6. Objects

Abstract

Geopolitics is often imagined through objects, but it is also exercised with objects. Objects can shape geopolitical relations and illuminate state authority. So, flags can be powerful and hyper-visible expressions of state security, while at other times they are barely noticed in everyday life. Objects play a key role in securitizing, regularizing, and disciplining our lives. Whether we choose to ignore them, play with them, accept them, and/or break them, they help to bring the human and non-human elements of geopolitics into contact with one another. ‘Objects’ considers a range of objects—pipelines, maps, waste, and action toys—and discusses their roles and significance in geopolitics.