The aim of Association for the Study of EthnoGeoPolitics (EGP), or EthnoGeoPolitics in short, is to further the study of the cultural, social, ethnic and (geo-)political characteristics, processes and developments in different areas of the world, at universities, institutes and colleges in and outside the Netherlands.
Our initial focus has been on the ethnogeopolitics in Eurasia, especially in Central Eurasia (Caucasus, near Middle East, Central Asia) and Southeastern Europe or the Balkans. However, the Association’s research and teaching topics in principle cover all possible regions, countries and localities in the world where aspects of ethnogeopolitics are salient.
To this end the founders of EGP offer their expertise, together with their fellow-boardmembers and the journal’s fellow-editors. They continue expand the association (and its activities) with more members and contributions to Forum of EthnoGeoPolitcs, which has appeared at least twice per year since its establishment in 2013, and as single volumes containing (at least) two issues since 2021. We organise conference panels, guest lectures and symposia, develop teaching modules for donors if so requested (donations are required to keep the association’s administration and particularly its website up and running), and strengthen and deepen our research, with publications. From the very start we have cooperated with institutes like the Center for Resource Studies for Development (CERES, http://ceres.fss.uu.nl), to undertake one or more of the indicated aims and tasks. Currently we are starting to collaborate with the brandnew Network of Sustainable Development and Education (NSDE, www.nsdesite.com) – which the founders also have helped to establish.
Why Ethnogeopolitics?—Excerpts from the first Editorial in our journal Forum of EthnoGeoPolitics (Vol.1 No.1 Spring 2013, pp.4-6)
Ethnogeopolitics is a new concept, indicating an emerging multidisciplinary field of research. Its definition and scope of study depends much on those of related (sub-) disciplines, particularly those of geopolitics. There is no general consensus on the definitions of geopolitics and ethnopolitics, and hence ethnogeopolitics also cannot be easily or non-controversially defined. In order to be able to define ethnogeopolitics as an academic field, one has to define what is politics and political science, ethnicity, ethnopolitics and geopolitics.
Arguably, the difference between geopolitics and ethnogeopolitics lies in the fact that the latter concept approaches geopolitics at the level of peoples. States and global regimes are central to the traditional approaches of geopolitics. However, in ethnogeopolitics peoples and states interact closely with each other. It is the dialectic between them that constitutes the core of ethnogeopolitics. Ethnogeopolitics can be delineated in this way, though definitional consensus may remain elusive, as in other social scientific (sub-)disciplines. Be as it may, its scope and focus will depend much on the ongoing scholarly dialogue, discourse and hence development.
Ethnogeopolitcs, like any other academic filed, is dynamic and subject to change and conceptual and methodological development. A better understanding of this field can only evolve as time passes. Therefore, we encourage contributions from academics, policymakers and thinkers—in order to engender dialogue with each other and with us—which should contribute to the further development of ethnogeopolitics. Our publication, Forum of EthnoGeoPolitics, is established for this goal.
We have chosen the name of ethnogeopolitics for our association as well, because this emerging and promising field is undermined by neglect and financial cutbacks in the academia, especially in the Netherlands. We hope that our journal Forum of EthnoGeoPolitics can function as a forum for research findings, dialogue and discussion on ethnogeopolitical studies, and will contribute to the development of this field.
Babak Rezvani Amsterdam, March 2013, October 2016 (update)