Räume der Übertragung: Die neue transnationale Politik der säkularen Stagnation[Spaces of Transference: The New Transnational Politics of Secular Stagnation]

This paper reevaluates recent work on deterritorialization in so far as it relates to transnationalization and the emergence of new forms of nomadic politics. Place has been crucial in the formation of social relationships, the interactive construction of political identities and the emergence of a public sphere. Contemporary forms of deterritorialization tend to disrupt two fundamental conceptions of the modern understanding of democratic politics: the fellowship of citizens and the fiduciary nature of the relationship between political power and those represented. Building on Kevin Cox’s distinction between spaces of dependence and spaces of engagement, the paper argues that spaces of transference emerge as a vital component of today’s political relating. Scale becomes important in the spaces of transference: the shifting of attitudes and emotions involves larger spaces and ever more distant templates.