City senses: On the radical possibilities of pragmatism in geography

This paper explores the radical possibilities of pragmatism for geography using the illustration of arguments concerning a renewed (urban) public realm through the exchange of validity claims in communication. Pressing further the pragmatist possibilities of Habermas’s idea of communicative action it draws on John Dewey’s work, and a range of contemporary pragmatist philosophers, to consider human communicability in its widest sense. This is then explored using an example of the spatiality and performativity of body-minds in a range of communicative spaces of the city. Then the paper moves on to consider the radical implications of pragmatism for geography in general in terms of body-mind/environment relations; a transactional view of space; experience, rationality and radical democracy.     

Transparency: aid or obstacle to effective defence of vulnerable environments from reservoir construction? Dam decisions and democracy in North East England

Public participation in transparent decisionmaking has been proposed as a panacea for environmental protection. Bargaining theory suggests drawbacks to transparency such as hardening of attitudes and intransigence. Yet achievement of consensus on environmental values for integrated water resource management demands public involvement. Historical study of attempts to prevent reservoir construction in upland valleys designated for protection of nature suggests that 'closed-door' bargaining proved more effective for environmentalists than open, public debate. Records now open for analysis of disputes over Teesdale and Farndale, 1950–1970, allow comparisons to be made between behind-the-scenes deliberations and 'open-door' public discussion. The ambition of progressing from public participation to devolution of environmental decisionmaking and responsibility to the local scale demands more conceptualization of the process of decisionmaking on water resource development.     

A Place for Geography in the Liberal Arts College?

This study charts the presence of geography at liberal arts colleges and explores the relationship between the liberal arts and the study of geography. The results of this study reveal a paradox: geography embodies many of the ideals of a liberal arts education and yet this study indicates an absence of degree‐granting geography programs at 93% of institutions. Geography thrives, however, at a select group of liberal arts colleges, and these colleges are disproportionately important as the undergraduate origin for doctorate recipients in geography.     

‘Boundary’ in Ancient Persian Tradition of Statehood

It is universally accepted that the need for defining precise lines of separation and points of contacts between states is the byproduct of the emergence of nation-states and ‘world economy’ in the 19th century Europe. Nevertheless, it is hard to overlook the fact that these modern notions are rooted in periods prior to the emergence in Europe of nation-states. There are indications that ancient civilizations were familiar with the notion of ‘state’ in connection with the concepts of territory and boundary. Ancient texts reveal that this basic principle existed in ancient Persian literature in respect of matters of state, territory, and boundary. Similarly, the likelihood exists that these Persian notions could have influenced Roman civilization. It is widely believed that a combination of ancient Greco-Roman and Persian civilizations is a major contributor to what culturally constitutes ‘West’. Later in the Sassanid period the inter-linked notions of state, territory, and boundary developed substantially, coming quite close to their contemporary forms. On the other hand, considering that ‘justice’ was the corner stone of ancient Persian Political philosophy, the idea that ancient Persian spatial arrangement might have contributed to the evolution of the concept of democracy in the West may not be too difficult to contemplate.     

Comparative policy analysis: Neoliberalising New Zealand

Comparative policy analysis involves systematically examining the long‐term formation of public policies across a number of societies. It focuses particularly on the sequence of policy regimes: liberalism – Keynesianism/social democracy – neoliberalism. Since 1980, neoliberalism has been widely adopted as the guiding ideological structure for economic policy making. But neoliberalism encounters resistances that vary with national contexts. New Zealand is a particularly interesting case because of its reputation as a social democratic, welfare state that went neoliberal with a vengeance (Rogernomics).     

