ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces and defines all of the foundational concepts used throughout the book. A definition of geopolitics focusing on struggle over the control of geographic entities requires introducing the following entities: Place, scale, region, territory, and network. Additionally, the idea of geopolitics as a combination of practice and representation is introduced, including a definition of the concept of discourse. Three forms of power are introduced: Material, relational, and ideological. Geopolitics is identified as an interaction between structure and agency, an idea that frames the approach of the whole book. Exercises encourage the reader to use these concepts in their own interpretations of global politics.
