印度领衔下的南亚地缘政治特点及其对中国的启示

南亚作为哈·麦金德"陆心说"中"世界岛"和斯皮克曼"陆缘说"中欧亚大陆边缘地带的重要组成部分,其地缘政治地位因印度作为重要大国的出现而上升到突出位置并成为独立的地缘政治区。印度作为南亚力量中心,其在与南亚邻国互动过程中使得南亚地缘政治显现出印度领衔下的吸引力与排斥力互动的统一,现实利益需求与不确定性并存,地缘政治主体间合作与心存互疑的矛盾心理和南亚地缘政治走势受印度影响等特点。而导致这些特点的原因既是南亚地理环境作用的结果,也与印度地缘政治思想,南亚国家间权力结构以及印度抵制外部势力渗透等有关。最后提出对中国经略南亚的3点启示。     

多尺度视角下的印度地缘环境解析及对中国的启示

在中国和印度共同崛起的背景下,随着中国“向西开放”和“一带一路”倡议的推进,中国与印度的地缘竞争日益激烈。加强对印度地缘环境解构有助于中国更好地识别地缘风险和制定有效的地缘策略。本文从地理环境、国家的地缘政治想象、地缘关系环境三个方面,从全球、区域和国家内部三个尺度来解构印度的地缘环境,并论证了印度如何在其地缘环境的基础上制定并实施本国的地缘战略：（1）在全球尺度上,凭借印度洋的地缘优势,印度建构了以印度洋为基础的全球地缘战略,追求“有声有色”的大国地位;（2）在区域尺度上,印度凭借地理结构、体量、权力和影响力的优势,构建了邻国优先和防止域外大国干涉的区域战略,谋求南亚领导地位;（3）在国家内部尺度上,印度的国家实力被内部的多样性（包括种姓制度、宗教矛盾、地方主义、党派斗争等）所肢解,如何加强统一的国家认同是印度面临的极大挑战。根据印度地缘环境的特点和中印的权力对比情况,从中国国家利益的角度出发,在南亚和印度洋地区,中国作为权力弱势方,应该加强与印度的利益共同体建构、加强区域内合作、区域互联互通和一体化建设、增强区域内的话语权和合法性;在中印边境区,中国作为权力的强势方,应该加强边境管理、防止域外势力干涉。     

海上丝路背景下南亚地缘格局的解构与再建构

印巴战略平衡是南亚地区格局形成的基础,是影响中国海上丝路地缘安全最重要的变量之一。进入21世纪以来,由于印度和巴基斯坦在经济和军事尤其是核力量方面持续不平衡增长以及美国南亚战略发生转向,持续多年的南亚地区均势走向瓦解,以中美印大三角为核心的弹性均势体系正逐步取代过去中印巴和美印巴并行的双三角体系。一个缺少制衡且向西方倾斜的印度,可能会给中国印度洋海上油路安全以及西南边疆稳定带来更多不确定性;巴基斯坦的战略处境更加困难,其作为中国与穆斯林世界桥梁、屏蔽极端势力向新疆渗透的能力会有所削弱。未来中国应积极参与南亚地区再平衡建设,在利用经济合作增进地区互信的同时,还应强化对巴基斯坦的经济和军事支持,并在南亚次大陆周边寻找更多战略立足点,谨防在西太平洋和北印度洋两个方向被美日印联合压制,力求把海上丝路沿线地缘安全风险降到最小。     

The Cenozoic and Late Cretaceous evolution of the Indian Ocean Basin: uncertainties in the reconstructed positions of the Indian, African and Antarctic plates

