ABSTRACT
The unity of geography never comes closer to realization than in resource geography. At the junction between society analyzed by human geography and nature studied by physical geography, resource geography has the potential to impart coherence even to a reluctant academic discourse. For those politicaleconomic geographers who still believe in disciplinary coherence, the question of resources also assumes a central philosophical position. Beyond this question lies the increasing significance of environmental and resource issues in the contemporary world. It would be difficult to find a set of issues which symbolizes more vividly the torment of a way of life gone astray, which captures more exactly the transformative urge propelling political-economic work. This is a research path with the potential to unify diverse critical perspectives and apply them to issues of intense interest and mass political engagement. In this chapter we review the extent to which, and the ways in which, this potential has been realized. We first review theories of resource management, moving from critiques of neoclassical economic approaches in the conventional literature, to institutional analyses, to the new political ecology literature. Turning to natural hazards, we follow a similar trajectory, beginning with a quick outline of the conventional view, summarizing various lines of criticism of this view, and pointing to an emerging alternative conception of the socio-nature origins of hazardous events.
