Introduction to Geopolitics

Colin Flint
is an Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Illinois. His
research interests include geopolitics and hate groups. He is editor of 
The Geography
of War and Peace
(2005) and
Spaces of Hate
(2004) and co-author, with Peter Taylor,
of
Political Geography: World-Economy, Nation-State, and Locality
(2000).
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Introduction to 
Geopolitics
Colin Flint
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First published 2006
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, 
an informa business
© 2006 Colin Flint
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted 
or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing 
from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the 
British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Flint, Colin (Colin Robert)
Introduction to geopolitics / Colin Flint.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Geopolitics—Textbooks.
I. Title.
JC319.F55 2006
320.1
′
2—dc22
2005033530
ISBN10: 0–415–34494–8 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0–415–34493–X (pbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–34494–4 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–34493–7 (pbk)
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006.
“To purchase your own c
opy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”

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List of figures
viii
List of tables
x
List of boxes
xi
Acknowledgments
xii
List of abbreviations
xiii
Prologue
xv
Chapter 1
A framework for understanding geopolitics
1
Geopolitics: a component of human geography 1
Places and politics 3
The politics of scale 11
What is geopolitics? 13
A brief history of geopolitics 17
Geopolitical agents: making and doing geopolitics 24
Structure and agency: possibilities, constraints, and geopolitical 
choices 26
Geopolitics, power, and geography 27
Organization of the book 29
Further reading 31
Chapter 2
Setting the global geopolitical context
33