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Spheres of influence
However compelling the narrative of a ‘return of spheres of influence’ appears, it is both empirically limited and normatively problematic. The concept evokes assumptions about a world dominated by Great Powers, but also an ontology of space as fixed, bounded territory under the exclusive control of a powerful state actor. It denies local agency in depicting spheres of influence as territory that is essentially passive and empty, fought over by outside actors. These assumptions are misleading, unable to capture the complex entanglements of relations and processes that co-produce state, space and power at the present global juncture. They produce much more fluid spatialities, the result of both historical legacies and the transformation of state power over the past few decades. This is visible in Russia’s relations with the former Soviet Union, where forms of Russian power are ill-described by the ontological assumptions of ‘spheres of influence’.
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Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Publisher
Edward Elgar PublishingPublisher URL
External DOI
Page range
313-324Pages
512.0Book title
Handbook on the changing geographies of the state: new spaces of geopoliticsISBN
9781788978040Series
Social and Political Science 2020Department affiliated with
- International Relations Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- No
Editors
Natalie Koch, Sami Moisio, Christopher Lizotte, Juho Luukkonen, Andrew E G JonasLegacy Posted Date
2020-10-20First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2020-10-20Usage metrics
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