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The paper discusses the connection of the foundational economy approach, a contemporary concept in the public services discourse, with the notion of spatial justice. It argues that the economic relevance of the systems of the foundational economy are important for territorial development issues, too and that they are able to provide a substantial contribution to sustainable and just spatial development. First, the concept of spatial justice is introduced as a spatial planning policy interpretation of equal living conditions. Based on four sub-dimensions, it is shown that access to basic services for all people plays an elementary part in this. The concept shares this perspective with the foundational economy approach. The latter opens up a new perspective on public services and, in addition to the service provision, also emphasises the high significance of foundational economic systems for labour markets. Against this background, a descriptive-statistical evaluation of labour market data on the spatial distribution of the foundational economy at the district level in Bavaria is carried out. Overall, the paper addresses the uneven spatial distribution of the foundational economies and advocates better funding for municipalities in order to achieve spatial justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, German geographers' entanglement with Nazi rule has been described as primarily related to geopolitics and, more specifically, to the figure of Karl Haushofer – the 'black sheep' of an otherwise 'scientific' discipline. While research has been dismantling this 'Haushoferism' since the 1980s, the academic geography environment in which Haushofer was embedded in Munich has not been studied thus far. The present article seeks to fill this lacuna. In doing so, it aims to enhance our understanding of the relationship between geography, geopolitics, and Nazi rule. Through a biographical analysis, we investigate the work of three key geography scholars at Munich's Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU): the two consecutive chairholders in geography (Erich von Drygalski [1906–1935] and Fritz Machatschek [1935–1946]) and Haushofer's closest academic disciple (Gustav Fochler-Hauke). Building on archival research, complemented by an analysis of these geographers' writings, we focus on 1) the relationship between geographical and geopolitical thought development at LMU and 2) the entanglement of Fochler-Hauke and Machatschek with Nazi rule. Our analysis shows that geographical and geopolitical thought were inextricably linked. Whereas much research has focused on (Haushofer and) the development of geopolitics, geographers' increasing transformation into Kämpfende Wissenschaftler [fighting scholars] has been neglected. This applied, practical-political orientation of geography, which aimed to sustain and support the expansionary National Socialist project, characterised the development of the discipline at LMU during the Nazi period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the territorial development reforms in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany between 2008 and 2018 in light of the rise of austerity policies, introducing the concept of 'austere federalism' as a new state spatial process in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Methodologically, the paper draws on the historical-materialist policy analysis and identifies three processes – municipalisation, competitisation, and responsibilisation – as key elements of a new hegemonic project. Our findings suggest that the years following the crisis saw a paradigm shift in spatial planning taking place, characterised by a carrot-and-stick policy of planning deregulation and austerity discipline. Rather than diminishing disparities, however, this shift runs the risk of exacerbating spatial inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between "national" geographical schools and an increasingly globalized geographical theory-building under the logics of Anglophone hegemony has generated critical debate within geography. This paper aims to contribute to current discussions on the development of differential, language-based "schools of thought" in geography and how these are mobilized and de- and recontextualized when they travel beyond their origins. However, it does not focus on the period of Anglophone hegemony but intends to shed a new, historically informed light on the politics of geographical knowledge production. Against this backdrop, we study why, how and with what consequences German geographical knowledge traveled to Argentina in the 1940s – the end of the "German hegemony" – following the employment by the National University of Tucumán (UNT) of the four German geography professors Wilhelm Rohmeder, Gustav Fochler-Hauke, Fritz Machatschek and Willi Czajka, all of whom had been institutionally and ideologically entwined with National Socialism. Firstly, we show that the epistemic differences between "national" schools of geographical thought – skillfully juggled by the geographers we analyze here – can provide an opportunity for the successful de- and recontextualization of theory. Secondly, we argue that boundary spanning and the traveling of theory beyond their geographical origins – largely (implicitly) viewed as progressive – should always be put in context(s) and assessed more cautiously from a normative point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The book "Debt and Austerity: Implications of the Financial Crisis" edited by Jodi Gardner, Mia Gray, and Katharina Möser explores the relationship between debt and austerity from a perspective that focuses on individual indebtedness resulting from state austerity regimes. The book includes contributions from various disciplines and contexts, with a primary focus on the UK. It is divided into two sections, the first examining the connections between debt and austerity, and the second offering suggestions for potential solutions. Overall, the book fills a gap in interdisciplinary research on the effects of austerity on individuals and provides valuable insights for scholars studying the social impacts of austerity. [Extracted from the article]

Die als Erfolgsmodell geltende bayerische Raumplanung wurde in den letzten Jahren kontinuierlich geschwächt. Mit der materialistischen Staatstheorie lässt sich dieser Wandel als Folge austeritärer Staatlichkeit fassen. Vor diesem Hintergrund ergründet der Beitrag die Konsequenzen dieser Verschiebung für die Raumordnung. Anhand feststellbarer Prozesse der Kommunalisierung, Verwettbewerblichung und Responsibilisierung lässt sich die Herausbildung eines austeritätspolitischen Föderalismus feststellen. Bavarian spatial planning, which is considered a model of success, has been continuously weakened in recent years. With the materialistic theory of state, this change can be understood as a consequence of austeritarian statehood. Against this background, the article uses historical-materialistic political analysis to explore the consequences of this shift for spatial planning. On the basis of observable processes of communalization, competition and responsibilisation, the development of an austere federalism can be stated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]