全球气候变化与能源安全的地缘政治

当前,气候变化问题已经远远超出科学研究的范畴,它影响到经济运行模式,乃至于利益格局和地缘关系,并成为国际关系中的焦点。中国正处于工业化的中期,在国际经济社会发展转型、世界地缘格局重组关键期,应对气候变化也是中国发展阶段的内在需求。随着气候变化对各国国内竞争力,以及重要地缘战略地区影响加大,气候变化和地缘政治呈现出复杂多元的关系,气候变化时代的地缘政治逐渐影响到各国战略和外交。本文围绕利益和博弈来阐述气候变化带来的地缘政治新特征,并在此基础上提出相关政策建议：国际气候谈判中,权衡利益,处理好复杂的大国关系;加强风险研判,积极与美国和欧盟开展能源、气候变化方面的合作;依托“一带一路”,确保我国能源安全,并积极参与全球能源治理;在“南南合作”方面,创新机制,大幅增加投入力度。最后,提出地理学界在气候变化与能源安全方面应加强的研究方向。     

中东地缘政治新格局与伊朗核危机

2011年以来,冲突和动荡席卷整个中东地区。中东地缘动荡呈现"串珠式"和"多点开花"态势,伊斯兰势力逐渐崛起成为中东地缘格局中的新"增长极",中东的地缘政治重心的"双核"格局逐渐成型,"三角格局"态势渐趋明朗化。中东地缘新形势客观上为伊朗扩大地区影响、推进核计划提供了契机,但其地缘形势同时也面临诸多挑战。目前,中东地缘政治变局并没成为美国武力解决伊朗核危机的最佳突破口,制裁、渗透和威慑将是美国对伊朗战略的首选。伊朗核危机再次陷入"紧张—缓和—再紧张—再缓和"的"无限死循环"可能性极大。     

地缘位势视角下中美俄与伊朗的地缘关系解析

在厘清空间视角下权力作用机制的基础上,构建地缘位势模型,刻画“9·11”事件后中美俄在伊朗的地缘位势演化特征,结合国别研究尝试解读中美俄与伊朗的地缘关系,主要得出以下结论：1）美国在伊朗的地缘位势在负向高位区间频繁波动,俄罗斯的位势在正向中位区间小幅波动,美国和俄罗斯的波动呈现“强－强”机制,中国的位势变化则与其较为剥离,呈“S”型曲线大幅增长。2）中美俄在伊朗的地缘位势是地理位置、地缘外交、地缘经济和地缘文化各要素共同作用的结果,其中地理位置是基底要素,地缘外交是决定要素,地缘经济是驱动要素,地缘文化是协作要素。3）中伊的地缘战略空间互补性重叠,中国综合国力的增强和双边经贸依赖的加深提升着地缘关系的强度和密度;美伊的地缘关系偶有缓和但总体较差,呈现出的波动性是国内政治生态和国际政治环境下的双重应答;俄伊地缘关系紧密缘于传统地理空间邻近和地缘战略考量,两国间存在着由经济利益、政治选择、安全保障等各种因素构成的稳定却复杂的地缘关系网络。     

中国能源安全与南海开发

二十一世纪是海洋经济时代。随着我国经济的发展,能源问题日益突出。由于我国陆上石油资源日益枯竭,海上石油开发成为我国能源的战略重点。南海陆架新生代地层厚约2000～3000m。第三纪沉积有海相、陆相及海陆交互相,具有良好的生油和储油岩系。南海扼海上要冲-马六甲海峡,南海航线是我国能源的海上生命线,具有不可替代的战略地位。我国南海资源和海域主权遭受到极大的侵犯。发展深海油气的勘探和开发技术,开发我国的南海深水石油资源,维护我国海域主权已经刻不容缓。优先进行南海石油开发是破解我国石油能源困局的必选战略。     

试论美国的中亚能源战略

由于中亚优越的地理位置、丰富的能源战略资源，使其成为大国争夺的目标。本文通过阐述中亚能源状况及潜在经济利益，分析美国对中亚能源战略实施的各种手段，预测其发展及影响。     

