The geo-constitution: Understanding the intersection of geography and political institutions

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this record.This paper draws on existing work in the discipline of human geography and cognate fields in order to develop the concept of the ‘geo-constitution’. This concept aims to: (1) highlight the importance of intersections between geography and political institutions in the constitution of government; (2) consider the path-dependent development of political institutions and their impact on statecraft and citizenship; (3) explore the implications of this for political reform. The paper provides an overview of current thinking in political geography and applies the concept of the geo-constitution to the example of devolution and localism in the United Kingdom

Policies and Sensemaking

First lines: The approach to cultural universes has a long tradition in policy science, among many other approaches. The design of policies often delves into the cultural dimension of groups of users. However, the link between policy-making and cultural universes is not direct. Sense making is by definition a nonlinear output of action. In contrast, approaching policy-making from the Re.Cri.Re. standpoint leads to a strongly cautionary attitude towards the ambition of most policies