Geographical Research

Introduction: In political geography, sovereignty is the highest coercive power on a territorial scale which has been the creator of classical political, geographical views since the Westphalian period. However, since the 1980s, the function of Westphalian sovereignty in the production of geographical space has been criticized by poststructuralist geographers. A new wave of theories and approaches began that assumes power as a pervasive and pluralistic process at all societal levels. This research has been struggled to analyze the causes, contexts, and functions of the conceptual turn of political sovereignty and its function in the production of geographical space in poststructuralist political geography. In this regard, in the first step, geographical space and its dimensions and subdivisions are defined concerning the poststructuralist school. Then, by explaining how to reconstruct the concept of sovereignty in the poststructuralist school, a new perspective is presented concerning the conceptual consequences of governance in political geography. Conclusion: Findings research shows that civil society is considered the main source of space production in poststructuralist political geography. In this regard, considering the same credibility for discourses and social forces opens the door to dialogue in management and organization of space. In this context, the multiplicity and difference of social forces in the governance process are recognized and emphasize the right to exist. By emphasizing the right to different exist; Participatory democracy emerges, and the transfer of power to smaller territorial units such as local governments is considered.