Revisiting the 'pivot': the influence of Halford Mackinder on analysis of Uzbekistan's international relations

Since the end of the Soviet Union, many foreign policy intellectuals have peculiarly identified the Republic of Uzbekistan as the locus of Mackinder's 1904 'pivot' designation. A century on from his original 'Geographical pivot of history' lecture, this paper examines the work of a Russian, an Uzbek, and an American who use Mackinder to understand contemporary Uzbekistani geopolitical orientations, in particular with reference to the USA. Drawing on critical work on the history of geopolitics, it highlights that whilst these texts claim objectivity, they betray political and subjective foreign policy choices. It suggests that whilst the revival of interest in Mackinder testifies to the continued attraction of his ideas, this has, with rare exceptions, been based upon a superficial reading of both his work and the body of secondary literature, and that this raises both disciplinary and ethical concerns.     

当今北极地缘政治格局特征分析

冷战结束后,北极地区逐渐发展为世界政治的一个热点,北极地缘政治局势处在快速的变化发展之中。地缘政治格局是控制地缘政治形势发展的一个结构因素,分析地缘政治格局有助于我们认识和理解复杂的、变动的地缘政治现实关系。本文在地缘政治格局概念基础上,提出了地缘政治格局的基本分析方法,并以此分析了冷战后北极地区的地缘政治格局的主要特征。     

基于地缘政治学视角的缅甸内战与毒品经济相互关系解析

中国西南地区面临着因缅甸内战和毒品经济产生的跨国影响而形成的恶劣的地缘政治环境。通过文本分析法,本文聚焦缅甸内战和毒品经济,在分析缅甸内战历史和现实致因、缅甸毒品经济起源与发展的基础上,从地缘政治学视角,揭示了缅甸内战与毒品经济之间的相互关联。本文试图回答的问题是：缅甸内战状态下的毒品经济为何在缅甸蔓延？毒品经济又如何加深缅甸内战并阻碍内战的终结？缅甸内战与毒品经济相互纠缠,即缅甸内战不是由毒品经济利益所触发,但缅甸内战刺激了鸦片种植和催生了畸形的毒品经济,而毒品经济重塑了缅甸联邦政府与少数民族地方武装等各方利益,从而为缅甸内战解决蒙上了阴影。     

西方情感地缘政治研究进展

通过对情感地缘政治早期的经典和国际学术期刊论文的梳理,对情感地缘政治的起源、主要议题进行了总结。研究发现,情感地缘政治打破了传统地缘政治理论中情感与理性的二元对立,将情感引入地缘政治分析的中心位置。借用非表征理论,情感地缘政治将地缘政治分析中的个人情感从以往边缘化的角色变成了核心的研究议题。目前西方情感地缘政治的议题主要围绕“日常生活－情感－全球政治”的权力几何关系展开,一方面从宏观上构建不同情感与政治行动的结构关系,另一方面从微观尺度解析不同文化背景中情感如何被地方化的生产并与全球地缘政治事件互动。研究的议题主要包括对于全球恐惧情感的批判地缘政治研究,日常生活与地缘政治的关系,以及情感对于外交政策的影响3个方面。     

The geographical pivot of history and early twentieth century geopolitical culture

This article offers a re-interpretation of the geographical pivot of history by setting it in the context of the international relations and strategic debates of the early twentieth century, and by engaging with the historiography of British foreign policy during the Edwardian period. The overall argument is that the prospective effort of Mackinder does not appear as merely speculative but is in fact rather well grounded in the fundamentals of British foreign policy and more directly relevant than hitherto assumed. Identifying a trend towards a shift in the equilibrium between land power and sea power, Mackinder emphasized – and perhaps over-emphasized – a Russian threat to British interests but considered that Germany alone only posed a minor threat. Such analysis seems to be remarkably in tune with British geopolitical culture around 1904, and with the ideas of the British Prime Minister Arthur Balfour. The way in which Mackinder further stressed that a combination of the two main continental powers would represent a major peril for Britain has hitherto been treated rather dismissively. This article however shows how twice during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–5 Wilhelm II attempted to bring such an alliance about. This article attempts to reassess the actual impact of the geographical pivot of history and more broadly of Mackinder's thought, usually considered minimal, on British foreign policy before 1914. Finally, a number of issues that seem to deserve further attention are suggested, in particular that of the influence exerted by Mackinder before 1914, and that of the genesis of Mackinder's conception of the 'pivot zone' or 'heartland'.     

