ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 assesses the significance and views of non-governmental theorists and strategists from the American polar-rim states. The analysis provided in this chapter differs from that of the other empirical chapters as its purpose is not to trace how different perspectives evolved. Instead, it shows how the positions identified in the previous chapters are reproduced and challenged by scholars from the American polar-rim states and outlines entanglements involving practical, popular and formal geopolitics. This chapter illustrates the heterogeneity of studies published by scholars that political practitioners can select from to give greater legitimacy to their positions. Like other Critical Geopolitics studies, therefore, the analysis provided in Chapter 5 builds on the understanding that science is not politically neutral and that scientific practices also contribute to the dominance of some patterns of interpretation over others.
