Mundane diplomacies for the practice of European geopolitics

This paper offers a practice-based account of diplomacy given that diplomats are central to the production and circulation of geopolitics. We contend that there is a changing geography of diplomacy underway from state-centred to “integrative diplomacy”, prompting the need for reorganisation of the modalities that shape and regulate state presence. Such reorganisation brings with it the challenge of fashioning new pathways of diplomatic engagement to counter the disordering of routinized mundane diplomatic practices, alongside new possibilities for diplomatic space to be used by various actors and interests. In sum, the move to integrative diplomacy commands closer academic attention to the contemporary geographies of diplomatic practice, and how these practices are transacted in diverse spatial settings, sites and domains, under conditions of multiple contestation of state authority and legitimacy. Using extensive European empirical materials, we argue that the ways in which diplomats devise, trial, make claims and counter-claims about geopolitical representations are ripe for practice-based analysis. We do this through an exploration of diplomacy’s geographical dimensions, that is, its everyday spaces and places, orderings and transactions and show how practices can go awry in the move to integrative diplomacy.     

Intellectuals and geopolitics: The ‘cultural politicians’ of Central Europe

This paper investigates the role of intellectuals in the production of geopolitical discourses. It analyzes how the cultural capital of humanist credentials and artistic aura functions to authenticate and legitimate geopolitical claims. Drawing empirically from Central Europe and especially Estonia, I argue that intellectuals are central to the production of a particular ‘cultural’ concept of geopolitics - the notion that foreign policy expresses the state’s and the nation’s identity. As cultural capital gives intellectuals a special license to speak about culture, it constitutes an essential component in geopolitical discourses in Central Europe.The paper contributes to Europeanist geography by clarifying the mechanisms through which Central Europe is cast externally and internally as a place particularly imbued with culture and identity - a place whose integration with the EU and NATO represents its cultural ‘return’ to Europe. It takes us beyond the romanticized notion of intellectuals - especially the formerly dissident ones - as ‘speaking truth to power’, and offers a more subtle account of their role as producers of power discourses.Beyond Central Europe, the paper underscores the political and cultural milieu of geopolitical claims and the specific structures of legitimacy through which these claims are justified and normalized. A nuanced understanding of the role of ‘culture’ in geopolitical discourses requires that we closely examine the cultural and moral capital of intellectuals. This would also enable us to better delineate human agency in the production of geopolitics.     

Shortage in the midst of plenty: Labour strategies in four Central and Eastern European cities

Labour shortage was an integral feature of the communist system of economic management and one that seemed most unlikely to persist in the face of systemic transformation. A casual examination of the unemployment rates that have emerged throughout most of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) during the course of the past decade might suggest that this early assumption was correct. However, within the region the aggregate rate of joblessness, as well as the behaviour of national output, mask the fact that certain, major urban centres appear to have weathered well the storms caused by exposure to western markets and stringent fiscal and monetary policies. In these centres transformation has meant, to a greater or lesser degree, industrial modernisation and this begs the question of whether the human capital portfolios of the inherited labour force match up to the requirements of the new environment. This paper examines the meaning of the concept of labour shortage and presents the findings from a survey of employers in four leading cities of three major CEE economies designed to elicit if, and how, manpower requirements are being met in the present climate. The results indicate that, somewhat paradoxically, labour shortage persists in the more flexible markets of the post-communist era and that firms do not expect the situation to change radically in the near future. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Contrasting red bed diagenesis: the southern and northern margin of the Central European Basin

We compare the diagenetic evolution of deeply buried Rotliegend (Permian) red bed sandstones at the southern and northern margin of the Central European Basin (CEB) in Germany. Main target is to evaluate the influence of maturation products from hydrocarbon (HC) source rocks during red bed diagenesis. At the southern margin of the CEB, thick coal-bearing Carboniferous source rocks are omnipresent beneath the Rotliegend. They contain dominantly gas-prone terrigenous organic material and some oil source rocks. Hydrocarbons were generated from Late Carboniferous onwards throughout most of basin subsidence. At the northern margin of the CEB, source rocks are almost absent due to deep erosion of Carboniferous rocks and a low TOC of local Lower Carboniferous relics. Early diagenetic processes are comparable at both basin margins. Significant differences in burial diagenetic evolution are spatially correlated to the occurrence of hydrocarbon source rocks. Burial diagenesis at the southern margin of the CEB is characterized especially by bleaching of red beds, major dissolution events, pervasive illite formation, impregnation of pore surfaces with bitumen, and formation of late Fe-rich cements. Almost none of these features were detected at the northern basin margin. Instead, relatively early cements are preserved down to maximum burial depths. This suggests that major diagenetic mineral reactions in deeply buried red bed sandstones are controlled by the presence or absence of maturing hydrocarbon source rocks.     

