Diaspora strategies in the sending states of Southeast Asia: Rights,skills and questions of value

Over the past decade there has been a surge of academic and policy interest in the contributions of transnational migrants in furthering national development objectives in their ‘home’ countries. These approaches tend to be bifurcated into two distinct categories: (1) ‘diaspora strategies’ that target the participation in national development objectives of sought‐after elite, high‐skilled migrants and (2) migration‐as‐development strategies, which focus on facilitating and channeling the economic and social remittances of nonelite, low‐skilled migrants. Although these broad categorizations have never been entirely adequate in capturing the complexity of international migration flows, a conceptual division between them persists, with very real consequences for state policies in migrant‐sending countries in Southeast Asia. This paper explores the separation between diaspora strategies and migration‐as‐development frameworks through a focus on rights and skills, and questions of relative labour value. I argue that while diaspora strategies and migration‐as‐development frameworks cannot simply be merged, the academic separation between them should be challenged and more in‐depth theoretical engagement should be encouraged. I further suggest that migration policy makers should strive to evaluate their migration policies to address the increasing complexities of contemporary migration.     

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF HYDROPOLITICS: THE GEOGRAPHICAL SCALES OF WATER AND SECURITY IN THE INDUS BASIN*

ABSTRACT. The article identifies important themes and future research directions for analyzing water and conflict dynamics at the subnational scale in the Indus Basin. A historical overview of water development in the Indus Basin suggests that the water‐security nexus was always a salient theme in the minds of water developers, even in the nineteenth century. Conflicts over contemporary large‐scale water‐development projects in the Indian and Pakistani parts of the Indus Basin are reviewed. Engineers' single‐minded focus on megaprojects, to the neglect of the wider set of values that societies attach to water resources in the eastern and western Indus Basin are largely to blame for continuing low‐grade conflict in the basin. A review of local‐level conflicts over water supply and sanitation in Karachi and the distribution of irrigation water in Pakistani Punjab illustrates the critical role of governance and differential social power relations in accentuating conflict. The article argues against neo‐Malthusian assumptions about the inevitability of conflict over water because of its future absolute scarcity. Instead, the article seeks to demonstrate that, despite evidence suggesting that international armed conflict over water does not exist, the potential for political instability over domestic water distribution and development issues is real. The question of whether conflict at the subnational scale will culminate in violence will depend on how water‐resources institutions in the basin behave.     

Migration‐as‐development repackaged? The globalizing imperative of the Singaporean state's diaspora strategies

Diaspora strategizing is becoming an important field of public policy in countries that seek to advance development through migration. Diaspora strategies present a way of complicating interpretations of development, as countries that represent different levels of development seek to mobilize diaspora networks nonetheless. While Singapore's diaspora strategies prioritize diaspora knowledge networks, it bears the stamp of the country's colonial history, postcolonial priorities and developmental state apparatus. We suggest that these factors result in a distinctive diaspora strategy characterized by a centralized and technocratic approach more similar to diaspora strategies found in emerging economies. Earlier research on diaspora strategies has been concerned with assessing successes or failures, but a more critical scholarship that questions the logics and outcomes of diaspora strategizing is emerging. We bring the Singaporean case into dialogue with four such critiques: first, the intellectual foundations of diaspora‐centred development; second, the hyperextension of state infrastructure for emigration and stakeholder alignment; third, the selective mobilization of the idea of diaspora; and fourth, the evidence base upon which diaspora‐centred development is predicated. Our goal is to further critical interrogation into the logics, efficacy and sustainability of diaspora strategizing. We situate our analyses in the international literature on diaspora knowledge mobilization.     

Ethno‐Territoriality and Ethnic Conflict

Ethno‐territoriality is an increasingly invoked term by those doing research on nationalism and ethnic conflict. Despite this, it has not been subject to detailed definitional and conceptual examination. This article develops a conceptual framework for thinking about ethno‐territoriality and ethnic conflict. It begins by briefly describing the relationship between territoriality, state sovereignty, and nationalist politics. I then provide a definition of ethno‐territoriality and outline a four‐part typology of the key elements of ethno‐territorial practice. Following this I discuss the role that ethno‐territoriality plays in the making of ethnic conflict.     

