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The Week
, November 26, 2004, p. 15)
As a general conclusion, the function of a place, which social groups have control
of the institutions within a place, and the identity of a place, are contested. Racialist and
homophobic groups are extreme examples of the politics of place.
An alternative view of society emphasizes cosmopolitanism—attachment to no
particular place. Globalization is seen by some to have created a class of “global citizens”
who travel across the globe on business and political trips, or even for leisure. Focusing
upon this relatively small group of people should not detract from the fact that it is the
socially privileged (in terms of wealth, race, and gender) who have the status and ability
to travel easily from place to place and feel at “home” wherever they are (Massey, 1994,
p. 149).
Perhaps more worthy of our attention is the role of diasporas—networks of migrants
who establish connections between places across the globe. A good example is the
Chinese community in Vancouver, Canada that has facilitated massive amounts of
investment by Chinese capitalists (large and small) in the real estate economy of British
Columbia. Diasporas illustrate how a person can be attached to a number of places,
though perhaps this geography may mean they are not completely “at home” anywhere.
The second author we will discuss is Doreen Massey. Her definition of place comple-
ments John Agnew’s. For Massey, places are networks of social relations
which have over time been constructed, laid down, interacted with one another,
decayed and renewed. Some of these relations will be, as it were, contained
within the place; others will stretch beyond it, tying any particular locality into
wider relations and processes in which other places are implicated too.
(Massey, 1994, p. 120)
Massey’s definition gives us three extra points to consider about places. First, they are
the products of human activity, or, in social science parlance, they are “socially con-
structed.” The functions of a place, the institutions within it, and its character all stem
I N T R O D U C T I O N T O G E O P O L I T I C S
8
Activity
Refer back to the features of your hometown you identified previously.
• Classify these features using Agnew’s three aspects of place. If one of the
aspects is not included think of a feature of your hometown that would fit.
• Can you find examples in your local and national newspapers of how the location,
locale, and sense of place of your hometown have been or still are contested?
from what people do. In 2004, Najaf as a place of insurgency against US and Iraqi
security forces was a product of individual actions, the groups they formed, and the
construction of a rebel or resistance identity within national and religious histories. When
referring to “social relations,” Massey identifies social hierarchies formed within the
workplace, between racial and religious groups, and also the pervasive influence of
gender upon normative expectations.
Second, places are dynamic or they change over time. What people, do, want, and
think changes over time and such aspirations are translated into projects that make and
remake places. Najaf is different now from the time I wrote these words. Insurgency,
defeat, and negotiation have combined to change Najaf ’s role—maintaining its import-
ant religious function and hopefully a peaceful city within a peaceful Iraq. In another
example, the landscape of contemporary Moscow is made up of layers from the Soviet
past and its celebration of Communism and contemporary signs of consumer capitalism
(see Figure 1.2).
Third, and related to our first definition of human geography, places can only be
understood fully through their interactions with other places. Najaf’s plight is under-
stood in terms of resisting centralized control from Baghdad and its refusal to see soldiers
sent from the US as a legitimate police force in a new Iraq. Also, it was argued that
insurgency in the town was facilitated by military and political support from across the
nearby Iranian border.
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A F R A M E W O R K F O R U N D E R S T A N D I N G G E O P O L I T I C S
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Figure 1.2
Lenin Statue, Moscow.
Massey’s emphasis upon the dynamism of place and Agnew’s recognition of insti-
tutional politics and sense of place illustrate the central role contest or conflict plays in
defining places. Let’s go back to our earlier banal examples of the interaction between
space and politics. Partying in the library would be an act that challenged the norms
and rules of a particular place: a political act to change the function, meaning, and
ambience of the library.
In a more significant example, Okinawa, Japan has been dominated by US military
bases since the end of World War II. In Agnew’s terminology, Okinawa’s location is
defined by its geostrategic military role for the US. An article in the
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