Between social and spatial convergence and divergence: an exploration into the political geography of European contact areas

The European continent, the motherland of nationalism, and the part of the world where political borders and different territorial and cultural identities are mostly interrelated, is now facing new challenges regarding how best to represent its numerous interests within one system. With the increase of international integration European countries began to devote greater attention to the development problems of their border areas that had to be helped to undertake certain functions in the international integration process. The fostering of a more balanced regional development also resulted in a strengthening of regional characteristics, which the new model could no longer ignore. Regional characteristics in turn have always been preserved in Europe by persistent historical and cultural elements of ethnic and linguistic variety. Therefore, it is not surprising that the process of European integration based on the new regional development model was accompanied by a parallel process of ethnic or regional awakening of minorities and other local communities. The key question for contemporary European (though of course this is not limited to Europe) political geography is, then, how the process summarised under the twin labels of social convergence and deterritorialisation will effect the persistent maintenance of regional identities and the corresponding divergence of regional spaces. Or, in other words: is the ‘unity in diversity’ European programme ever practicable and exportable on a world-wide scale or are we to be absorbed by a new global ‘melting pot’?     

Petrogenesis and tectonic significance of an early Palaeozoic mafic-intermediate suite of rocks from the Central Tianshan,northwest China

We report petrologic, geochemical, and zircon U?Pb and Hf isotope data from an early Palaeozoic mafic-intermediate suite of rocks in Baluntai, heartland of the Central Tianshan. Analysed major elements of the intermediate rocks show a close affinity to metaluminous I-type granitoids, resembling arc plutons. The mafic rocks display depletions of Nb, Ta, and Ti typical of volcanic arc basalts (VAB). All of the samples fall within the subduction-related field in tectonic discrimination diagrams. Zircons from a granodiorite and a hornblende diorite yield indistinguishable crystallization ages of 475.1 ± 1.7 million years and 473.7 ± 1.6 Ma, indicating an early Palaeozoic magmatic event. Zircons in the mafic rocks yield younger crystallization ages of 427 ± 1 Ma and 426.5 ± 1.4 Ma. Combined with previous published results, our data suggest that the southward subduction of the Palaeo-Tianshan oceanic crust beneath the northern margin of the Tarim block probably began no later than Early Ordovician time and did not end prior to the middle Silurian. Zircons from the granodiorite and hornblende diorite show ?_Hf(t) values of??11.19 to??5.98 and??12.85 to??6.01, respectively, suggesting the reworking of ancient crust. Correspondingly, these zircons yield two T _DM2 age ranges: 2140–1812 Ma and 2241–1812 Ma, probably representing a significant episode of juvenile addition during the assembly of Columbia. In contrast, zircons from the mafic rocks yield ?_Hf(t) values of 3.12–8.91 and 3.19–8.76, corresponding to the T _DM1 ages ranging from 911 to 685 Ma and from 905 to 688 Ma, respectively, suggesting crustal growth in the Central Tianshan microcontinent associated with the initial break-up of Rodinia.     

中亚造山带东段西拉木伦构造带的性质与演化：来自变形和低温热年代学的约束

中亚造山带东段何时与何地关闭,从俯冲到关闭的过程以及随后的陆内演化又经历了什么主要事件,目前还存在不同认识。中亚造山带东段林西地区的蛇绿混杂岩及其周围地区的区域地质调查表明,以杏树洼蛇绿混杂岩和双井片岩为代表的西拉木伦河构造带是一个晚古生代的增生楔,在该混杂岩带中发育了典型的岩块被包裹在基质中的构造。该楔体被中、晚二叠世克德河砾岩所覆盖。增生楔中最早的近东西向构造代表了向南俯冲阶段的变形,随后继续经历向北的逆冲推覆,卷入了中、晚二叠世地层,形成了碰撞期的变形;在晚二叠世末期—三叠纪早期,蛇绿混杂岩以及上覆的克德河砾岩又经历了区域性的强烈的右行韧性剪切,并发生应变分解。晚二叠世区域性的右行韧性剪切在中亚造山带南缘普遍发育,代表了中亚造山带已经全部进入陆内环境。双井片岩也经历了与蛇绿混杂岩类似的变形事件,在增生楔下部经历变质作用,并在碰撞期抬升至地表,晚期为区域性的右行剪切。同时,结合锆石与磷灰石低温热年代学测试表明,双井片岩和蛇绿混杂岩共同经历了中、晚侏罗世源自北侧蒙古-阿霍茨克大洋关闭导致的近南北向挤压、早白垩世期间遍及东亚的区域性伸展以及晚白垩世短暂的构造反转事件。     

