Russian border is analyzed on the basis of modern geopolitical and social theory, leading to an interpretation of the changing role of the boundary in the socio-spatial consciousness of the Finnish people. This important theoretical analysis is a key reformulation of boundary studies as well as a fascinating experienced examination of a critical geographical fault-line in world history. It is essential reading for postgraduates of political and cultural geography, history, international relations, Russian studies, as well as for those with an interest in international politics.

The optimism heralded by the end of the Cold War and the idea of an emerging borderless world was soon shadowed by conflicts, wars, terrorism, and new border walls. Migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees have simultaneously become key political figures. Border and mobility studies are now two sides of the same coin. The chapters of this volume reflect the changing relations between borders, bordering practices, and mobilities. They provide both theoretical insights and contextual knowledge on how borders, bordering practices, and ethical issues come together in mobilities. The chapters scrutinize how bounded (territorial) and open/networked (relational) spaces manifest in various contexts. The first section, ‘Borders in a borderless world’, raises theoretical questions. The second, ‘Politics of inclusion and exclusion’, looks at bordering practices in the context of migration. The third section, ‘Contested mobilities and encounters’, focuses on tourism, which has been an ‘accepted’ form of mobility but which has recently become an object of critique because of overtourism. Section four, ‘Borders, security, politics’, examines bordering practices and security in the EU and beyond, highlighting how the migration/border politics nexus has become a national and supra-national political challenge. The chapters of this interdisciplinary volume contribute both conceptually and empirically to understanding contemporary bordering practices and mobilities. It is essential reading for geographers, political scientists, sociologists, and international relations scholars interested in the contemporary meanings of borders and mobilities.

Superb! How refreshing to see a Handbook that eschews convention and explores the richness and diversity of the geographical imagination in such stimulating and challenging ways. - Peter Dicken, University of Manchester "Stands out as an innovative and exciting contribution that exceeds the genre." - Sallie A. Marston, University of Arizona "Captures wonderfully the richness and complexity of the worlds that human beings inhabit... This is a stand-out among handbooks!" - Lily Kong, National University of Singapore "This wonderfully unconventional book demonstrates human geography’s character and significance not by marching through traditional themes, but by presenting a set of geographical essays on basic ideas, practices, and concerns." - Alexander B. Murphy, University of Oregon

"This SAGE Handbook stands out for its capacity to provoke the reader to think anew about human geography ...  essays that offer some profoundly original insights into what it means to engage geographically with the world." - Eric Sheppard, UCLA Published in association with the journal Progress in Human Geography, edited and written by the principal scholars in the discipline, this Handbook demonstrates the difference that thinking about the world geographically makes. Each section considers how human geography shapes the world, interrogates it, and intervenes in it. It includes a major retrospective and prospective introductory essay, with three substantive sections on: Imagining Human Geographies Practising Human Geographies Living Human Geographies The Handbook also has an innovative multimedia component of conversations about key issues in human geography – as well as an overview of human geography from the Editors. A key reference for any scholar interested in questions about what difference it makes to think spatially or geographically about the world, this Handbook is a rich and textured statement about the geographical imagination.

A key concern in the debate and empirical research on the geography of regions is the evolution of the conceptualizations and practical uses of the idea of ‘region’. This idea prioritises both the intellectual and the practical development of regional studies. This book drives the discussion further. It stresses the complex forms of agency/advocacy involved in the production and reproduction of regional spaces and space of regionalism as well as the importance of geohistory and context. The book moves beyond the territorial/relational divide that has characterized debates on regions and regional borders since the 1990s. The contributors answer key questions from different conceptual and concrete-contextual angles and to motivate readers to reflect on the perpetual significance of regional concepts and how they are mobilized by various actors to maintain or transform the contested spatialities of societal power relations.This book was based on a special issue of Regional Studies.

A key concern in the debate and empirical research on the geography of regions is the evolution of the conceptualizations and practical uses of the idea of ‘region’. This idea prioritises both the intellectual and the practical development of regional studies. This book drives the discussion further. It stresses the complex forms of agency/advocacy involved in the production and reproduction of regional spaces and space of regionalism as well as the importance of geohistory and context. The book moves beyond the territorial/relational divide that has characterized debates on regions and regional borders since the 1990s. The contributors answer key questions from different conceptual and concrete-contextual angles and to motivate readers to reflect on the perpetual significance of regional concepts and how they are mobilized by various actors to maintain or transform the contested spatialities of societal power relations.This book was based on a special issue of Regional Studies.

This major international Handbook offers the most up-to-date and original viewpoints on critical debates relating to the rapidly transforming geographies of regions and territories, as well as related key concepts such as place, scale, networks and regionalism.This interdisciplinary Handbook brings together renowned specialists who have extensively theorized these spatial concepts and contributed to rich empirical research in disciplines such as geography, sociology, political science and international relations. It offers fresh, cutting-edge, and contextual insights on the significance of regions and territories in today’s dynamic world.This is a timely and vital resource for both students and researchers of human geography and regional studies. Political geographers and international relations scholars will also benefit from reading the Handbook as it offers a comprehensive yet accessible examination of the geography of regions and territories.Contributors include: J. Agnew, B.T. Asheim, S. Ayres, A. Beer, I. Braverman, G. Bristow, J. Bryson, I. Calzada, R. Castriota, J. Clark, A. Cochrane, R. Comunian, K.R. Cox, M. Deciancio, K. Dodds, M. Dunford, L. England, J.N. Entrikin, D. Gibbs, M. Glass, J. Harrison, A. Hemmings, Y. Herrera, R. Huggins, B. Jessop, A.E.G. Jonas, A. Jones, M. Jones, R. Jones, J.M. Kanai, D. Kofanov, D.F. Kogler, W. Liu, J. Loughlin, F. Mattheis, S. Moisio, R.L. Monte-Mór, C. Nine, A. Paasi, M. Pace, K. Peters, P. Riggirozzi, D. Rwehumbiza, S. Schindler, A. Shirikov, C. Sohn, D. Storey, N.-L. Sum, K. Terlouw, P. Thompson, I. Turok, L. Van Langenhove, A. Whittle