‘Vision for the Arctic’

After being told by President Obama that ‘the Arctic is an amazing place’ in the preface of the recently released US National Security for the Arctic Region, my attention (at least) turned to the Arctic Council ministerial meeting in Kiruna. The headline news is fairly straightforward: China and five other states (mainly East Asian) are … Continue reading »

Lego 007

Reblogged from materialsensibilities: Bringing the topics addressed by former blog posts together… A Lego re-make of Casino Royale currently doing the rounds on social media. Enjoy! #LudicGeopolitics excellent!!!

Geopolitics@JohnLewis

How frustrating. Four phone calls and a visit to John Lewis at Kingston upon Thames elicited nothing apart from polite apologies. My quest involved a John Lewis globe with the Falkland Islands accidentally labelled the ‘Islas Malvinas’. I was told, by the branch manager, that the ‘offending’ globes had been recalled by head office and once recalled … Continue reading »

Science, Security, & the NSF

Science magazine reports today on a US House of Representatives bill that would revamp both the review criteria and the review process for National Science Foundation grants. Under the proposed legislation, the current criteria employed by peer reviewers — under which referees assess whether a proposed research project has “Intellectual Merit” and whether it will have … Continue reading »

Mapping the Road to Nowhere: Google in Iqaluit

Yesterday’s Guardian had an interesting story on Google’s mapping of Iqaluit, the capital of Canada’s northern territory of Nunavut. For students of Arctic imaginaries like me (and my co-author Jeremy Tasch, who sent me the link), it’s fascinating how both Google and the Guardian journalist combine two very different imaginaries of the Arctic held by … Continue reading »

Catastrophic Urbanism: a workshop at LSE

Catastrophic Urbanism: a workshop at LSE

Austin Zeiderman has put together a small workshop on Catastrophic Urbanism at LSE Cities during late May. First come first serve on places. The lineup includes me, Ben Anderson, Claudia Aradau, Monika Buscher, Joe Deville and Kevin Grove. PA  

Critical War Studies

Reblogged from geographical imaginations: A CFP from Shane Brighton, via Tarak Barkawi, for a workshop on Critical War Studies to be held at the University of Sussex on 11 September 2013: Critical War Studies: emerging field, developing agendas  What is left out when critical reflection on armed conflict is conducted under the sign of ‘security’?  What … Continue reading »