Mountain Biking in the Manawatu Region: Participants, Perceptions, and Management Dimensions

The increase in the number of mountain bikers world‐wide has raised a number of issues associated with impacts and appropriate management strategies. Studies in the USA, UK and New Zealand have indicated a growing concern with environmental impacts, demonstrated attitudes of other recreationalists to mountain bikers and identified a number of management issues. This article presents the findings from field research conducted during the southern summer of 1997/8. The research was carried out in association with the Palmerston North City Council (PNCC) and the Manawatu Mountain Bike Club. The aims of the research were to investigate the demographics of mountain bikers and related management issues. Key findings of the field research were that: access to mountain biking opportunities was a problem; information provision was poor; there was conflict between user groups; there was a lack of agreement on whether there should be dedicated or multi‐use tracks. The article discusses how the research findings have been used to assist in the creation of an outdoor recreation and tourism strategy for Palmerston North. A model for managing recreation /tourism activities is also suggested.     

Integration or Self-Sufficiency? Peninsular Malaysia and the Rice Trade in Southeast Asia

The issue of food self-sufficiency has recently come under scrutiny as global trade liberalisation has been in conflict with national development strategies founded on protection and encouragement of staple food production. This paper examines the case of rice in Peninsular Malaysia from an historical perspective. It traces the evolution of self-sufficiency strategies from colonial times tothe present and notes how and why such policies have been questioned both in the past and in recent years. It then suggests that a more integrated Southeast Asian regional rice economy may evolve as support for national self-sufficiency wanes and, in this, there may be much to learn from the colonial era when such a regional rice trade thrived.     

Australian state government road funding policies in the 1970s and 1980s

Australian road funding in the 1970s and 1980s has been characterised by conflict between federal and state governments over control of spending. This has influenced both total funds made available and spending priorities between national, arterial and local roads. Having the constitutional responsibility for roads, state governments have refused to discuss priorities with the Commonwealth, have not stated policies, have given the Australian government as little public acknowledgement as possible, have spent money on markedly different priorities, and yet are changing their means of determining priorities to reflect changing community wishes. Interestingly, at neither state nor federal level is there evidence of pursuance of a single, dominant policy objective.     

The Institutional Architecture of Extractive Reserves in Rondônia, Brazil

This paper examines the evolution and development of institutions involved in the establishment of extractive reserves. It focuses on the different actors, organizations and projects concerned with extractive reserves in Rondônia in western Amazonia, Brazil. Extractive reserves are widely seen as a means of integrating forest conservation and local socio-economic development. As such, they have gained the support of the international environmental movement, multilateral and state development organizations, and grassroots community and producer organizations. These institutions represent a vast array of diverse interests which range from conservation of biodiversity, economic and social cohesion, and regional and national development. Whilst the various actors and institutions claim mutual and complementary interests, they form shifting alliances and coalitions in order to further their interests. This paper maps these institutions and interests and describes how alliances have been formed and broken, and how this has contributed to the currently observed implementation of extractive reserves. The paper argues that extractive reserves are constrained by the dissonance or misfit in discourses and underlying worldviews, reflected by the aims and objectives, of the institutions which promote, oppose and lose and benefit from their implementation. This misfit is overcome, in part, by alliances formed between the different institutions, and in part by the creation of new institutions and projects.     

Closing the Gap Between Researchers and Policymakers: Lessons from the History of Fisheries Management in the United States

Increases in sea surface temperature have led to distributional changes in many commercially exploited fish species. These changes have already led to conflict over mackerel fisheries, arising from demand for fair resource apportionment and desire to manage the fishery sustainably. In order to develop adaptable management strategies for complex ocean fishery systems, policymakers and researchers must move beyond a reactive producer–consumer relationship to develop proactive, supportive collaborations. The history of U.S. national fisheries management is presented as an example of this transition. Building cooperative capacity over the last two centuries has lead to a more systematic understanding of the oceans, and has led to success in reducing the number of overfished stocks. Similar development of cooperation between policymakers and researchers on an international scale may be the surest way to develop management strategies adaptable enough to withstand challenges posed by future climate change.     

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.     

Neoliberalism, climate governance and the scalar politics of EU emissions trading

The neoliberalisation of international climate policy through devices such as emissions trading has led to a significant restructuring of governance competencies between supranational, national and non-state actors. This article explores the implications of this restructuring for the scalar politics of climate governance by examining the European Union emissions trading scheme, the world's largest multi-state carbon-trading scheme. Analysis shows that although the member states were prepared to accede to a common legal framework for emissions trading, its implementation has been characterised by intense sovereignty disputes over emissions allowances. The article concludes by reflecting on the scalar politics of international climate governance in an unevenly regulated and competitive world.     

