In this comprehensive study, problems of racial and religious division are examines in places as diverse as Northern Ireland and the West Bank. Territorial and spatial expression, intergovernmental relationships in federal states, alliance blocs within the United Nations and American foreign policy are among the wide range of subjects covered. The problems are considered using both traditional and radical approaches, but throughout, the book argues that apply the concept of pluralism isn the best way of understanding the political geography of the modern world.

Dating from its inception in the late nineteenth century, political geography as a field has been heavily influenced by global events of the time. Thus, rather than trying to impose a single “fashionable” theory, leading geographers John Agnew and Luca Muscarà consider the underlying role of changing geopolitical context as their framework for understanding the evolution of the discipline. The authors trace the development of key thinkers and theories during three distinct periods—1875–1945, the Cold War, and the post–Cold War—emphasizing the ongoing struggle between theoretical “monism” and “pluralism,” or one path to knowledge versus many. The world has undergone dramatic shifts since the book’s first publication in 2002, and this thoroughly revised and updated second edition focuses especially on reinterpretations of the post–Cold War period. Agnew and Muscarà explore the renewed questioning of international borders, the emergence of the Middle East and displacement of Europe as the center of global geopolitics, the rise of China and other new powers, the reappearance of environmental issues, and the development of critical geopolitics. With its deeply knowledgeable and balanced history and overview of the field, this concise work will be a valuable and flexible text for all courses in political geography.

William Connolly, one of the best-known and most important political theorists writing today, is a principal architect of the “new pluralism.” In this volume, leading thinkers in contemporary political theory and international relations provide a comprehensive investigation of the new pluralism, Connolly’s contributions to it, and its influence on the fields of political theory and international relations. Together they trace the evolution of Connolly’s ideas, illuminating his challenges to the “old,” conventional pluralist theory that dominated American and British political science and sociology in the second half of the twentieth century. The contributors show how Connolly has continually revised his ideas about pluralism to take into account radical changes in global politics, incorporate new theories of cognition, and reflect on the centrality of religion in political conflict. They engage his arguments for an agonistic democracy in which all fundamentalisms become the objects of politicization, so that differences are not just tolerated but are productive of debate and the creative source of a politics of becoming. They also explore the implications of his work, often challenging his views to widen the reach of even his most recently developed theories. Connolly’s new pluralism will provoke all citizens who refuse to subordinate their thinking to the regimes in which they reside, to religious authorities tied to the state, or to corporate interests tied to either. The New Pluralism concludes with an interview with Connolly in which he reflects on the evolution of his ideas and expands on his current work. Contributors: Roland Bleiker, Wendy Brown, David Campbell, William Connolly, James Der Derian, Thomas L. Dumm, Kathy E. Ferguson, Bonnie Honig, George Kateb, Morton Schoolman Michael J. Shapiro, Stephen K. White

An introduction to the politics and society of post-colonial Nigeria, highlighting the key themes of ethnicity, democracy, and development.

Making Political Geography acquaints readers with the major issues and conceptual problems that have dominated the discipline over the past two to three decades. Besides discussing and assessing current themes, Agnew provides a historical analysis of the emergence of modern political geography from the 1890s onwards, identifies and discusses the three "waves" of the revival of political geography during the last three decades, and discusses evidence for a new coherence to the discipline, centering around issues of geographical scale, place and politics, etc.

"Abstract Global legal pluralism has become one of the leading analytical frameworks for understanding and conceptualizing law in the twenty-first century"--

This title will remind older Singaporeans of ages from their past while providing a younger generation with a novel perspective of their country's past struggles. It reveals a complex situation which gives weight to the middle years of the 20th century as a period that offered real altenatives.

This book addresses the social, functional and symbolic dimensions of urban space in today's world. The twelve essays are grouped in three parts, ranging from a conceptual framework to case descriptions rich with illustrations. They provide a valuable service in exploring the nature and significance of social space and particular aspects of its contemporary distribution and contestation. The book addresses a topic that is intrinsically interdisciplinary. Questions of space are examined from a rich variety of disciplinary perspectives in a welcome range from urban planning to political philosophy, shedding a good deal of light in the process. The issues in focus include the dichotomies of public and private space, discussion of rights and duties with regard to the use of space, or conflicts over its allocation. Well reasoned and presented discussion is offered from the perspective of basic values and rights. The policy issue of institutional recognition of the specifics of (minority community) identity is raised in opposition to abstract distributive accounts of justice.