Abstract
What makes resources political? We often imagine that politics is something done to resources (i.e. larger contestations over access to and control over resources). In this second “progress report”, I question whether resource politics is simply about fighting over stuff. How does the materiality of resources themselves shape broader conceptions of “the political” in general? I highlight the role of resources in shaping three central meanings of the political or politics. First, the commonsense ideology of politics as electoral contests over political power. Second, the state – as the sphere of “the political” – is constructed as a geographical entity based on a specific form of territoriality. Third, the nation-state reflects a complex political duality: both an institutional state apparatus and a cultural imaginary of shared nationhood. I conclude with some thoughts on the need to expand the terrain of the political in resource geography.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Journal | Progress in Human Geography |
| DOIs | |
| State | Accepted/In press - Jan 1 2018 |
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Keywords
- nationalism
- resources
- state
- the political
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geography, Planning and Development
Cite this
Resource geography II : What makes resources political? / Huber, Matthew T.
In: Progress in Human Geography, 01.01.2018.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Resource geography II
T2 - What makes resources political?
AU - Huber, Matthew T
PY - 2018/1/1
Y1 - 2018/1/1
N2 - What makes resources political? We often imagine that politics is something done to resources (i.e. larger contestations over access to and control over resources). In this second “progress report”, I question whether resource politics is simply about fighting over stuff. How does the materiality of resources themselves shape broader conceptions of “the political” in general? I highlight the role of resources in shaping three central meanings of the political or politics. First, the commonsense ideology of politics as electoral contests over political power. Second, the state – as the sphere of “the political” – is constructed as a geographical entity based on a specific form of territoriality. Third, the nation-state reflects a complex political duality: both an institutional state apparatus and a cultural imaginary of shared nationhood. I conclude with some thoughts on the need to expand the terrain of the political in resource geography.
AB - What makes resources political? We often imagine that politics is something done to resources (i.e. larger contestations over access to and control over resources). In this second “progress report”, I question whether resource politics is simply about fighting over stuff. How does the materiality of resources themselves shape broader conceptions of “the political” in general? I highlight the role of resources in shaping three central meanings of the political or politics. First, the commonsense ideology of politics as electoral contests over political power. Second, the state – as the sphere of “the political” – is constructed as a geographical entity based on a specific form of territoriality. Third, the nation-state reflects a complex political duality: both an institutional state apparatus and a cultural imaginary of shared nationhood. I conclude with some thoughts on the need to expand the terrain of the political in resource geography.
KW - nationalism
KW - resources
KW - state
KW - the political
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U2 - 10.1177/0309132518768604
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JO - Progress in Human Geography
JF - Progress in Human Geography
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