CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2023
| Author | Giorgobiani, Tamar |
|---|---|
| Title | Persuasive and Exhibitionist Cartographies: Mapping Practices of Russia in the Near Abroad |
| Summary | This thesis looks at border redrawing practices and sets out to explore the question of how cartographies reaffirm geopolitical discourses, that is how the new maps are being communicated by different actors. The matter is addressed from the critical geopolitical standpoint, understanding geography as performance rather than a constant given. Cartography is therefore regarded as a discursive practice for inscribing territories and reinforcing its particular understanding. While addressing the research question, besides one of the possible answers being provided by the concept of “cartographic exhibitionism” – an explicit depiction of a state’s visual desire concerning its territory, and being attributed to the popular geopolitical level, the thesis focuses on the concept of “persuasive cartography” which examines the quieter mapping practices for naturalizing a new self-portrait of a state through its casual taken-for-grantedness. For exploring the concepts, imperial mapping practices on the example of Russia are being analyzed through a visual discourse study. The thesis looks at the Russian cartography of redrawing borders in its Near Abroad on practical, formal, and popular geopolitical levels by exploring the mapmaking of the government, statesmen, official institutions, academia, school, media, public spaces, and digital mapping platforms. Persuasive cartography proves to be a useful analytical tool for describing the implicit cartographic practices on practical and formal levels, exercised through the use of academic maps, “neutral” world maps, or by shifting the focus on the Other while mapping. However, in popular geopolitics, except for the economically selective deployment of persuasive cartography by digital mapping platforms, cartographic exhibitionism prevails. |
| Supervisor | Roe, Paul |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2023/giorgobiani_tamar.pdf |
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