能源地缘政治与能源权力研究

围绕油气资源的权力博弈仍然是当今世界最主要的能源权力争夺,但不同时代的能源权力的属性有所不同,能源安全与能源战略内涵也有所不同。论文在系统梳理能源地缘政治基础上,提出了能源权力的概念,并从地缘政治格局、能源安全观、能源网络和全球能源治理4个方面进行了具体阐述。研究认为：① 以能源分布、产销空间变化及其规律性总结是传统能源地缘政治研究的核心,油气资源地理分布的不平衡性是能源权力产生的最直接因素。② 从石油危机时代到未来新能源时代,能源安全观的不同是影响国际能源地缘政治权力变化的重要因素。③ 能源的商品属性和地缘属性决定了能源贸易不仅是经济行为,其空间的流动与国际政治关系密切。生产与消费的分离使得油气二次分配过程中的贸易控制和通道控制对能源权力重构产生重要影响。④ 全球能源权力巨变和复杂错综的能源权力网络将引发全球能源治理体系的新秩序。权力的主体从国家、国际组织、跨国公司转变为全球能源网络中利益共同体,能源治理的主题从一国之利益走向了全球能源权力的再分配过程。展望未来,如何在理论上建构新时代的能源权力的理论体系,深化气候变化和新能源等因素影响下的世界能源权力的演变、地理空间与权力的相互依赖关系、权力秩序的重构及其效应、全球能源治理机制及其治理模式等研究,对科学认知和研判世界能源形势与能源战略的演化具有重要的意义,也是能源地缘政治学研究的重要方向性命题。     

尺度政治视角下的地缘能源安全评价方法及应用

通过引入政治地理学的尺度政治、国际关系学的安全理论和能源安全理论,考虑到能源争夺中的尺度转换、地缘环境中的地缘关系和地缘结构以及安全的三个属性等因素,重新构建了地缘能源安全评价模型,并基于此模型对1995-2010 年俄罗斯太平洋石油管道建设中的中国地缘石油能源安全进行了定量评价。结果表明：① 从时间上来看,中国在俄罗斯太平洋石油管道建设中的地缘石油安全指数不断攀升,中国在此石油能源尺度政治争夺中越来越处于不利地位,考虑到今后韩国、美国等国家的参与,竞争将更加激烈;② 从地缘关系上看,中日两国能源竞争指数趋于减少,但是两国从俄罗斯进口能源竞争加剧;③ 俄罗斯能源出口战略长期以来一直偏重欧洲,但是已经出现转向的趋势,其能源出口战略指数已显著下降;④ 中国石油消费的比重稳定和中俄之间友好关系在一定程度上缓解了中国地缘石油能源安全;⑤ 从地缘结构上来看,中国经济增长带动下的整体综合国力的增强,将会加剧东北亚地区的地缘石油竞争。     

中哈能源消费结构与能源安全关联性对比分析

能源产业作为丝绸之路经济带建设的首推工程,影响丝绸之路经济带建设的整体进程。文章以能源消费结构为切入点,构建能源供应安全和使用安全的指标体系,运用回归方法对比分析了1992年~2013年中哈两国能源消费结构与能源安全的关联性。研究结果表明:两国传统的能源消费结构对能源安全的贡献呈现逐渐下降的趋势;两国能源安全均呈现"波动上升-波动下降"演进特征;两国能源安全形势都较为严峻,能源使用安全产生的环境负面效应凸显并逐渐放大。鉴于此,文章以两国能源合作为基础,从区域一体化层面审视并探究两国能源安全合作的深化路径。     

能源转型的地缘政治研究

在全球能源转型的大背景下,能源转型的地缘政治问题日益成为世界能源地理及政治学研究的前沿和热点领域。不同阶段的能源内涵、属性及地缘政治特征存在明显差异,在可再生能源时代,能源地缘政治更加多元化、复杂化和综合化。本文对比了不同阶段能源的地缘政治特征,梳理了可再生能源地缘政治的研究历程。研究认为：全球能源转型将加剧地缘政治格局的重构,改变传统能源安全主导的地缘安全与冲突关系,改变不同国家在全球能源地缘政治中的角色,重塑传统油气时代所形成的国家能源关系,同时也将凸显新能源技术和关键稀缺材料对能源转型地缘政治的影响,并引发新的能源网络安全问题。研究发现虽然各学科的学者对能源转型的地缘政治进行了广泛关注,但是当前关于能源转型的地缘政治影响,仍存在诸多不确定性,在理论框架、技术方法、研究视角等方面仍存在发展和完善的空间。展望未来,能源转型的地缘政治研究亟待加强学科理论研究,推动能源转型地缘政治的科学计量研究转向,加强服务学科发展和国家能源安全重大决策的应用研究,探究能源转型对传统能源地缘政治重构的地理效应、能源转型地缘政治的作用机理和能源转型地缘政治对能源安全的影响。同时要紧密结合气候变化、“双碳”目标、全球能源治理等国际学术前沿来开展能源转型的地缘政治研究,以丰富世界能源地理的研究视角。     

