ABSTRACT
For almost six decades radical geographers were responsible for initiating a great deal of intellectual ferment in the discipline with regard to philosophies, theories, concepts and societal relevance; demands for more theoretically informed research which took cognisance of social, economic and political realities; and contributed to increasing respect and recognition for the discipline. Critical human geographers in particular did not only bring human conditions – such as inequalities, social and environmental justice, gender/race oppression and exploitation – to the forefront of geographic inquiry, but also helped create a degree of consciousness and sensitivity that has seen some scholars and their journal outlets taking explicit positions on matters related to the discipline. Examples of these positions that have been widely publicized are the Reed Elsevier's involvement in arms and the implications of this on the morality of Elsevier's geography journal outlets (Murakami Wood, 2009; Chatterton and Featherstone, 2006). Equally, the critique on the international status of geography journals has seen a number of changes – some cosmetic – to practices in geography (Paasi, 2005). More recently, the neo-liberal globalization era in northern and southern contexts has developed into one of the main reference points for a critically engaged geographic scholarship.