Aborigines and land in Northern Australian development

Northern Australian development has been based primarily on land ownership and the commercial exploitation of resources. Aborigines, lacking legally recognised tenure to land, have largely been excluded from this process. Their priorities for development have rarely been considered. Aboriginal land rights legislation theoretically transforms this situation. But, because of external pressures, Aboriginal land owners have to a large extent continued to follow the conventional development path through the establishment of enterprises. Factors such as physical isolation, lack of management expertise and the demands for reciprocity in Aboriginal society have inhibited the success of such enterprises. This paper, focusing primarily on Aboriginal pastoral operations, discusses these issues and illustrates some alternative forms of land and resource use which suggest that Aboriginal development priorities have a stronger social orientation.     

Navigating an inconvenient difference in antagonistic contexts: Doing fieldwork in Aceh,Indonesia

This article discusses the challenges of doing fieldwork in an antagonistic context. Such an antagonistic context can emerge when a non‐Muslim researcher conducts fieldwork in a Muslim country that experiences humanitarian intervention and reconstruction efforts after natural disasters or the end of conflict. This particular setting can create a conflation of Islamic and Western (liberal) values while a political settlement is about to be consolidated. The case discussed in this article is located in the province of Aceh in Indonesia, where a political settlement of a conflict which lasted more than 25 years converged with a massive influx of foreign aid for disaster mitigation vis‐à‐vis the desire to apply Islamic Law (shari'a). The combined effects of reconstruction efforts and political and armed conflict, forged a problematic co‐presence of Western and non‐Western values, which affected the relations between the (Western) researcher and (non‐Western) researched by creating tension or even hostility between the two. The article argues that methodological dilemmas stemming from such a setting require a relational approach drawing on empathy, sameness and the personal, thereby taking into account emotions when conducting fieldwork. For this particular case I suggest an approach based on teamwork crossing cultures and gender among the research team members. To deal with constraints in such a setting, the article proposes to contextualize any potential difference between the researcher and researched, and to explore various relational elements drawing on psychoanalytical approaches and/or cross‐cultural positioning through and in teamwork.     

中国极化区发展及功能评估研究

通过中国极化区发展及功能模式分析方法探讨,构建识别极化区功能的指标体系,采用极化区发展分析及功能评估方法,对中国已经批准建设的、具有极化区发展潜力的16个规划发展区进行了发展状况分析及功能定量评估,并提出发挥重要竞争力和影响力、承担重要引领带动功能、具有重要门户和枢纽地位、支撑落后地区快速发展等4类适合中国区域发展现状的极化区发展功能模式。     

长江经济带战略的背景及创新发展的地理学解读

国务院发布的《关于依托黄金水道推动长江经济带发展的指导意见》,是中央政府首次系统提出的覆盖长江流域的经济社会发展规划与建设意见,不仅是沿岸省市社会经济创新发展的指导文件,更是站在国家高度,应对国际政治经济格局发生深刻变化和国内社会经济发展面临重大历史转折的形势而提出的国家创新发展战略。本文首先分析了长江经济带战略提出的历史和经济地理背景,解读了国务院指导意见中有关长江经济带战略定位和发展重点,认为该战略的提出既是中国区域经济发展的历史必然,也是国家进入经济新常态的现实需要,具有鲜明的时代性、国际性。文章回顾了以往地理学界在长江资源开发和保护、社会经济发展中作出的重要贡献,提出了要进一步加强对长江经济带资源潜力和环境容量、空间结构调整、经济与环境协调发展等科学问题的研究。     

The scramble for the Waste Lands: Tracking colonial legacies,counterinsurgency and international investment through the lens of land laws in Burma/Myanmar

This article traces the revenue category and legal concept of the Waste Land in Burma/Myanmar from its original application by the British colonial apparatus in the nineteenth century, to its later use in tandem with Burma Army counterinsurgent tactics starting in the 1960s, and finally to the 2012 land laws and current issues in international investment. This adaptation of colonial ideas about territorialization in the context of an ongoing civil war offers a new angle for understanding the relationship between military tactics and the political economy of conflict and counterinsurgent strategies which crucially depended on giving local militias—both government and nongovernment—high degrees of autonomy. The recent government changes, including the more civilian representation in parliament and its shift to engage with Western economies, raise questions regarding the future of the military, as well as local autonomy and the rural peasantry's access to land. As increasing numbers of international investors are poised to enter the Myanmar market, this article will revisit notions of land use and appropriation, and finally the role of the army and its changing relationship with Waste Lands.