“心脏地带”理论与俄乌冲突

俄乌冲突被广泛认为是冷战后欧洲最严重的地缘政治危机之一,不仅造成两国大量人员伤亡,也牵动了整个世界,引起中国、美国、欧盟和俄罗斯之间的复杂博弈,推动世界政治经济分裂和去全球化加速,因而可能成为冷战后全球势力格局演变的一道分水岭。本文运用经典地缘政治理论——麦金德的“心脏地带”理论来分析这场冲突的地理动力机制及时空规律,以助于认清复杂变局中中国面临的地缘安全风险和挑战。文章在回顾“心脏地带”理论核心要义的基础上,分别考察了该理论对俄罗斯和美国地缘政治思想和地缘战略实践的影响,最后分析了乌克兰在“心脏地带”中地理位置的特殊性及其在东西方力量博弈中的遭遇和处境。文章指出,从表面看,俄乌冲突发生于因历史问题分歧严重的两个东斯拉夫国家之间,但它的实质却是俄罗斯与北约长期对峙形成的结构性矛盾的总爆发,是“心脏地带”陆权力量与“边缘地带”海权力量两大板块相互挤压和对撞的结果,位于“心脏地带”与“边缘地带”结合部的乌克兰因此沦为大国地缘争斗的牺牲品。     

Public perceptions of foreign and Chinese real estate investment: intercultural relations in Global Sydney

Moving foreign human and financial capital through landed property is not a new phenomenon in Sydney. It is a recurring geopolitical strategy that is replete with intercultural tension and deep colonial roots. In contemporary Australia, there is an assumption in public policy and media rhetoric that there is a high level of public concern about foreign investment. However, there is little empirical data that examines public perceptions. In this study, we are interested in whether the dominant voices in this debate represent broad public views about this issue. We sought to fill this gap by conducting a survey of almost 900 Sydney residents, looking at their perceptions of foreign and Chinese investment. We find high levels of public concern and discontent about foreign investment amongst Sydneysiders, with Chinese investors being a key target of this discontent. In the context of high housing prices in Sydney, there were widely held concerns about housing affordability. Survey respondents had a sophisticated understanding of what influences house prices, but with an overemphasis on the role of foreign investment. There is a general lack of support for policy that encourages foreign investment, and a lack of confidence in how the government is regulating foreign investment. Half of our participants reported that they would not welcome Chinese foreign investment in their suburb.     

旅游地缘政治研究进展与展望

通过梳理web of science和中国知网上已有的旅游地缘政治相关研究,按照研究尺度,将旅游地缘政治研究分为国家尺度、跨尺度研究2种类型,此外,还有旅游的地缘政治要素一个单独的主题,归纳总结了目前旅游地缘政治的主要研究议题。总体来说,目前相关研究仍然以国家尺度为主,案例地国家选择呈现出3个主要特征,即倾向于选择受全球地缘政治变动影响较大的区域、面临国内外地缘政治压力的区域和主权尚存争议或主权定义模糊的区域。但逐渐出现了一些跨尺度的研究,考察旅游对国家和游客相互建构的影响。最后,提出了旅游地缘政治可深入探究的4个主题,包括国家间政治关系对旅游的影响、旅游签证制度和国家关系之间的相互作用、旅游作为主动的地缘战略、边境旅游的多尺度研究。     

The Geography and Area Studies Interface from the Second World War to the Cold War

Disciplinary geography's history represents an important source for contemporary debates over the status of geographical knowledge across the social sciences. This article argues for a reorientation of geography's history by examining its interface with the development of area studies in the United States. It investigates the epistemological and institutional transformations that occurred in the decades before and after the Second World War as the regional concept transmuted into area studies. The article finds that although geography's regional concept shaped the spatial constructions of area studies, the latter's imaginative geographies fixed the regional concept along geopolitical visions of the nation‐state and Cold War regional blocs that continue to occlude social scientific attempts to redraw the borders of the world.     