对欧亚非大陆自由主义民主格局演变的批判性分析

自由主义民主作为西方谋求世界霸权而肆意输出的意识形态，以批判性话语剖析欧亚非大陆自由主义民主状况，对揭露西方民主输出的真实目的意义重大。探究欧亚非大陆“自由”等级格局演变特征，搭建“自由”等级格局演变影响因子体系，并揭示其演变影响机制。研究发现：①“自由”国家数量总体显著增长，从欧洲南部、西部、北部，亚洲南部、东北部扩散至欧洲东部、中部和非洲南部地区；“部分自由”国家数量总体明显增加，基本分布在亚洲南部、东南部，非洲东部、西部和南部；“不自由”国家数量总体略有减少，从欧洲东部、亚洲和非洲大部分地区压缩至亚非大部分地区。②“自由”等级标准差指数表现出明显上升趋势，而其变异系数表现出波动下降趋势。③总体上，欧亚非大陆具有相似“自由”等级的国家集聚程度在不断增强，其中，高值集聚出现波动增强；局部上，冷点、次冷点区域呈现“联成一片”的态势，热点、次热点区域则有“东进”的趋势。④社会经济、外部扩散、文化宗教、政治制度、西方行为等因素影响显著，且在整体和局部影响机制上呈现明显差异。⑤“自由之家”为突出和强调西方在国际政治领域的标准制定权和话语权，其“自由”等级指数具有极强的意识形态属性和战略意图。     

Creative democracy and the quiet politics of the everyday

John Dewey envisioned creative democracy as a process of agonistic engagement, and Bob Lake shares Dewey’s optimism for the possibilities of creative democracy. In this response, I suggest that scholars should look beyond the obvious moments of democratic political engagement, whether activism in the public square or in the occupied park, to pay attention to the quiet politics of the everyday, where everyday decisionmaking by individuals and communities can gradually, episodically, change dominant hegemonic norms and understandings, proviing new understandings for social change. I highlight several examples, including the Settlement house movement from the late 19th century and intentional neighboring from the twenty-first century, that illustrate the kind of daily work that brings together different social classes and ethnicities in a situation of sharing and working toward conditions of equality and new ways of living in the world.     

The nation-state and the city: introduction to a debate

In recent years, the urban political landscape has become infused with a potent and incendiary mixture of popular-democratic, anti-globalisation, and separatist rhetoric. One central process driving this has been the problematic relations between the nation-state and the city. This Debates and Interventions forum aims to prompt a debate about where the city should be situated intellectually in respect of the nation-state. Four questions are addressed: (1) How do contemporary processes of urban development reflect changing national geopolitical priorities? (2) To what extent are struggles around immigration, citizenship and recognition conducted within cities rather than around the nation-state? (3) To what degree does the city (as e.g. a physical form, social environment or discourse) help to mobilise, propel and/or contest this new urban politics? And (4) Is the concept of a “post-national” global order appropriate for understanding the city and urban politics today?     

Consulting as a threat to local democracy? Flexible management consultants,pacified citizens,and political tactics of strategic development in German cities

These days, it is often claimed that democratic procedures are under threat. The detachment of policy decisions from political debates is partly a result of the increasing influence of non-elected organizations and experts. Following a conceptual discussion of the spatiality of democracy, this paper focuses on management consultants as constraint on collective political participation in urban development; namely on McKinsey and Roland Berger. (De-)democratization is assessed alongside processes of inclusion and exclusion of both topics and people from political decisions. Based on a comparison of strategy-making projects in six German cities, the findings reveal three different types of urban policymaking ranging between expert-led and participatory versions. Despite the differences, each of the projects relied on a notion of passive citizens, who primarily need to be “gotten on board” and who lack the power to make decisions. This paper exposes the political tactics involved in an expert-influenced curtailment of democratic procedures.     

Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business,Democracy, and Everyday Life

While linguistic diversity is an integral component of cultural landscapes, the spatial depiction of languages fails to represent all community members. Language is difficult to map and established guidelines are lacking. The perception of power conveyed is arguably the most meaningful design issue in language mapping, as most language maps inaccurately show one language per place. This research examines the cartographic visualization of linguistic diversity, contributing to our understanding of the perception of power through cartographic decisions, with the application of a linguistic diversity index. The resulting maps serve as new figures for linguistic diversity lessons in educational contexts.