The picture above provides a schematic overview of our research interests. Our teaching, in turn, is based on this research.
1. Research
The state, projects of rule, and forms of sovereignty: We are interested in the way order is produced, reified and legitimised. Rather than taking ‘the state’, ‘governance’ and claims to authority as given, we explore how state institutions and other forms of discipline and rule are enacted through everyday practices and are reproduced through discursive understanding of authority and order.
Territory and territorialisation: Projects of rule have important spatial dimensions. They typically lay claims on certain territories. Vice versa, forms of order propel a process of territorialisation: they shape the lay of the land. This perspective requires us to engage with boundaries, and the way they are demarcated, crossed and contested, as well as with the notion of frontier.
Politics and identity: Projects of rule and processes of territorialisation are clearly not a mere top-down process. They are shaped by and lay claims on identity groups on society. This directs us to the way ethnicity, nations and other group identities are shaped and the genealogy, sense of belonging and ideologies of ethno-nationalism and separatism that these collective constructs often invoke. Concurrently, our reading of politics de-emphasizes formal institutional politics and draws on the notion that antagonism between ‘us’ and ‘them’ is centrally important. This perspective also opens up space to engage with the contested nexus between religion and politics.
Violent conflict, war and post-conflict: Our work focuses on contexts of intense political contestation and outright war, as well as on the aftermath of these. Violence – both the threat of it and its actual occurrence – powerfully shapes political landscapes. It may deepen fault lines, bolster group identities, compound disciplinary regimes and dramatize the performance of power or resistance. We interpret armed conflict as the heightened and more intensely contested form of enacting sovereignty, territorialising rule and crafting group identities.
Methodologically, our research is strongly grounded on qualitative fieldwork. All of our staff and PhD students develop strong contextual knowledge. While we engage with broader theoretical debate, many of our publications comprise case studies that highlight localised nuances, divergent perspectives and convoluted processes in relation to these wider debates. Our research interests gravitates to two regions: South Asia and Central/East Africa. More specifically, our focus lies with the DR Congo, Ethiopia, Nepal, Sri Lanka as well as Switzerland. We are newly developing an interest in Sabah and Serawak (Malaysia). More detail about specific research projects can be found here.
2. Teaching
The Political Geography Unit is responsible for teaching the following courses:
Bachelor’s level
Geo 112 Introduction to social science (every fall semester). Geo 112 is an introductory course that focuses on scientific skills, scientific writing I particular (in German).
Geo 242 Political Geography I (every spring semester). Geo 242 covers a wide range of subjects; it bridges some of the classic work by pioneers in political geography with contemporary authors (in German and English).
Geo 363 Political Geography II (every fall semester). Geo 363 introduces students to the subjects that our unit specializes in: identity (and nationalism), sovereignty (and the state), and territory (and territoriality) (in English).
Master’s level
Geo 423 Political Geography (every spring semester). Geo 423 is an advanced course; it expands on geo 363 and focuses explicitly of armed conflict.
GEO 410 Thinking Geographically (every fall semester). This course is a compulsory module for all master students and brings together lecturers from all sub-fields of geography to explain how concepts shape what geographers do in their research.
In addition to taught courses, we supervise BA and MA theses, as well as six ongoing PhDs. For more information on our teaching activities, please click here.
3. Publications
We regularly publishes our findings in academic journals. The Political Geography Unit also actively engages with other media to further disseminate our research. For more information, please see Publications.
4. Consultancies
Alongside academic research, our unit also executes policy and practice oriented research, through consultancies for specific clients. This includes evaluations, policy workshops, and advisory studies. For more information on these kinds of assignments, please contact Bart Klem.