Forum on Geography and Militarism: An Introduction

Abstract

The discipline of geography has a long albeit uneven engagement with militarism. This is witnessed in the on-going efforts of geographers to influence military policy as well as the development of technologies used in military action. This forum, based on papers originally presented at the 2014 Association of American Geographers annual meeting in Tampa, Florida, provides a critical introduction to contemporary issues related to geographies of militarism. Collectively, these essays demonstrate that geographers located within the nonmilitary academy have failed to reflect adequately on the implications of militarism on the discipline. Consequently, we forward the argument that the American Association of Geographers must initiate a review of the relationship between academic geography and militarism.

地理学门长久以来涉入军事主义, 儘管涉入程度不均。而这见证于地理学者持续不懈的努力, 企图影响军事政策与军事行动中所使用的科技发展。此一论坛是根据 2014 年美国地理学家协会于佛罗里达州坦帕市的年度会议所发表之文章, 批判性地介绍有关军事主义地理的当前议题。这些文章共同显示出, 身处于非军事学术界的地理学者, 未能充分反思军事主义对自身领域的意涵。最终, 我们推进美国地理学家协会必须开始着手回顾学术地理与军事主义之间的关係之主张。

La disciplina geográfica tiene un largo aunque irregular compromiso con el militarismo. De esto dan fe los esfuerzos actuales de los geógrafos por influir sobre las políticas militares lo mismo que en el desarrollo de tecnologías usadas en el accionar militar. Este foro, basado en trabajos presentados originalmente en la reunión anual del 2014 en Tampa, Florida, proporciona una introducción crítica a cuestiones contemporáneas relacionadas con las geografías del militarismo. Colectivamente, estos ensayos demuestran que los geógrafos ubicados en la academia no militar han fallado en reflexionar adecuadamente sobre las implicaciones que el militarismo tiene para la disciplina. En consecuencia, promovemos el argumento de que la Asociación Americana de Geógrafos debe empezar a revisar la relación entre la geografía académica y el militarismo.

Key Words:

• academic geography
• geospatial intelligence
• militarism
• peace studies

关键词：:

• 学术地理
• 地理空间智能
• 军事主义
• 和平研究。

Palabras clave:

• geografía académica
• inteligencia geoespacial
• militarismo
• estudios sobre la paz

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Eric Sheppard

ERIC SHEPPARD is Professor and Alexander von Humboldt Chair in the Department of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include critical geography, geographical political economy, geographies of development, urbanization in Indonesia, and critical GIS.

James Tyner

JAMES TYNER is a Professor in the Department of Geography at Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include political geography, population geography, military geography, and the geographies of violence.