War

War is no popular topic for geographers. While historically geography has long been closely related to the waging of war, since World War II academic geographers have distanced themselves from the military. There are three categories of geographical perspectives related to war. First, military geographies deal with the application of geographical knowledge to wage war and to carry out military activities. Second, human geographies of war (and the military) consider the impact of war on human societies. And third, political geographies of war (and peace) study the pattern of international relations and the factors that explain the occurrence of war. The huge gap between geography in military circles (the first approach) and geography in academic circles (the second and third approaches) is striking. New developments in warfare, international relations, and global governance underline that the need for mutual engagement is greater than ever. While the new role of the military warrants critical scrutiny from academic geographers, the military also needs more and more human and political geographical knowledge to carry out its new tasks in the most ethical way possible.