PoLItlcAL gEOloGY

What is Political Geology?  

The 2019 book called Political Geology is edited by Adam Bobbette and Amy Donovan.

At the Whitechapel Art Gallery on the 20th February Amy and the artist Rachel Pimm gave a talk.  I'd have loved to have been there.  I enjoy the mixing of such diverse subjects - Art, Politics and Geology.

What comes to mind?  Politics is power.  Borders often relate to geology.  Mining and extracting are highly political.  The country of Moresnet was created to preserve peace between neighbours eager to get their hands on iron ore.  When the the iron ore ran out, so did the country.

Geology affects the status of countries.  Once Norway was poor and remote.  Following the discovery of oil and the  ability to extract it safely from the sea, Norway's status changed dramatically.  Norway also has amazing hydroelectric schemes and leads the way in renewable energy. It sponsors the Nobel Peace prise.

Geology can also make a country very vulnerable.  Bangladesh is a case in point. Fields are washed away.  What can they do?  The Netherlands is now one of the safest places against floods.  It has engineered a nation wide solution.

Some borders remain understandable and fixed, such as that between France and Spain.  Others have checkered histories, such as the border between Germany and Czechoslovakia in the 1930's.  The border was along the Sudeten (German name) mountain range, but didn't lots of Germans live on the other side of the border?  Didn't they want to join the Nazi fun?  The Czech army had built all it's defences in the mountains.  That was the end of that. 

Sudetenland - the other side of natural mountain border.

I remember being taught that Ireland was once covered in thick beds of coal, until it was all eroded off and dumped in the sea long before humans were ever around.  Ireland could have been the cradle of the industrial revolution.

The political significance of The Falkland Islands (Isle Malvinas) is to do with geology, not sheep.

What about other combination of subject? It's like one of those children's books with three flaps creating different combination of animal/ vegetable/ mineral (geology).

My ideas to explore:-

1) Social Physics
2) Bio- Music
3) Philosophical Engineering

Combine anything.  Why not?