ABSTRACT
Geopolitics is about the struggle to control spaces, dominate trade routes and ensure a form of order favourable to those who strive for global power. Geopolitical change may be read as an outcome of a competitive process in which different actors engage and from which flow social, economic and environmental processes. The history of the world exemplifies the contested nature of geopolitical categories and simultaneously shows how conflict shapes geographies in an increasingly interconnected world. The Cold War division of the continent was unacceptable to many Europeans, including dissidents on both sides of the divide who argued for a Europe ‘beyond the blocs’. The contemporary human condition is increasingly urban. Resources to feed and fuel what can be termed ‘the global city’ are the product of practices of what might best be termed ‘glurbanization’, and come from all over the world.