Abstract Reconstructions of the relative positions of the Indian, African, and Antarctic plates and their uncertainties are given for the times of selected magnetic anomalies that could be identified on adjacent pairs of these plates. Among the most certain reconstructions are those for the Antarctic and African plates, which can be determined directly from recently published magnetic anomalies from both sides of the Southwest Indian Ridge. As Patriat and his colleagues reported, there was an important change in direction and a decrease in rate of separation between Africa and Antarctica between the times of anomalies 33 and 20. India moved rapidly away from both Africa and Antarctica in the Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary periods, but slowed markedly near the time of anomaly 20 (≅ 45 Myr). The positions of the Indian plate with respect to the others are poorly constrained between the times of anomaly 5 (≅ 10 Myr) and anomaly 23 (≅ 54 Myr), but using the reconstructions of the African and Antarctic plates, the uncertainties can be reduced. Despite the relatively large uncertainties, the positions of anomalies 5, 6, and 13 on the Antarctic and Indian plates apparently cannot be described by the same parameters that describe the history of separation of Australia and Antarctica. Therefore, Stein and Okal's contention that Australia and India lie on separate plates appears to be valid not only for the present, but for the last 35 Myr.     

印度海上战略通道的新动向、动因及影响

作为印度洋沿岸的国家,随着2015年《确保海洋安全：海洋安全战略》的出台,印度进一步拓展了海上战略通道,主要体现在三个方面：重视南太平洋海上战略通道、拓展大西洋地区海上战略通道、重视北极地区这一新航道的价值。究其原因,印度追求大国地位、参与全球海洋治理的需要以及保障能源进口多元化是其拓展海上战略通道的主要动因。印度对于海上战略通道的拓展一方面将加剧大国对于海上战略通道的争夺态势,另一方面,将有助于国际社会共同建设维护海上战略通道安全的机制。     

印度旱灾和水灾的区域变化

The most important climatological feature of the South Asian region is the occurrence of monsoons.With increasing concerns about climate change,the need to understand the nature and variability of such climatic conditions and to evaluate possible future changes becomes increasingly important.This paper deals with long-term above and below normal monsoon precipitation causing prolong meteorological droughts and floods in India.Five regions across India comprising variable climates were selected for the study.Apart from long-term trends for individual regions,long-term trends were also calculated for the Indian region as a whole.The results show that intra-region variability for monsoon precipitation is large and there are increasing numbers of meteorological summer droughts.Meteorological monsoon floods were found to have negative long-term trends everywhere except in the peninsular Indian region.The results overall suggest generic conclusions concerning the region-wide long-term trend of severity of monsoon droughts and floods in India and their spatial variability.     

'You Gotta Love This City': The Whitlams and inner Sydney

This analysis of music in cultural geography, in the context of the inner Sydney-based band, The Whitlams, traces the creative links between sounds, 'scenes' and places. Based in Newtown, The Whitlams are associated with political values, evident in the band's name, and social values tied to and opposed to urban changes, such as gentrification, where community is threatened. The band's lyrics emanate from their experiences, challenging commercialisation of city life at different scales and reflecting the anomie of city living, but defending its virtues, whilst also fostering place stereotypes. The audience was similarly inner-city based until the band's recent commercial success, which has challenged The Whitlams' identity and radicalism, and resulted in mainstream appropriation. Though The Whitlams continue to reaffirm their local identity, and local audiences have remained, the popularity and commodification of their music has challenged concepts of shared meaning, the link between bands and their fans, and the connection between music and its place of origin. The Whitlams' music nevertheless remains a means of evoking and sharing a sense of place.     

HUMBOLDT'S NODES AND MODES OF INTERDISCIPLINARY ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE IN THE ANDEAN WORLD*

ABSTRACT. Alexander von Humboldt engaged in a staggering array of diverse experiences in the Andes and adjoining lowlands of northwestern South America between 1801 and 1803. Yet examination of Humboldt's diaries, letters, and published works shows how his principal activities in the Andes centered on three interests: mining and geological landscapes; communications and cartography; and use and distribution of the quinine‐yielding cinchona trees. Each node represented a pragmatic concern dealing with environmental resources in the context of the Andes. To pursue these interests in his Andean field studies, Humboldt relied on varied cultural interactions and vast social networks for knowledge exchange, in addition to extensive textual comparisons. These modes of inquiry dovetailed with his pragmatic interests and his open‐ended intellectual curiosity. Fertile combinations in his Andean studies provided the foundation and main testing ground for Humboldt's fused nature‐culture approach as well as his contributions to early geography and interdisciplinary environmental science.     

