Introduction

John Agnew, Virginie Mamadouh, Anna J. Secor, Joanne Sharp

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

This chapter introduces the new edition of the Companion to Political Geography with a synopsis of the crisis in Kobani, the Kurdish city in Northern Syria near the Turkish border that came under siege from Islamic State in 2014. It situates the crisis in Kobani at the heart of political geographical thought and demonstrate how many of the most pressing issues of our times and their historical conditions are encapsulated in this crisis. The authors acknowledge that political geography is no silver bullet, unraveling the complex and often deadly conflagrations of the contemporary world, but do suggest that it stages some important questions and provides some powerful tools for understanding. The chapter situates this claim within the field of political geography and its historical development. It then indicates how this volume builds on the previous edition, the areas in which it departs, and how it contributes anew to the making of political geography today.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Wiley Blackwell Companion to Political Geography
PublisherWiley
Pages1-9
Number of pages9
ISBN (Electronic)9781118725771
ISBN (Print)9781118725887
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Aug 2015

Keywords

  • History of political geography
  • Islamic state
  • Kobani
  • Syria

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