The Cartographic State

Jordan Branch is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Brown University. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley and in 2011-12 he was the Hayward R. Alker Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for International Studies at the University of Southern California. His articles have appeared in the European Journal of International Relations and in International Organization.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Authority, sovereignty, and international change; 3. The cartographic revolution; 4. Mapping the territorial state; 5. New World mapping and colonial reflection; 6. Peace treaties and political transformation; 7. Mapping the territorialization of France; 8. The cartographic state today.

'This is a fascinating book that retells history of modern cartography from an international relations perspective. As such, Branch skillfully brings together critical interpretations from two areas of scholarship to provide a compelling argument on how the developments of maps and political sovereignty are crucially linked. The primary thesis is that the depiction of bounded spaces on early modern maps preceded modern political practice premised upon bounded spaces. This has important theoretical ramifications for understanding how a uniquely modern form of relations between states was created … This book has stimulated me to engage with its ideas; it presents a very distinctive and distinguished argument that I recommend others to likewise engage with.' Peter J. Taylor, The Cartographic Journal