Geography Matters – Details, episodes & analysis

Suggesting that America is an empire may seem a bit bizarre as America does not have any colonies at present but if we take a wider perspective, America has a large number of overseas territories and possessions (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands), and even more overseas military bases: in South Korea, The Philippines, Japan, Okinawa, Germany, Turkey and of course the UK where, until recently, it stored nuclear weapons. And until very recently, Afghanistan and Iraq where the US had bases. It also possesses large naval fleet in the Mediterranean and the Pacific and it has intervened directly or indirectly to overthrow or support the governments of a significant number of countries ranging from Iraq, Nicaragua, Honduras, Chile and Grenada. In addition, the USA has purchased or annexed a number of territories along the way - Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and others. But equally, the US has exercised global economic dominance for at least 80 years, and arguably nearer 100. Nor must we forget its extensive cultural reach, through Hollywood, and indirectly through brands like McDonalds, Coca Cola and Starbucks. But, since the arrival of President Trump in early 2025, many of these givens have been thrown into doubt. There are questions over American support for NATO, over continuation of American economic and political hegemony and the introduction of tariffs has damaged enemies and allies alike (and may significantly damage the USA itself). So, the question of an American Empire is an important one which raises many issues

European empires have a long history and can be traced back to the late C15th when Spanish and Portugese explorers were pushing further and further south down the west coast of Africa. Eventually in 1492 Columbus discovered the New world and the scene was set for Spain and Portugal to divide it up between them. But around the same time Cabot navigated to Newfoundland (the name gives it away) and Labrador. Some time later the Puritans established the first English settlements in Virginia. Then the growing Dutch trading empire began to expand to the East Indies and the scene was set. Subsequently other European powers, first the British and the French, but subsequently the Germans, Italians and Portugese began to establish colonies in Africa. In the 1870s 10% of Africa had been colonized by European powers. By 1914 it reached almost 90% with Belgium taking what came the Belgium Congo. So, right from the start, the growth of European empires was very much a geographical project and geography played a major part in the pattern of colonization with settlers pushing inland in different directions from the north, south, east and west of Africa. But empires rise and fall, grow and contract and the post war period was the era of European decolonization. This episode looks at some of these complex issues.

The Falkland Islands are very remote: 8,000 miles south of London, 700 miles north of the northern most part of Antarctica and 300 miles east of Argentina. Only discovered in 1760 by a British sailor, then variously settled and occupied by British, French and Spanish garrisons, the islands were claimed for the British crown in 1832. But, given their proximity, Argentina has, not surprisingly, long laid claim to them and still sees them as part of Argentina. Negotiations were under way to lease them to Argentina when they invaded in 1982 leading to Mrs Thatcher approving a task force to retake the islands. This podcast traces their history and asks the question what is their economic and strategic significance. Whaling and sealing have long ceased but they are a surprisingly important global source for squid fishing and forward base for Antarctic research.

Svalbard, or Spitzbergen, as it used to be called, is an archipelago in the Arctic ocean about midway between the north of Norway and the North Pole and midway between Greenland to the West and the islands of Novaya Zemblya in northern Russia. 60% of it is covered with glaciers and it has about 3000 people. Its a place most people have never heard of, but it has considerable geographical and strategic significance as this episode of Geography Matters makes clear

This is a taster for the Geography Matters podcast series. It explains why geography matters for understanding the world and how it intersects with history and with economics, politics, society and the environment. Everything happens in particular places and particular times. Geography looks at where and why and history looks at when and why. The series is presented by Chris Hamnett, emeritus professor of geography at King's College London and Klaus Dodds, professor of geopolitics at Royal Holloway College, University of London. Chris is an urban geographer interested in big cities, and Klaus is a specialist in geopolitics, with an interest in the Arctic and the polar regions and in border conflicts.

