Territories are more than simply bounded spaces; they reflect the ways in which we think of geographic space. Territoriality, or laying claim to territory, can be seen as the spatial expression of power, with borders dividing those inside from those outside. The book provides an introduction to the concept of territory, the ways in which ideologies and social practices are manifested in space, the deployment of territorial strategies and the geographical outcomes of these.
This revised and updated third edition focuses on both macro-scale examples and those less obvious micro-scale ones, and it explores how territorial strategies are used in the maintaining of power, or as a means of resistance. Throughout the book, key questions emerge concerning geographic space. Who is ‘allowed’ to be in particular spaces and who is excluded or discouraged from being there? How are territorial practices utilized in conflicts concerned with socio-political power and identity and how are ideologies transposed onto space?
Written from a geographical perspective, the book is interdisciplinary, drawing on ideas and material from a range of academic disciplines including, history, political science, sociology, international relations, cultural studies. Theoretical underpinnings are supported by a variety of historical and contemporary examples, drawn from a range of geographic contexts.
Chapter 1 Introduction
Territory at a macro-scale
Territory at a micro-scale
Territory and power
Structure of the book
Further reading
Chapter 2 Territory and Territoriality
Naturalising territoriality
Territoriality as socio-political behaviour
The production of territory
Territory, identity and place
Summary
Further reading
Box 2.1 Robert Sack on territoriality
Box 2.2 Stuart Elden and the emergence of territory
Chapter 3 The Territorial State
Origins of states
The role and functions of the state
Theories of the state
Citizenship
Summary
Further reading
Box 3.1 Friedrich Ratzel
Box 3.2 Crossing borders
Chapter 4 Territory, Borders and Sovereignty
Territory
Borders
Sovereignty
Summary
Further reading
Box 4.1 Transnistria
Box 4.2 Ferghana Valley
Chapter 5 Nations and Nationalism
Nation and state
The origins of nations
National identity
Nationalism
Forms of nationalism
The role and functions of nationalism
Summary
Further reading
Box 5.1 Sporting citizenship and national identity
Box 5.2 Thai national identity
Box 5.3 Basque separatism
Box 5.4 Banal nationalism: Royal funerals and coronations
Chapter 6 Nationalism, Territory and Place
The importance of history
Territory and nation
Territory, place and nationalism in the Balkans
Four green fields
Promised land
Ukraine: Between east and west
England’s green and pleasant land
Summary
Further reading
Box 6.1 Marking territory
Box 6.2 Arcadian images
Chapter 7 De-territorialisation, Re-territorialisation and State Sovereignty
State failure
The end of the state?
States still matter
Summary
Further reading
Box 7.1 European Union
Box 7.2 Special Economic Zones
Chapter 8 Territory, Locality and Community
Sub-state territorializations
Rolling back the state: from government to governance
Administrative divisions and a sense of place
Community and locality
Summary
Further reading
Box 8.1 Policing and spatial control
Box 8.2 Constituency boundaries and gerrymandering
Box 8.3 Wine and Terroir
Chapter 9 Territory, Space and Society
Segregation and class divides
Ethnicity, ‘race’ and space
Gendered space
Sexuality and space
Work, rest and play
Summary
Further reading
Box 9.1 Urban gang territories
Box 9.3 Territorialised responses to the Covid-19 pandemic
Chapter 10 Conclusions
"This terrific book, now in its third iteration, is as relevant today as ever. It offers wonderfully engaging commentary on the enduring concerns of territory and territoriality across the world, and events of recent years are given particular attention in an insightful and brilliantly illustrative manner. Territorial logics and practices still matter – from the epidemiology of global pandemics to the ecological excesses of late modern capitalism, from the resurgence of populist nationalism to the geopolitics of war – and Territories shows us why."
John Morrissey, University of Galway, Ireland.
"We live in a deeply territorialized world. This book is the best introduction to its forms and features, its processes and problems. With clear prose and compelling cases, Storey shows us how territories shape who we are and how we think."
Gerard Toal, Virginia Tech, USA.
"This book is simply without peer. It covers all the ground that is needed for a conceptual survey. It does so both clearly and with many insightful examples."
John Agnew, UCLA, USA.
"David Storey’s Territories has been for a long time the best introductory text presenting the wide scope of this critical term. The third, updated edition of the book pushes the contribution of the earlier editions further, providing the reader with a thorough and well-illustrated discussion on the functions territory and territoriality at and across spatial scales, as well as on territory’s relations to contested power relations, identities, and ideologies embedded in various territorial strategies and practices. This book can be highly recommended to researchers and students who try to cope with our conflict-ridden world and its multiple dividing-lines and zones."
Anssi Paasi, Geography Research Unit, University of Oulu, Finland.
