Geographical

Official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

Doug Specht

Dr. Doug Specht is a Chartered Geographer, a Reader in Cultural Geography and Communication, and Head of the School of Media and Communication at the University of Westminster.

His research explores themes related to environmental justice, human rights, and access to education, with a focus on the production and codification of knowledge though cartographic artefacts and in educational settings.

Dr. Specht has authored numerous articles and books, including Mapping Crisis, the Routledge Handbook of Geospatial Technology and Society, and Imagining Apocalyptic Politics in the Anthropocene. He writes regularly on ethics, environmental and human rights, education, and mapping practices in such publications as WonkHE, The Conversation, Geographical, and for Times Higher Education. Dr Specht is a member of the editorial board of the European Journal of Geography and is Chair of the Environmental Network for Central America.

The new fault line in British politics

4 minutes

England's green transition is becoming a postcode lottery between Green urban centres and Reform-controlled councils In the week after the May 2026 local elections, councillors in Waltham Forest began working through plans for a borough-wide retrofit programme, expanded biodiversity corridors along the Lea Valley, and solar panels on school buildings – a continuation of … [Read more...] about The new fault line in British politics

Why a free press makes the world safer

5 minutes

As conflict, disinformation and authoritarianism spread, press freedom is no longer simply a media issue – it is a frontline defence against corruption, violence and global instability  On 3 May 2026, World Press Freedom Day was marked under the theme: 'Shaping a Future at Peace: Promoting Press Freedom for Human Rights, Development, and Security.' The choice of words … [Read more...] about Why a free press makes the world safer

How climate extremes rewrite geopolitical power

4 minutes

A warming Pacific exposes the fragile fault lines of a divided world, Doug Specht argues Early forecasts suggest 2026 could see the strongest El Niño in at least a decade, with a 25 per cent chance of a 'very strong' event and a 50 per cent chance of a strong one as Pacific sea surface temperatures climb more than 1.5°C above average. What happens in that warm strip of … [Read more...] about How climate extremes rewrite geopolitical power

The war the world forgot

4 minutes

Three years in, Sudan's civil war has killed hundreds of thousands, displaced 14 million and collapsed a nation. So why does almost nobody talk about it? On the morning of 15 April 2023, gunfire erupted across Khartoum before most of its six million residents had woken. Two generals, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of the Sudanese Armed Forces and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of the … [Read more...] about The war the world forgot