Geographies of Authoritarian Politics

Abstract

Abstract Geography’s disciplinary focus on space and place adds an important perspective on the study of authoritarian politics and extends the scope of this research to consider the plurality of authoritarian space-time. This chapter outlines two broad themes that have emerged in recent geographic scholarship on authoritarian politics: (1) moving the study of authoritarian politics beyond the territorial state as the naturalized scale of analysis; and (2) advancing a multiscalar approach to the material, physical, and spatial forces that constitute authoritarian politics and subjectivities. A geographic perspective on spatializing authoritarianism, the chapter shows, opens up essential questions for scholars of all disciplines—challenging them to more critically and concretely define how authoritarian practices define, shape, and result from specific spatial and temporal configurations.