Prosperity and the Suburban Dream: Quality of life and affordability in western Sydney

Over the past 10 years Sydney has experienced a remarkable wave of economic prosperity and growth, partly due to its developing role as a regionally significant global city. Through this period, maintaining the quality of life in the city has been regarded as particularly important. Yet traditional accounts of the global city have stressed quality-of-life features of the inner city. In this paper I examine the implications of the prosperity of global Sydney for the quality of life of western Sydney, paying particular attention to environmental amenity and the affordability of housing. The paper argues, first, that growth in the Sydney region has depended upon continued growth in western Sydney. It highlights key instances in which residents have resisted developments associated with this growth and regarded as major threats to the environmental amenity of the region. Second, the paper argues that the prosperity of Sydney, combined with changes to government policy, have impacted upon the supply of affordable rental housing in western Sydney. This is particularly significant in the case of public housing. Managing growth in the city will require attention to managing quality-of-life issues in the metropolis as a whole.     

Entrepreneurial city and the restructuring of urban space in Shanghai Expo

ABSTRACT

This study examines the restructuring of urban space brought about by Shanghai Expo. The focus is on how the municipal government strategically makes use of this mega-event program to proactively implement two entrepreneurial spatial policies, namely economic restructuring and population decentralization. Specifically, it critically investigates the omnipotent government’s policies in terms of industrial relocation and residential resettlement leading up to the Shanghai Expo. Shanghai’s entrepreneurial city building, at the metropolitan level, has long been associated with the optimization of spatial structure. The empirical findings reveal that the negotiations involved in relocating enterprises were tougher when they took place within the state system, as compared to those between the government and foreign or private sectors. At the same time, social groups remained excluded from decision-making processes for resettlement, and there was a downscaling of governance, which contributed to improved efficiency of the resettlement work. The Shanghai municipal government was key to the restructuring and entrepreneurial city building, engaging, on the one hand, in negotiations on spatial relocation with central state-owned enterprises (SOEs) at the level of the central government and mobilizing, on the other hand, lower-tier government authorities to deliver the resettlement plan. This paper argues that the development of the entrepreneurial city in Shanghai depends essentially on the way local government implemented the policy and that an integrated approach is significant to attaining the goals and objectives.     

近40年中美地缘政治关系波动及背景解析

基于GDELT数据利用概率分析和自适应分形分析方法,从合作与冲突的角度分析1979年以来历届美国总统任期内中美态度的差异以及中美态度的持久性。结果分析表明：① 中美地缘政治关系经历3个时期,分别是冷战期、转变期和经贸合作期。这3个时期的特征是中美关系的战略基础历经从联合抗苏到经贸关系转变;② 美国对华的冲突态度在老布什和克林顿时期发展和提高,在小布什时期和奥巴马前期有所缓和,但是在奥巴马后期趋于严重。③ 美国对华整体态度持续性存在约4 a时间尺度,而且主要受冲突态度的影响。在当前特朗普政府时期,中美地缘政治关系的政治和经济要素已经发生重大转变,建议中美关系政策制定者和研究者要重视这种转变,寻求新思维和新途径应对进入新阶段的中美关系。     

批判地缘政治视角下的国家品牌实践——以海南自由贸易港为例

当前世界地缘政治经济格局发生深刻变化,全球化发展正面临重大挑战。在此背景下,建设海南自由贸易港既是中国深化改革开放的需要,也是在全球治理语境下中国积极重塑地缘政治经济格局的重要举措。以海南自贸港为对象,采用话语分析和网络民族志方法,探讨基于国家品牌的地缘政治实践,审视政府、媒体和国内外普通受众如何参与海南自贸港地理意义的（再）生产,并讨论了其背后的地缘政治运作机制。研究发现,国家品牌建设涉及国家、媒体和普通受众之间的互动,政府利用媒体工具构建宏大叙事,塑造国内外受众对海南自贸港的地理想象,进而支持和强化中国作为全球治理的建设者身份。然而,不同社会文化背景的受众群体形成了差异化的情感体验,普通受众对海南自贸港的认同等积极感知支持了国家身份叙事,质疑和感到威胁等情感则对自上而下和由内而外的话语营建提出挑战。不同行动者的建构和表征作用使国家品牌意义不断被想象、表达和重塑,导致基于国家品牌的地缘政治运作复杂化。     

关于加强地缘政治地缘经济研究的思考

大国间的争霸与兴衰更替,无疑不受地缘政治和地缘经济法则的支配。冷战结束以来,随着中国等新兴国家经济的迅速发展,国际权力结构正发生深刻重组,世界正在进入新的地缘政治、地缘经济大时代,中国和平发展亟需地缘政治学、地缘经济学的理论支撑。本文在总结世界地缘政治和地缘经济发展态势的基础上,从思想渊源上论述了地理学在地缘政治学和地缘经济学发展中的基础性作用,剖析了当前中国地理学在地缘政治地缘经济领域研究中的不足,进而提出了地理学界如何加强地缘政治地缘经济研究的几点建议。     

