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Power

Painter, J.

Authors



Contributors

J. Agnew
Editor

V. Mamadouh
Editor

A.J. Secor
Editor

J. Sharp
Editor

Abstract

This chapter discusses some of the main ways in which political geographers have understood and used the concept of power. Traditional political geography explicitly or implicitly saw power as a substance – literally the “stuff of politics” – and often equated it with access to or control over resources. This view underwrites the compilation of inventories and indexes of national power. More recent work treats power as a capacity or as a relationship. While political geographers have documented the numerous ways in which power affects space and geography, they have not given much attention to the nature of power or to the ways in which space shapes power. The chapter considers how key thinkers have addressed the question of the difference geography makes to power, examining the role of public space, sovereign, disciplinary, and biopower, and the implications of proximity and reach to the operation of power.

Citation

Painter, J. (2015). Power. In J. Agnew, V. Mamadouh, A. Secor, & J. Sharp (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell companion to political geography (141-151). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118725771.ch12

Publication Date Sep 28, 2015
Deposit Date Sep 30, 2015
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Publisher Wiley
Pages 141-151
Series Title Wiley Blackwell companions to geography
Book Title The Wiley Blackwell companion to political geography.
Chapter Number 12
ISBN 9781118725887
DOI https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118725771.ch12
Keywords Power, Sovereignty, Territory, Disciplinary power, Biopower, Public space, Proximity/reach.