The Birth of territory

by Stuart Elden

Melancholy and indifference 2

The historical development of the territory shows that territory today is to be understood as a political technology.
Stuart Elden writes this in his book published 2012 with the title: The Birth of Territory.

But already in the 1950s, Jean Gottmann described in his book La politique des États et leur géographie that the state cannot be understood without its spatial definition, its national territory.

But a whole range of our modern concepts of the political were also shaped in the Middle Ages.

Because only in the Middle Ages the Greek traditions (especially Aristotle) were translated into Latin. However, this "appropriation of ancient politicalthought in the Middle Ages" was used as a reformulation of the legitimation of one's own rule and thus to distinguish it from other political rulers, especially the church. Aristotle was only gradually translated into Latin, very early especially the writings on logic.

The political writings, on the other hand - including politics, ethics and rhetoric - were only translated into Latin in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. A reflection on the state thus always requires the problematisation of its spatiality, i.e. its national territory.

Today, NATO is such an instrument of assertion of claims
claim (v.) to call, call out; to ask or demand by virtue of right or authority from accented stem of Old French clamer: to call, name, describe, claim, complain, declare from Latin clamare: to cry out, shout, proclaim from PIE root kele: to shout Meaning: to maintain as true, assert a belief or opinion is from 1864 Century Dictionary, 1895 claim properly should not stray too far from its true meaning of "to demand recognition of a right. Specific sense to make a claim on an insurance company is from 1897. claim (n.) early 14c., a demand of a right; right of claiming, Meaning "thing claimed or demanded" is from 1792 specifically: piece of land allotted and taken chiefly U.S. and Australia, in reference to mining claim-jumper is attested from 1839. Insurance sense application for guaranteed compensation is from 1878.

Jurisdiction

So what is jurisdiction?
It extends over the territory. What is territory? A place where jurisdiction is exercised.
Later Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, one of the masterminds of the Enlightenment and the last universal scholar, will write about territory and sovereignty: "The sovereign is the one who is master over a territory. Leibniz thus lays claim to the first real definition of sovereignty. In his understanding, sovereignty is exercised over a territory.

This is only a rough summary of Stuart Elden`s The Birth of territory.

Here you will find his original / pdf:
https://www.academia.edu/7853684/Stuart_Elden_The_Birth_of_Territory