THE HISTORY AND STATUS OF GEOPOLITICS AND THE GEOPOLITICAL STRATEGIES OF CHINA

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地缘环境系统模拟研究探讨

地缘环境系统研究是认知国际地缘政治态势、保障国家战略顺利实施的科学支撑。近年来,在国际地缘战略调整、经济全球化和技术进步等要素的驱动下,地缘环境系统研究的内涵与外延都发生了巨大变化。分析地缘环境要素的变化,预估地缘环境演变趋势并提出应对风险的措施,既是地缘环境研究的重要内容,也是实施国家战略的重要科技保障。本文回顾了地缘环境系统研究的学科发展历程及国内外的最新进展,系统梳理了地缘环境系统模拟的理论和方法体系。研究表明,地缘环境系统是一个复杂的非线性系统,具有层次性、地域性、综合性等特征。针对特定的地缘问题,可以采取分层次、合理概化、数值逼近等方法进行系统模拟。同时,大数据技术逐渐成为地缘环境系统研究的新范式,通过异构数据挖掘、机器学习、高性能计算等方法,可望发现纷繁复杂的地缘环境系统中蕴含的要素关联关系,预测与干涉系统演化过程,为地缘环境问题的解决提供新的技术手段。     

日本海外旅游业的动态研究及其对我国的启示

战后日本由于国民经济的高速发展、国民收入的提高、日元的升值、人们价值观的改变和余暇时间的增加，以及日本政府为减少国际贸易摩擦而采取的推动海外旅游的政策，促进了日本人海外旅游的高速发展。作为今后的旅游发展政策，日本政府除了大力发展国内旅游外，重点是吸引外国游客到日本旅游，并继续鼓励日本人到海外旅游，特别是同各国友好城市之间的相互交流，推进日本的国际化进程。     

日本德川幕府时期的地缘环境分析——兼论国别地缘环境分析框架

自“地缘政治”一词创立以来,西方地缘政治学已经历了120年的发展,期间诞生了众多理论流派,然而其影响却在日渐衰落。这在一定程度上源于其发展思路以及由此导致对现实研究不足所致。中国地缘政治研究起步较晚,长期以借鉴西方地缘政治理论为主,直到2010年掀起以“地缘环境”研究为主题的复兴议程。地缘环境研究将地理知识和政治融入地缘政治分析过程中,这一研究方向与思路不仅有助于地缘政治研究的变革与创新,还有助于推进“一带一路”倡议和人类命运共同体建设,具有重要理论与现实意义。本文基于前期对有关地缘环境概念、构成、结构、模拟等内容的研究进展,提出了国别地缘环境研究思路、跨学科融合路径和分析框架,并以德川幕府时期的日本为例,展现了跨学科融合研究视角下日本受国内外多要素、长时间、多尺度综合作用所导致的地缘环境演变,对其中涉及到的日本对内、对外的政策制定与变化也从其面临的地缘环境视角进行了解读。最后为深化对当前国别地缘环境研究提出了三条建议。     

中美及中国周边海洋国家地缘政治关系时空演化

利用全球新闻媒体数据库对中美及中国周边海洋国家的事件关注度和事件影响力进行测算,刻画中美及中国周边海洋国家间地缘政治关系的阶段演变特征,通过社会网络分析法探索不同阶段中美及中国周边海洋国家地缘政治关系的网络特征及热点国家.研究发现:①1991-2018年中美及中国周边海洋国家地缘政治关系演变划分2个阶段:第一阶段(19...     

'Just sustainability': the emerging discourse of environmental justice in Britain?

Environmental justice is both a vocabulary for political opportunity, mobilization and action, and a policy principle to guide public decision making. It emerged initially in the US, and more recently in the UK, as a new vocabulary underpinning action by community organizations campaigning against environmental injustices. However, as the environmental justice discourse has matured, it has become increasingly evident that it should play a role in the wider agendas for sustainable development and social inclusion. The links between sustainability and environmental justice are becoming clearer and more widely understood in the UK by NGOs and government alike, and it is the potential synergy between these two discourses which is the focus of this paper. This paper argues that the concept of 'just sustainability' provides a discourse for policymakers and activists, which brings together the key dimensions of both environmental justice and sustainable development.