Assessment of groundwater quality and contamination problems ascribed to an abandoned uranium mine (Cunha Baixa region,Central Portugal)

The assessment of groundwater quality and its environmental implications in the region of the abandoned Cunha Baixa uranium mine (Central Portugal) was carried out from 1995 to 2004. Shallow groundwater is the major water supply source for irrigation in the neighbourhood of Cunha Baixa village. Water samples from the mine site as well as from private wells were collected in order to identify the mining impact on water composition, the extent of contamination and the seasonal and temporal groundwater quality variations. Some of the sampled private wells contain waters having low pH (<4.5–5) and high values of EC, TDS, SO₄, F, Ca, Mg, Al, Mn, Ni, U, Zn and ²²⁶Ra. The wells located through the ESE–WSE groundwater flow path (1 km down gradient of the mining site) display the most contaminated water. In the summer season, the levels of SO₄, Al, Mn, and U were 50–120 times higher than those registered for uncontaminated waters and exceeded the quality limits for irrigation purposes, presenting soil degradation risks. Nevertheless, this study indicates that groundwater contamination suffered a small decrease from 1999 to 2004. The bioaccumulation of toxic metals such as Al, Mn, and U within the food chain may cause a serious health hazard to the Cunha Baixa village inhabitants.     

Occurrence of an Alaskan-type complex in the Middle Tianshan Massif,Central Asian Orogenic Belt: inferences from petrological and mineralogical studies

The Xiadong mafic–ultramafic complex lies in the central part of the Middle Tianshan Massif (MTM), along the southern margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). This complex is composed of dunite, hornblende (Hbl) clinopyroxenite, hornblendite, and Hbl gabbro. These rocks are characterized by adcumulated textures and variable alteration. Orthopyroxene is an extremely rare mineral in all rock units and plagioclase is absent in dunite and Hbl clinopyroxenite. Hbl, Fe-chromite, and Cr-magnetite are common phases. Olivines have forsterite (Fo) contents ranging from 92.3 to 96.6. Clinopyroxenes are Ca-rich, Ti-poor diopsides, and mostly altered to tremolites or actinolites. Chromites display low TiO₂ and Al₂O₃ contents and high Cr# and Fe²⁺/(Fe²⁺ + Mg) values. Primary and secondary Hbls show wide compositional variations. These petrological and mineralogical features as well as mineral chemistry are comparable to typical Alaskan-type complexes worldwide, which are widely considered to have formed above subduction zones. The chemistry of clinopyroxene and chromite supports an arc plate-tectonic origin for the Xiadong complex. Its confirmation as an Alaskan-type complex implies that the MTM, with Precambrian basement, was probably a continental arc during oceanic plate underflow and further supports the hypothesis of southward subduction of the Palaeozoic Junggar Ocean.     

塔里木和中亚造山带西段二叠纪大火成岩省的两类地幔源区

对塔里木和中亚造山带西段二叠纪玄武质岩石地质、年龄、元素地球化学、同位素组成的系统总结表明,二叠纪火成岩在分布面积、岩石类型(以玄武岩占绝对优势)、活动时间(以275Ma左右为峰期)等方面均与世界典型的大火成岩省一致,将其命名为巴楚大火成岩省(Bachu LIP)。元素和同位素地球化学特征表明,塔里木玄武岩来自长期富集的岩石圈地幔,来源深度为60～80km。塔里木基性岩墙和超镁铁-镁铁杂岩的原始岩浆可能来自软流圈地幔(OIB)部分熔融。中亚造山带西段的玄武岩、基性岩墙和超镁铁-镁铁杂岩主要来自被俯冲带熔体交代的强烈亏损的岩石圈地幔,其中部分地区可能有软流圈物质的加入,如东天山和阿勒泰南缘高Ti系列的玄武质岩石。根据元素和同位素地球化学资料,将巴楚大火成岩省分为2个地幔省(mantledomain),即塔里木省和中亚省。这2个不同地幔省的成矿系列也有显著的差异,塔里木省为钒-钛磁铁矿矿床,而中亚则以铜-镍-(铂族金属)硫化物矿床为主,成矿作用的差异和岩浆地幔源区的差异是完全对应的。综合地质、地球化学和成矿作用,认为巴楚大火成岩省的形成和二叠纪地幔柱密切相关。