The course will focus on the relationships between space, geography and international politics. It will address classical geopolitical theories and doctrines as well as new approaches to the study of space and politics, including empirical studies of the links between international wars and regime changes; spatial diffusion of conflicts; the social and political consequences of climate change; the rise of China.
Topic 1 - Introduction; The birth and expansion of “human space” and political power
Sloan, G. (2017), Geopolitics, Geography and Strategic History. London, Routledge: chapter 1.
Diamond, J. (2005). Guns, Germs and Steel. London, Vintage Books: chapters 4, 5, 10, 14.
Christian, D. (2011), Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History. Berkeley, University of California Press: chapters 9, 12.
Topic 2 - Classical geopolitical theories:
Sloan, G. (2017), Geopolitics, Geography and Strategic History. London, Routledge: chapter 2.
Mackinder, H. (1904), “The Geographical Pivot of History” The Geographical Journal 23(4): 422-444.
Mahan, A. T. (1890), The Influence of Sea Power upon History 160-1783. Boston, Little Brown: chapter 1.
Herwig, H. (2013), “Geopolitik: Haushofer, Hitler and Lebensraum”, in Gray, C. and Sloan, G. (eds.), Geopolitics, Geography and Strategy. London, Routledge, pp. 218-240.
Topic 3 - Cold War and post-Cold War geopolitical theories:
Sloan, G. (2017), Geopolitics, Geography and Strategic History. London, Routledge: chapter 6.
Kennan, G. (1947), “The Sources of Soviet Conduct” Foreign Affairs 25 (July): 566–82.
Lippmann, W. (1987) “The Cold War” Foreign Affairs 65 (4): 869–884.
Huntington, S. (1993), “The Clash of Civilizations?” Foreign Affairs 72(3): 22-49.
Fukuyama, F. (1989) “The End of History?” The National Interest 16 (Summer): 3-18.
Topic 4 – Twenty-first century great powers’ geopolitics: The rise of China:
Liff, A., and Ikenberry, G. J. (2014), “Racing toward Tragedy? China’s Role, Military Competition in the Asia Pacific, and the Security Dilemma” International Security 39(2): 52-91.
Kardon, I. B, and Leutert, W. (2022), “Pier Competitor. China’s Power Position in Global Ports” International Security 46(4): 9-47.
Rittenhouse Green, B. and Talmadge, C. (2022), “Then What? Assessing the Military Implications of Chinese Control of Taiwan” International Security 47(1): 7-45.
Copeland, D. (2022) “When Trade Leads to War. China, Russia and the Limits of Interdependence” Foreign Affairs https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/when-trade-leads-war-chinarussia.
Tekdal, V. (2018), “China’s Belt and Road Initiative: At the Crossroads of Challenges and Ambitions” The Pacific Review 31(3): 373-390.
Topic 5 - New approaches to power politics: International wars and internal regimes:
Gunitsky, S. (2017), Aftershocks. Great Powers and Domestic Reforms in the 20th Century. Princeton, Princeton University Press.
Topic 6 – Natural resources and conflict:
Ross, M. L. (2015), "What Have We Learned about the Resource Curse?", Annual Review of Political Science 18: 239-259.
Le Billon, P. (2019), "Diamond Wars? Conflict Diamonds and Geographies of Resource Wars", Annals of the Association of American Geographers 98(2): 345-372.
Stoop, N., Verpoorten, M., and Van Der Windt, P. (2019), "Artisanal or Industrial Conflict Minerals? Evidence from Eastern Congo." World Development 122: 660-674.
Topic 7 – Climate change, conflict and cooperation:
Koubi, V. (2019), "Climate Change and Conflict", Annual Review of Political Science 22: 343-360.
Selby, J., Dahi, O., Frohlich, C. and Hulme, M. (2017), "Climate Change and the Syrian Civil War Revisited" Political Geography 22: 343-360.
Dinar, Shlomi, David Katz, Lucia De Stefano, and Brian Blankespoor. (2015), "Climate change, conflict, and cooperation: Global analysis of the effectiveness of international river treaties in addressing water variability." Political Geography 60: 232-244.
Topic 8 – Refugees and migrations:
Koubi, V., Spilker, G., Schaffer, L. and Bernauer, T. (2016), “Environmental Stressors of Migration: Evidence from Vietnam” World Development 79(3): 197-210.
Bohmelt, T., Bove, V. and Gleditsch, K. S. (2019), “Blame the Victims? Refugees, State Capacity and Non-State Actor Violence” Journal of Peace Research 56(1): 73-87.
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Students of the course "Conflitti, migrazioni e regolazioni" will have to study the readings of topics 5 (only chapters 1-2 of the book Aftershocks), 6, 7, 8 + Costalli, S. (2010), “Studiare le guerre civili oggi: teorie concorrenti e complementari” in Costalli, S. and Moro, F. (eds.) La guerra nello Stato, Milano. Vita e Pensiero.
All readings will be available on Moodle except for the book Aftershocks, by Seva Gunitsky.
Obiettivi Formativi
Knowledge: Advanced understanding of the major channels through which space and geography connect to international politics and of the evolution of geopolitics from the classical pre-World war II doctrines to contemporary empirical approaches.
Abilities acquired at the end of the course: High degree of confidence in dealing with theoretical and advanced empirical research in international relations; Critical evaluation of scholarly literature.
Capacity to apply the knowledge acquired: Conduct basic research on the links between space, geography and international politics; Present pieces of research with appropriate technical and oral skills.
Prerequisiti
Good knowledge of modern and contemporary history, comparative politics and international relations
Metodi Didattici
The course will take the form of seminars. Following an introduction structured as a lecture, students are expected to discuss the topic of the day and give presentations. Reading class material in advance is thus essential to participate successfully in the course.
Altre Informazioni
Students have to register on the EMoodle platform (http://e-l.unifi.it/ ask professor for the password) and download the material that the teacher will be posting on it.
Special attention will be devoted to specific important needs (such as students with disabilities that are unable to attend the course).
Modalità di verifica apprendimento
Attending students can choose between two methods of assessment:
1) In class presentation: 25% of the grade; Short test at the end of the course: 25% of the grade;
Final research paper on a topic that you decide (Max 4000 words, including references): 50% of the grade.
2) A written exam on all readings (2 hours) with multiple-choice questions and open questions.
Students who choose option 1 and fail or decline the final grade will have to repeat the exam in option 2.
Non-attending students will have to take the exam according to option 2.
Programma del corso
The course is structured in five parts. After an introduction to Geopolitics, the first part of the course will focus on the birth of “human space”, the creation of the first political entities and the links between geography and human development in early modern history. The second part of the course will be devoted to classical and modern geopolitical theories and doctrines, ranging from pre-World War II authors to post-Cold War interpretations of the links between human geography and international politics. The third part of the course will present the rise of China as a crucial issue in twenty-first century great powers’ geopolitics. The fourth part of the course will introduce a contemporary approach to the study of power politics, and more specifically to the link between international wars and domestic regimes. The final part of the course will take into account contemporary geopolitical issues, such as the relations between natural resources and conflicts and the social-political consequences of climate change.