ABSTRACT

In Chapter 1 we argued that the international political economy is best viewed through a historical-geographical lens. The purpose of this chapter is to engage in an analysis of the period 1815-1990 through identifying the essential geographical and other features of each of three global geopolitical orders which prevailed during different parts of this period. Most of the chapter is taken up with a narrative account of these geopolitical orders. However, before embarking on this task, some preliminary discussion of the spatial ontology and view of ‘order’ implicit in the argument of the chapter is provided. Ontology refers to the entities and processes invoked in an explanation. Typically, the spatial content of their ontologies has been largely neglected by the conventional theories of international political economy. The principal purpose of this chapter is to centre discussion of the evolution of the international political economy since 1815 around the topic of spatial ontology.