Geopol, Laketa 2019

“Even if it didn't happen, it's true”: The fantasy of geopolitics in the “post-truth” era

What is the core idea of geopolitics as fantasy?

Geopolitics is shaped by desire, emotion, and imagination, not just facts.

How does fantasy relate to geopolitical reality?

Fantasy produces real social and political effects.

How are reason and fantasy connected in geopolitics?

They are inseparable and co-produce meaning.

What is popular geopolitics?

Media and culture actively construct geopolitical knowledge.

What is critical geopolitics?

It studies how states produce global space through power/knowledge.

What role does psychoanalysis play in geopolitics?

It explains unconscious desire, ego, and emotional investment in politics.

What is nationalism described as?

An ideological fantasy sustained by emotion and enjoyment.

Why is emotion important in geopolitics?

It legitimises violence and political beliefs beyond rationality.

What is post-truth politics?

Politics where emotion outweighs objective facts.

What examples show post-truth politics?

Brexit, Trump, and “alternative facts.”

How is media linked to geopolitics?

It shapes emotional and ideological understandings of world politics.

What is docu-fiction in geopolitics?

A mix of truth and fiction that blurs reality and ideology.

What film example is used?

“Houston, We Have a Problem!” (Yugoslav space program myth).

What does the Yugoslav space program myth show?

How fantasy can construct alternative historical geopolitics.

What does Žižek argue about ideology?

Even false beliefs become real through practice.

What is ideology in this context?

A system of beliefs, emotions, and narratives shaping reality.

What is the role of humour and enjoyment?

They make geopolitical fantasies emotionally powerful.

How do conspiracy theories relate?

They are popular knowledge systems shaping geopolitics.

What is media geography’s key idea?

Places are produced through cultural meaning, not just physical reality.

What is the overall argument of fantasy geopolitics?

Geopolitics is emotional, imaginative, and materially real.