简论21世纪初美国中东战略中的美国-伊朗关系

美国对伊朗战略是美国中东战略的重要组成部分。伊朗的政治、经济、社会体制的变化将引起中东政治格局的重大变化。9.11事件以后,美国中东战略的焦点转变为“反恐”:军事上以打击恐怖主义组织和活动、占领中东的战略要地为目标,在中东大力传播美国的“民主、人权”意识,在重建伊拉克、阿富汗、推进中东和平路线图的口号下“改造中东”,经济上控制中东的石油天然气资源,扩张美国在中东的市场,实施“美国-中东自由贸易区”构想,弱化中东和平进程的意义,千方百计使美国的国家利益最大化。美国-伊朗关系,始终围绕着两国国家利益这一核心展开。本文简略地分析了21世纪初期以来美国-伊朗关系的特征及其变化、影响当今美国-伊朗关系的重大障碍,预测了美国的伊朗政策走势,结论是:21世纪初期美国-伊朗关系根本改善的可能性不大。     

U.S. department of the interior U.S. geological survey: Fractal lognormal percentage analysis of the U.S. geological survey’s 1995 national assessment of conventional oil and gas resources

The U.S. Geological Survey periodically makes appraisals of the oil and gas resources of the Nation. In its 1995 National Assessment the onshore areas and adjoining State waters of the Nation were assessed. As part of the 1995 National Assessment, 274 conventional oil plays and 239 conventional nonassociated-gas plays were assessed. The two datasets of estimates studied herein are the following: (1) the mean, undiscovered, technically recoverable oil resources estimated for each of the 274 conventional oil plays, and (2) the mean, undiscovered, technically recoverable gas resources estimated for each of the 239 conventional nonassociatedgas plays. It was found that the two populations of petroleum estimates are both distributed approximately as lognormal distributions. Fractal lognormal percentage theory is developed and applied to the two populations of petroleum estimates. In both cases the theoretical percentages of total resources using the lognormal distribution are extremely close to the empirical percentages from the oil and nonassociated-gas data. For example, 20% of the 274 oil plays account for 73.05% of the total oil resources of the plays if the lognormal distribution is used, or for 75.52% if the data is used; 20% of the 239 nonassociated-gas plays account for 76.32% of the total nonassociated-gas resources of the plays if the lognormal distribution is used, or for 78.87% if the data is used     

Racial and Social Diversity and U.S. Presidential Election Regions

Abstract

This article examines political regionalism in presidential elections from 1892 to 2000 by analyzing the percentage of the popular vote received by Democratic candidates for president using statistical methods and spatial analysis. The results indicate three long-term and stable political regions in presidential elections and a history of spatially dependent voting. The article then proposes four fluid political regions based on social diversity and recent political behavior and integrates the role of the Electoral College. This provides a framework in which political geography can integrate political regionalism, racial and social diversity, and the electoral vote in studying presidential elections.     

Racial and Social Diversity and U.S. Presidential Election Regions

This article examines political regionalism in presidential elections from 1892 to 2000 by analyzing the percentage of the popular vote received by Democratic candidates for president using statistical methods and spatial analysis. The results indicate three long‐term and stable political regions in presidential elections and a history of spatially dependent voting. The article then proposes four fluid political regions based on social diversity and recent political behavior and integrates the role of the Electoral College. This provides a framework in which political geography can integrate political regionalism, racial and social diversity, and the electoral vote in studying presidential elections.     