Indians in England: why did they emigrate?

The period of highest migration from India to England was 1955-1975. In 1981, the Bradford metropolitan district had about 13,000 Indians. 46% were Punjabis and 43.3% were from Gujarat. Using a 10% sample of Indian households in the Bradford district in 1984 and secondary information, this study examines the impact of the following reasons on decision to migrate: 1) push factors in the area of origin, 2) the 1947 partition of India, 3) strong economic attraction of the destination, and 4) "cultural ethos" and "status competition" among the migrant communities in the areas of emigration. Findings show that 1) Punjab and Gujarat do not have high poverty levels nor very high population densities; 2) the partition of India did not influence migration decisions; 3) the economic well-being of returning migrants and the high conversion rate of English currency did attract migrants to England (39% of surveyed migrants emigrated to England for purely economic reasons); and 4) 60% of the Punjabis and over 50% of the Gujaratis state that local status competition had a significant influence on their decisions to migrate. Thus, the economic attraction of England and the status competition among local families and the community were the dominant factors in migration decision making.     

印度世界遗产的类型与分布特征

根据联合国教科文组织世界遗产中心网提供的资料和其他以关于印度史地为主的文献,按类型归纳印度世界遗产的地域与分布特征。截止2013年,印度入选的世界遗产包括24项文化遗产和6项自然遗产,无属于混合类型的双重遗产。世界自然遗产具有自然地理的整体性和差异性特征,而文化遗产的宗教特征比较普遍。自然遗产主要分布于印度次大陆的边缘地区;而文化遗产主要以历史上比较强大的国家政权和外来势力的统治中心、海陆交通枢纽和环境适宜为分布取向;其中,各类宗教性遗产呈南北向地域分异。这些特征是在印度地缘环境的相对独立性、地形和炎热多雨的气候,以及悠久但发展极不平衡且以分裂为主的历史、外来势力、经济发展和本土文化基底的共同影响下形成的。     

Sacred cows and thumping drums: claiming territory as 'zones of tradition' in British India

Theories that explain the origins of communal violence in South Asia often point to the discursive creation of the perception of distinct and adversarial Hindu and Muslim identity categories at the beginning of the twentieth century. This paper argues that these theories overemphasize imagined social differences without adequately considering how these boundaries were territorialized in everyday life through performative place-making practices. In order to fill this gap, 'zones of tradition', areas where religious or cultural practices are reified into official tradition, are suggested as one way of conceptualizing how group-making discourses are linked to places. As examples, the cow protection movement that campaigned to institute local bans on the slaughter of cattle and conflicts over Hindu processions playing music as they passed in front of mosques are considered. As these practices were contested, it is argued that zones of tradition were established across British India symbolically and tangibly dividing the territory before it was officially partitioned.     

The Delhi Bias: knowledge hegemony of India's slum governance

Slum eradication has been a concern in South Asian cities since the colonial times. Legislation and policies are being framed both out of national desires and international strategies. However, very little is being studied on how these legislation and policies come into being, specifically geography's influence in their formulation. The article analyses parliamentary debates from India (Rajya Sabha, 1953–2014), and outlines the process of historical, political, and institutional dominance of Delhi. It shows that the slum legislation and policies in India are formulated by abstracting cases from the Delhi slums. This knowledge hegemony of Delhi is discussed within the growing consideration towards urban theory's southern shift, which puts the Southern cities (megacities) as underdogs. The paper argues that at a regional level, these megacities exert the same hegemony that the southern theory wants to avoid. The results argue towards broadening the southern theory and ordinary city discussions.     

