Pseudo-random thoughts on space, scale and ideology in political geography

This paper poses some questions concerning the theoretical debate within political geography. In the first instance, political geography possesses no explicit rationale which advances it beyond international relations or political science. It has no formal discussions of spatial relations which survive detailed scrutiny. It has not yet developed any notion of action-in-place which fully articulates such a relationship. Most seriously, it remains apparently torn between the alternatives of materialism and public choice theory. The paper suggests some ways in which these dilemmas can be overcome, particularly in terms of theoretical developments.