This first episode of the Geography Matters series looks at some aspects of social change in London over the last 50 years and reflects briefly on Ruth Glass's pioneering identification of gentrification in 1964 and the social class changes which have taken place since then. The hosts are Chris Hamnett, emeritus professor of geography at King's College London, and Klaus Dodds, professor of geography at Royal Holloway College, University of London. Chris is an urban and social geographer and Klaus specialises in geopolitics with a particular interest in borders and the polar regions

British and European listeners will probably be familiar with the fact that many European countries developed extensive overseas empires from about 1500 onwards. First the Spanish and Portugese, then the Dutch, then the British, French, German etc. We will discuss these European empires in the next episode. But empires have a much longer history - think back to the Romans, 2000 years ago. At its maximum their empire extended up to Hadrian's wall and down across much of the north African coast and into what is now Turkey. But the Romans are only one example. There was the Mongol empire starting around 1300 that extended at its peak from Mongolia in the east to Belarus and the Baltic states, the Kymer empire in Cambodia, the Mughal empire in India, the Ottoman, the Persian, the Russian and the Chinese empires. Empires come and go, and they also ebb and flow geographically. It seems that almost every empire has an urge to expand geographically to take over neighbouring areas and states. You can't really think about empires without thinking about their geography. And they have a number of key dimensions and legacies: political, economic, social and cultural. Think of the legacy of English, French, Spanish and Portugese language across the globe. Empires and geography are inextricably interwoven.

Most developed western countries have got some form of welfare state or welfare support for their population. These started in some countries in a rudimentary way in the late 19th century or the interwar years, but most countries saw rapid development in the years after WWII. This was when Britain saw the start of National Insurance, the NHS, free secondary school and university education etc. But all this costs a lot of money and western countries tend to spend a lot of money on welfare provision. In Britain its about 10% of GDP and 24% of government spending. State pensions alone cost about £155 bn a year. What is interesting for us is that welfare needs and expenditure tend of have distinct geographies, both internationally and regionally. Internationally there are big variations between the social democratic, Nordic countries which tend to have generous and expensive welfare states which also require high levels of taxation, and 'liberal' countries like the USA which have more rudimentary forms of support, with correspondingly lower taxes. In the middle are France, Germany and the Netherlands which have extensive welfare states. Many of the less developed countries have minimal or non existent welfare programmes. Within countries, there is often considerable variation in both need and expenditure. In Britain, there are distinct regional variations between the more affluent south east and the less prosperous regions of South Wales, the North, North East which all saw large scale de-industrialisation and collapse of employment in coal mining, ship building, textiles, etc. As a result these areas have higher levels of unemployment, sickness and disability with higher levels of benefit expenditure. These patterns are repeated in other western countries which have seen de-industrialisation and in these areas welfare benefits are an important form of income support.

In mid January 2025 President Trump announced that he wanted to take back control of the Panama Canal. We might ask what this is all about and the part answer is that the US originally built and operated the canal then handed it back to Panama in 1979. Cutting off journeys round south America it accounts for about 30% of US container trade. But the Panama canal is part of a much bigger picture. Over the last 50 years global trade has increased enormously and about 80% of it is by ship: container ships or bulk carriers for oil, gas, iron ore etc. But global maritime trade is not evenly spread across the globe. It follows certain routes, often the shortest ones, between major trading countries. Today, large amounts of oil and gas come from the Persian gulf, vast amounts of consumer goods come from China to the west. And given the worlds geography, to cut off the Cape of Good Hope or Cape horn and other circuitous journeys, most ships are travelling via canals or straits each of which may have strategic implications for control and access. This is why President Trump wants the Panama canal back under American control, why the Chinese are concerned about the Straits of Malacca and why almost everyone is concerned to keep the Suez canal and the straits of Hormuz open for navigation. Geography matters a lot for world trade.

In early January 2025 President Trump shocked the world by announcing that the US wanted to buy Greenland. The Danish government said it was not for sale. But this is not the first time that the USA has attempted to buy Greenland. It has made previous offers first in 1867 after it bought Alaska, then again in 1946 when it offered Denmark $100 million, and President Trump made an earlier offer in 2019. So, the idea of US buying Greenland has been around for a long time. In this episode we look at some of the reasons why Greenland is important for the US: economic and strategic. But in fact the US has been expanding territorially for over 200 years from the original 13 colonies. First in 1803 it made the Louisiana purchase from France of almost all of the Mississipi and Missiouri river basins - an area of 800,000 sq miles which effectively doubled the area of the USA. In 1819 it acquired Florida from the Spanish, then in 1845 it acquired Texas, in 1846 it took territory in the NW USA from British Canada: Oregon, Washington and Idaho, followed in 1848 by the Mexican cession which added California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and other bits: a third of the then area of Mexico. Then in 1867 another major purchase of Alaska for $7million from the Russian empire adding over 500,000 sq miles. We can subsequently add Hawaii and Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands....The USA has grown by territorial acquisition over 200 years. Viewed in this context the Greenland approach is not quite so bizarre as it may seem.