Overlapping territorialities, sovereignty in dispute: empirical lessons from Latin America

John Agnew
jagnew@geog.ucla.edu
University of California, UCLA, USA

Ulrich Oslender
Ulrich.Oslender@ges.gla.ac.uk
Florida International University, USA

Abstract:

Recent debates in political geography have questioned the Nation-state idealized sovereignty as rigidly linked to the notion of a transparent territoriality, clearly marked in space by stablished borders. Sovereignty has no need to assume this particular form. This paper puts forward the notion of ‘overlapping territorialities’ in order to discuss how territorial authority sources, other than the Nation-state authority, intersect. We will examine how dispute for space by non-State actors has found expression in concrete re-territorialization processes, which imply tracing boundaries within the nation-state’s territory.

Keywords: political geography, constitutional amendments, Latin America, Colombia, FARC, Law 70, black communities, territorial rights.