Understanding the Russian Invasion of Ukraine from a Spatial Perspective

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The IR Section of the German Association for Political Science has organized a conference which will take place on 11-12 November 2022 – next week – in Hamburg. The theme of the conference is the so-called „Zeitenwende“, a turning point in international politics occasioned by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. How will/should German IR deal with the new realities of European and global insecurity?

I will give a presentation how a focus on space can facilitate conversations among different theoretical approaches as well as between IR and other disciplines. This draws on previous work how we can theorize space in international politics. My main argument is that space, as currently conceived in political geography, sociology, and elsewhere, allows us to relate material conditions to ideational aspects. The concept is therefore well-positioned to integrate different perspective and highlight different aspects of the war.

The organizers asked participants to prepare short discussion papers – you can find mine on ResearchGate. I’m not sure where this is headed publication-wise but comments are still very welcome. I will also try and record my presentation for my YouTube channel if I find the time.

Incidentally, the conference allows remote participation! Registration for online access is still possible until 10 November 2022. There are 40+ presentations from across the whole spectrum of IR, so this is a great option if you can’t make it to Hamburg in person.