新疆文化遗址时空演变与人地关系

运用Arc GIS空间分析、耦合分析方法研究新疆432处文化遗址的时空演变及人地关系。结果表明:(1)新疆文化遗址以集聚模式分布于4个遗址集聚带、12个组群,呈现出"空间组群、线(带)状分布"的空间格局,其空间分布格局主要受控于自然环境;(2)不同历史时期中央政权经略西域策略的改变使得新疆的经济和政治重心发生转移,文化遗址分布重心轨迹呈"北→南→北"演变的规律,其时间上的演变较多地受人文因素的控制;(3)从旧石器时代至近现代,新疆文化遗址的变化经历了萌芽、发展、上升、繁荣、下降、巅峰6个阶段,遗址的盛衰演化与历史时期自然气候环境的变化、人文要素的兴衰等有良好的耦合关系。在人地关系地域系统内部及系统与外界环境之间的各个要素组合优良时期,政权强盛,屯垦发展,丝路繁荣,气候适宜,文化遗址增长迅猛(如西汉、隋唐)。     

中国周边地缘影响力的建模与测算——以南亚为例

当今国际社会已经进入了大规模实力转移的时代,如何顺应当代国际关系中实力结构变化的趋势,科学合理地测度一国在周边地缘环境中的影响力,成为国家外交政策和周边战略研究的重要内容。本文基于权力理论、硬实力和软实力理论、相互依赖理论,在突出主导因素和可操作原则的基础上,构建了国家地缘影响力的指标体系,定量测算了近10 年来中国在南亚各国和南亚地区的地缘影响力。结果表明：①2012 年中国与南亚七国的综合实力比较,按照差距从小到大排序,分别为印度、巴基斯坦、孟加拉国、斯里兰卡、尼泊尔、不丹和马尔代夫。说明国家本身的地缘重量,尤其是硬实力依旧是综合实力的重要支撑。②近10 年来,中国在南亚地区的地缘影响力呈逐年上升趋势。其中,中国在不丹、孟加拉国和尼泊尔的地缘影响力最大,而在斯里兰卡和马尔代夫最小。表明地缘影响力受国家间地理位置的制约,呈距离衰减的空间分布。③国家的实力和地缘影响力并非成正比关系。国家实力强大并不能代表其对外的影响力就强大。④无论在政策制度、国家形象还是文化交流方面,中国与南亚各国间的软实力差距不大。     

Monitoring the Effects of Biological Control of Water Hyacinths Using Remotely Sensed Data: A Case Study of Bangalore, India

Native to South America, water hyacinths were brought to India as ornamental plants and are now considered as one of the most dreaded aquatic weeds in the country. This plant has infested more than 200,000 ha of fresh water bodies in the country. The Indian Institute of Horticultural Research resorted to biological methods to control these weeds and received favorable results, however, these weeds tend to reinfest the fresh water bodies. For an effective weed control, the infestation needs to be monitored and remotely sensed data have been recommended for this purpose. In this research, SPOT multitemporal data have been used to monitor the infestation of water hyacinths in Bangalore, India. Using Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), this study delineated areas of clearing and new infestation in the fresh water tanks in the study area. This study concluded that host specific weevils can eradicate water hyacinths in large areas but that reinfestation remains an ongoing problem.     

“噪”起来：广州音乐现场的文化地理研究

将广州的音乐现场看作一个承载制造“噪音”的场所,以6个现场音乐酒吧为具体案例,通过定性分析的方法探讨音乐现场如何连结不同人和不同的地方,以及如何被建构成一个“动态”的空间和“越轨”的地方。研究结果表明：音乐现场作为一种动态的物质文化空间,由经营者、组织者、音乐人和乐迷通过社会实践共同建构而成,成为所有音乐演出参与者之间的关系及其与不同地理尺度之间关系的节点;音乐现场作为一个“越轨”的地方,将音乐现场的“局内人”和“局外人”区分。上述结论回应和丰富了现有音乐地理研究的内容和成果,并对中国超越“看的方式”进行文化地理研究提供了新的切入点。     

