Conflict and capacity

From Geography

'Conflict and capacity' is one of the four aspects of 'social action', distinguished by Nigel Thrift. This is an important component in contextual regional geography. Conflict and capacity are "two very important aspects of social action for certain groups 'living' in certain regions" (Werlen, 2009, p.6). Conflict is a concept which is taken for granted here, but 'capacity' needs a further explanation. This concept "has to be understood as the ability or the potential of a social group to transform the personality formation of individuals, forms of knowledge, and forms of sociability in and interconnected fashin"(Werlen, 2009, p.6).

Example of a geographical research question

An example of a geographical research question is already given by Thrift. He asks "what specific form conflict and capacity take in different regions at different times, as well as what form they may take today" (in Werlen, 2009, p.6). A more specific research question could be: what form did conflict and capacity take in Former Yugoslavia and what form do they take today in the new Balkan states?

References

Werlen, B. (2009). Everyday Regionalizations. In: International Encyclopedia for Human Geography. Elsevier.

Contributors

Page created and edited by --JikkeVanTHof 15:33, 3 October 2011 (UTC)