Area 2 : Territory(ies)

The institute’s second research area revolves around investigations on territorial issues. Such issues arise in a myriad of ways. They can be legal, institutional, geopolitical, demographic, functional, etc., which reveal the multiple connotations contained in the word ‘territory’ and the many challenges raised.

Territorial issues encourage an interest in territorial relations, as geographical and administrative zones and as communities, along with changes at the local level (territorial authorities, urban development, community law and order, etc.) and the global level (new geographies and governance, deterritorialisation and reterritorialisation, etc.). The issues branch out from territory as an everyday notion (disintermediation and reappropriation of space, relations with the governed, etc.) to territory as a legal and political cut out (tax sovereignty, borders, Brexit, federalism, etc.).

There are topics linked to the development of the territory, and the property and public policy system, with public and private contracts and partnerships being an essential focus. In general, territorial divisions raise socio-cultural questions (space of value, identity) as well as those of power and control (politico-legal, economic, cultural), demonstrating the close connection to the research areas of Space(s) and Culture(s).