Interpreting What is Rural and Urban for Western U.S. Counties

The paper examines how rural and urban are interpreted and applied to counties in eleven states in the western United States. After reviewing various conceptual approaches, we turn to a three‐part analysis of county commissioners' perceptions and census data to identify characteristics associated with urban‐ness and rurality. The analysis involves comparing qualitative and quantitative survey and interview data, using a multiple regression analysis to correlate census variables with commissioners' perceptions of their home counties, and using cluster analysis techniques on census variables to identify patterns and unevenness in rurality and urbanness. Three characteristics mentioned by the widest range of commissioners and found to be statistically significant in the regression analysis were population concentration, total population, and the agricultural land base. Population concentration, in particular, was identified most frequently by interviewees as the single most important variable in characterizing an urban county and had the most meaningful contribution to predicting commissioners' perceptions of their home counties in the regression analysis. The cluster analysis identified five county types: largest urban centers, growing regional hubs, high growth rural, dispersed rural, and stable rural agriculture. These county types were widely distributed, reflecting the spatial unevenness of macroscale processes operating across eleven western states.     

Interpreting What is Rural and Urban for Western U.S. Counties

The paper examines how rural and urban are interpreted and applied to counties in eleven states in the western United States. After reviewing various conceptual approaches, we turn to a three-part analysis of county commissioners' perceptions and census data to identify characteristics associated with urban-ness and rurality. The analysis involves comparing qualitative and quantitative survey and interview data, using a multiple regression analysis to correlate census variables with commissioners' perceptions of their home counties, and using cluster analysis techniques on census variables to identify patterns and unevenness in rurality and urbanness. Three characteristics mentioned by the widest range of commissioners and found to be statistically significant in the regression analysis were population concentration, total population, and the agricultural land base. Population concentration, in particular, was identified most frequently by interviewees as the single most important variable in characterizing an urban county and had the most meaningful contribution to predicting commissioners' perceptions of their home counties in the regression analysis. The cluster analysis identified five county types: largest urban centers, growing regional hubs, high growth rural, dispersed rural, and stable rural agriculture. These county types were widely distributed, reflecting the spatial unevenness of macroscale processes operating across eleven western states.     

The evolution of the spatial-temporal patterns of global energy security since the 1990s

Journal of Geographical Sciences - In this study, we developed an energy security evaluation model (ESEM) from three dimensions, energy supply-transport security, safety of energy utilization, and...     

Immigrant Profiles of U.S. Urban Areas and Agents of Resettlement*

This article targets the role of intermediaries, such as refugee resettlement programs, in altering the geography of the foreign‐born. It argues that, under such intermediaries, destination choice within the United States is largely determined not by economic mechanisms but instead by information‐related factors such as friction of distance, migration chains, labor procurement, and resettlement intermediaries. Metropolitan statistical area (MSA) destinations are grouped into four profiles based on their mix of foreign‐born. The result is sets of MSAs differentiated by the era of immigration, immigrant origins, geographic pattern, and place characteristics that draw migrants. To evaluate intermediary impacts, monies allocated to states by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, refugee resettlement by state, and refugee movements to MSAs are expressed as a Refugee Resettlement Index and linked to MSA profiles. We conclude that although refugees constitute only a portion of total immigration, their effects are disproportionately large in terms of changing the foreign‐born profiles of MSAs and other communities, changing the fabric of society, and changing the geography of the foreign‐born in all its ramifications.     

Reasons for Returning and Not Returning to Rural U.S. Communities

Population loss persists in nonmetropolitan America, especially in isolated counties with limited natural amenities. Communities in these counties experience high levels of outmigration among high school graduates, but low in-migration is more important in distinguishing declining from growing nonmetropolitan counties, and return migration is a much more prominent component of in-migration to these locationally disadvantaged areas. This research uses a multisited, interview-based methodology to understand the factors that influence decisions of people in their late twenties to late forties to move back to rural communities and the barriers that keep others from making such moves. The life course segment considered here captures a critical “settling down” period when career and family obligations overlap and return migration peaks. Interviews at high school reunions, the only venues where stayers, return migrants, and nonreturn migrants are found together, show that limited rural employment opportunities are barriers for nonreturnees. Others intent on returning find ways to secure or create employment but are primarily influenced to move home by family concerns. Connections to the larger social and physical environment of the community are important as well. Interviews affirm that factors affecting migration decisions work in combination, and ties to both people and place are critical for understanding rural return migration.