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Writers embracing the spatial turn in several disciplines, including the humanities, often overlook a field engaged with the social processes behind spatial arrangements of power: geography. Fortunately, the editors avoid this myopia by bringing together authors engaged across disciplinary boundaries. Invoking geographical theorists such as Harvey, Massey, Mc-Cann, and Soja, the level of intellectual cross-pollination is refreshing.
The editors invoke the term "spatial epistemology" to frame case studies focused on the spatially contingent nature of political power. The essays shed light on varying forms of state power and of resistance efforts in order to articulate dissent over the reconstruction of space that invariably benefits the entrenched interests driving the state.
The first two sections cover the themes of contentious politics and the politics of consensus. Margo Shea's take on urban renewal and the spatial politics of governance in Northern Ireland highlights the spatial resistance after implementation of policies aimed at making a space of political resistance more governable. Kerry Chance's examination of South Africa's transit camps and the development...