Rural-urban spatial inequality in water and sanitation facilities in India: A cross-sectional study from household to national level

A major obstacle for the developing nations to meeting the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG: 2015–2030) for WaSH (Water-Sanitation-Hygiene) is the appalling rural-urban inequality in infrastructural facilities that lead to regional/spatial differences in livelihood. In India, where about 70% of the population dwells in villages, rural-urban inequality can pose steep challenges to the authorities in their motto of ensuring improved water and sanitation for all. Cognizant of the need, the present study aimed to map nationwide rural-urban spatial inequalities for various WaSH infrastructural facilities along a four-tier administrative hierarchy: household-district-state-national. Cross-sectional data for district-wise percentages of rural and urban households having access to (i) latrine facility within premises, (ii) treated tap water, (iii) improved water source, and (iv) at-home water source were obtained from the Census of India database for 2011. A variety of metrices (Bray-Curtis Dissimilarity Index (BCDI), Gini coefficient, Moran’I, LISA) were used to characterize underlying spatial patterns. Rural-urban spatial inequality in 'treated tap water' appeared as the most spatially variable WaSH parameter across the nation. Results indicated that governmental claims of having met the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for ‘improved’ water source require a thorough reappraisal, especially for rural India, as majority of these so called improved sources thrive on groundwater (hand pump+tube well), which is heavily contaminated by co-occurrences of multiple pollutants (fluoride, arsenic, nitrate, salinity), which have grave human health effects, and thus questioning the fundamental premise of 'safe water'. About 54% of the rural households in India rely on groundwater sources as compared to <20% urban households. In addition, about 67% of rural, against about 12% urban, households still ‘indulge’ in open defecation practices, which calls for stringent management actions coupled with strategic awareness campaigns. Rural-urban inequality in WaSH facilities appeared most alarming across the central Indian states of Chattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Overall, spatial heterogeneity in the rural-urban inequality appeared a daunting challenge for the authorities, urging for spatially-optimized policy reforms instead of enacting nationwide uniform policy measures.     

The Council at Work

Abstract

This paper attempts to illustrate certain important concepts in the field of cultural geography through the study of a very popular phenomenon—Rock and Roll music. The roles that the White and Black rural South and various American cities played as culture hearths and centers of culture contact are discussed along with the effects of mass migrations and mass media on American musical tastes and styles. Rock and Roll is looked at from a diffusionist point of view in that throughout its evolution, various places played important parts as “way stations” as certain American musical styles gradually spread from rural southern shacks to New York recording studios.     

Development and population growth: the Indian experience

This paper analyzes the prevailing demographic trends and development processes in India. Data were taken from the World Development Report and the Human Development Reports of South Asia and India, Census of India, and Government of India's Economic Survey. A much slower economic progress and human development was observed in South Asia as compared to those in East Asia. At present, the income levels in East Asia are 27 times higher and have a human development index twice that of South Asia. India had a better economic performance as compared to other countries in South Asia. However, the human deprivations within India continue to hinder the country's emergence as a politico-economic power on the international scene. Investigation of the diversity in population growth and development in India was presented in this paper using indicators such as: average annual population growth; couple protection rate; female literacy; mean age at marriage for females; infrastructural facilities; proportion below poverty line; and the per capita income. Finally, specific suggestions on how to accelerate the fertility transition in the country were enumerated.     

Writing a Successful Fulbright Group Projects Abroad Grant: Voices from a Journey to South Africa

Abstract

The authors share a successful Fulbright Group Projects Abroad grant award. The purpose of the grant was to enhance American educators' experience and knowledge of South Africa, in particular, and sub-Saharan Africa more generally. Toward that end, participants experienced a multifaceted view of South Africa's geographical diversity, both physical and cultural, through visiting three provinces and four major cities. Participants experienced people and places associated with reconciliation, segregation, and creolization, making comparisons with the U.S. historical experience. The program required participants to attend an orientation, participate in predeparture readings and to develop curriculum units that were shared at a national conference.