Description
The current dynamics of escalation in international politics has been a defining characteristic of our current global order. Increased levels of investment in the defence and security sectors have been accompanied by ever-more restrictive policies on the movement of capital and people, and since 2016 the world has experienced a trend on the “closing of territories” or shifting territorial connections between either major, middle and small powers at the global arena. This context seems to favour a more deepened conversation between “outside” and “inside” politics of states through the understanding of territorial policies at the national level. These policies represent a helpful analytical tool that bridges domestic and international politics, helping to grasp important changes to the international order during the last decade. Crises on multilateralism, economic competition, as well as armed conflict and forceful (des-)integration attempts can be traced back to the idea of territory as a spatial dimension of statecraft, in which either direct dominion over territory or indirect control over how its dynamics work out can be helpful analytical tools for the understanding of escalating trends and more prone positions by states to apply exceptional measures and resort to the use of force in their foreign policies.