This book discusses the emerging threats to European stability in different borderland regions, from the Greater Middle East to the Eastern Mediterranean, the Balkans and the Black Sea. It highlights the specific geopolitical risks that could, left unchecked, have global repercussions. The book shows how recent events have exasperated underlying problems that have been slowly destabilizing each of these regions for years. It also looks at the geopolitical constraints and objectives of the countries within these regions to build a basis for understanding their current and future security challenges. While doing so, the book discusses the European borderlands in a non-traditional way, proposing a specific framework to study them, going beyond historical analysis and employing a heuristic process and in-depth socio-economic analysis to understand regional power relations and trends. It develops the key concepts of "core borderland" and "geopolitical node" to understand the future challenges that Europe in particular and Eurasia, in general, will face, discussing specific features shaping current affairs and identifying the main drivers - countries and specific regional elements - for the future stability of the borderlands. This book will appeal to students and scholars of international relations, as well as policy-makers, practitioners, and international organizations interested in a better understanding of current and future challenges at Europe's borderlands and the security risks the European continent faces.

September 11, 2001 marked the beginning of a new era of security imperatives for many countries. The border between Canada and the United States suddenly emerged from relative obscurity to become a focus of constant attention by media, federal and state/provincial governments on both sides of the boundary, and the public at large. This book provides a comprehensive examination of the Canada-USA border in its 21st century form, placing it within the context of border and borderlands theory, globalization and the changing geopolitical dialogue. It argues that this border has been reinvented as a 'state of the art', technology-steeped crossing system, while the image of the border has been engineered to appear consistent with the 'friendly' border of the past. It shows how a border can evolve to a heightened level of security and yet continue to function well, sustaining the massive flow of trade. It argues whether, in doing so, the US-Canada border offers a model for future borderlands. Although this model is still evolving and still aspires toward better management practices, the template may prove useful, not only for North America, but also in conflict border zones as well as the meshed border regions of the EU, Africa's artificial line boundaries and other global situations.

The world is changing rapidly in several critical areas that could reshape our lifestyles, development, the environment, democracy, and geopolitics. Among the numerous obstacles, barriers, and opportunities, some significant challenges should be considered for the future planning of our territories and regions all over the globe. The Handbook of Research on Current Advances and Challenges of Borderlands, Migration, and Geopolitics collects a robust set of contributions concerning border territories dynamics and geopolitics in the current and future context. Covering key topics such as green economy, biodiversity, territorial management, and spatial planning, this major reference work is ideal for government officials, industry professionals, environmentalists, technicians, policymakers, researchers, academicians, scholars, practitioners, instructors, and students.

While European integration advances, many of the countries along Europe's eastern and southern periphery have fallen prey to chronic conflict punctuated by a series of small wars. Exacerbating the situation has been the lack of effective organizational means for mediating local conflicts, facilitating regional development and structuring cooperation with larger regional and international institutions. What are the prospects for enhancing security in the most volatile subregions of post-communist Europe? This text examines the external and internal factors that impede or foster subregional cooperation in South-Eastern and East-Central Europe and the Caucasus. It includes chapters situating these borderlands in the context of a wider Europe with an evolving security architecture.

This book provides a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the concept of geoeconomics in International Relations (IR). It offers an accessible overview of the most important approaches, including their history, means and ends, methodology, ideological underpinnings, normative aspects, and practical relevance. Exploring the forgotten history of geoeconomics, and revealing its different meanings and usages over time, the author clearly differentiates geoeconomics from geopolitics on a conceptual level. This thorough examination of contemporary conceptions identifies shortcomings in the current understanding of geoeconomics and proposes a reconceptualization of the concept within a neoliberal framework, increasing its empirical usefulness and analytical value. By contrasting neoliberal geoeconomics with neorealist geoeconomics, the book highlights the normative implications of both approaches, providing policy analysts and makers with valuable insights into the topic. This volume will be an important reference guide for understanding the concept of geoeconomics and a must-read for students and researchers of international relations, international political economy, economics, and political science, as well as professionals, such as policymakers and politicians.

An excellent examination of how the collapse of the Soviet Union and the impact of globalization have brought about changes not only to the territorial configuration sovereignty of states and their boundaries, but also to traditional notions of state, boundaries, sovereignty and social order These essays focus on the key regional and geopolitical characteristics of this global reordering, with an emphasis on Eastern Europe and South Asia. They discuss the territorial reordering which is taking place at the level of the state as boundaries are redemarcated in line with ethno-territoral demands; as borders are transversed by the movement of peoples, information and finance; and as the lines of territorial demarcation are perceived not only in terms of their fixed characteristics but as part of a process through which regional and ethnic identities continue to be formed and reformed. Each section ends with articles which focus on literature on geopolitics and boundaries. This is an invaluable addition to our understanding of contemporary world affairs.

Geography in America at the Dawn of the 21st Century surveys American geographers' current research in their specialty areas and tracks trends and innovations in the many subfields of geography. As such, it is both a 'state of the discipline' assessment and a topical reference. It includes an introduction by the editors and 47 chapters, each on a specific specialty. The authors of each chapter were chosen by their specialty group of the American Association of Geographers (AAG). Based on a process of review and revision, the chapters in this volume have become truly representative of the recent scholarship of American geographers. While it focuses on work since 1990, it additionally includes related prior work and work by non-American geographers. The initial Geography in America was published in 1989 and has become a benchmark reference of American geographical research during the 1980s. This latest volume is completely new and features a preface written by the eminent geographer, Gilbert White.

Cross-border regions are newly emerging social spaces stretching across national borders. Globalization makes national borders more permeable and leads to a rearrangement of economic and political interactions. This is particularly pronounced within supra-regional blocs featuring specific internal border regimes. The ensuing opportunities are increasingly seized to create border-spanning discourses and institutions. This is illustrated in the book by a range of experts analyzing cross-border regions in Europe, America, East Asia and Africa.

This book explains how Russia is adjusting to its ongoing realignment towards Asia while engaging in a parallel assessment of Russia's interactions with other significant actors in the region - China, the US, the EU, and NATO.

Neoliberalism is easily one of the most powerful discourses toemerge within the social sciences in the last two decades, and the number of scholars who write about this dynamic and unfolding process of socio-spatial transformation is astonishing. Even more surprising though is that there has, until now, not been an attempt to provide a wide-ranging volume that engages with the multiple registers in which neoliberalism has evolved. The Routledge Handbook of Neoliberalism seeks to offer a comprehensive overview of the phenomenon of neoliberalism by examining the range of ways that it has been theorized, promoted, critiqued, and put into practice in a variety of geographical locations and institutional frameworks. With contributions from over 50 leading authors working at institutions around the world the volumes seven sections will offer a systematic overview of neoliberalism’s origins, political implications, social tensions, spaces, natures and environments, and aftermaths in addressing ongoing and emerging debates. The volume aims to provide the first comprehensive overview of the field and to advance the established and emergent debates in a field that has grown exponentially over the past two decades, coinciding with the meteoric rise of neoliberalism as a hegemonic ideology, state form, policy and program, and governmentality. It includes a substantive introductory chapter and will serve as an invaluable resource for undergraduates, graduate students, and professional scholars alike.