Issue indivisibility and territorial claims*

Early research on contentious issues in world politics suggested that there is an important distinction between largely tangible and largely intangible issues. Tangible issues are thought to be easier to resolve, while intangible issues can fester for long periods of time through fruitless negotiations and repeated armed conflict. Research on territorial issues has suggested that many territorial claims are driven by both tangible and intangible concerns, though, which complicates the analysis of issue tangibility. The authors argue that territorial issues with greater intangible salience (e.g. historical possessions, important homelands, sacred sites, identity ties) should be harder to resolve peacefully and should produce more frequent and severe militarized conflict. Empirical analyses of 191 territorial claims in the Americas and Western Europe (1816–2001) provide mixed support for these expectations. Territorial claims with high intangible salience are significantly more likely to experience militarized disputes and wars. Surprisingly, though, states are much more likely to strike peaceful agreements with their adversaries over territories that are valued for intangible reasons. *This research was supported by National Science Foundation grants SES-0079421 and SES-0214447.     

Changing conflict resolution institutions in the Ethiopian pastoral commons: the role of armed confrontation in rule-making

Pastoralist access and use of common grazing resources in the Horn of Africa increasingly include armed confrontation over diminishing resources and reduced access. This comes about as traditional customary institutions (sets of rules) for commons management become compromised due to the presence of outside influences and actors which significantly change both resource availability, and conceptions about who is subject to traditional rules governing commons – particularly rules associated with exclusion. At the same time a combination of local knowledge regarding what happens to open access commons (degradation), a reluctance to give up control of commons and associated ways of life, and armed conflict as a viable alternative for exclusion rules, provide for combative situations and large costs. While a great deal of valuable work has been accomplished regarding the derivation of effective institutions to better manage commons, situations of armed conflict can seem particularly distant from effective rule-making, because few institutions can endure the stresses of armed conflict. Recent developments in Ethiopia however suggest an unexpected proximity between armed confrontation and the prospect for commons management rule-making. With examples from the Afar, Somali and Karamojong Cluster pastoralists, this paper examines the ingredients for rule-making in combative commons situations. Specific coincident forms of state recognition, donor flexibility, perceptions of the cost of conflict, and the local to international reaction to these, are examined for their utility and limitations in the provision of a facilitating context for institution derivation for commons management.     

流域水资源冲突网上谈判支持系统分析与设计

对于目前普遍存在的流域水资源冲突问题，将谈判支持系统引入到流域水资源谈判中来，建立一种面向解决流域水资源冲突的网上谈判支持系统；运用软件工程的方法和理论对该系统进行了系统分析与框架设计。流域水资源冲突网上谈判支持系统是一种利用先进的计算机和信息技术，辅助谈判中的一方或各方公正合理地解决争议的计算机辅助决策支持系统，其为缓解和解决存在的或是潜在的水资源冲突提供了一种新的思路和方法。并且丰富了流域水资源集成管理的理论与应用手段。     

基于层次格网索引的图幅接边处等高线高程错误识别和自动修正研究

等高线蕴含的历史高程信息可有效延长地形研究的时间序列,有利于深入挖掘地形变化长期规律,然而,图幅接边处的高程属性错误降低了等高线的数据质量,制约着等高线高程信息的实际应用。针对这一问题,该文提出一种基于层次格网索引的图幅接边处等高线高程错误识别和自动修正方法:首先,将层次格网索引与方向性二邻域算法相结合,以减少数据重复计算;然后,利用等高线空间位置标签及快速排序算法构建强空间位置关系,解决图幅接边处等高线匹配的准确性问题;最后,以高程冲突位点为驱动因子进行逻辑判断,实现等高线高程错误的识别及自动修正。实验结果表明:该方法运算效率较未进行效率优化时提高了203倍,接边处等高线高程错误识别与修正精度的最大值分别达97.71%和91.40%;相较于现有方法,该方法在精度和效率方面表现更佳,对区域性错误和变形等高线具有更高的适用性。     

An Eruv for St Ives? Religion,identity, place and conflict on the Sydney north shore

Religious identity, when marked by physical changes to urban landscapes, has been a cause of tension and conflict in many cities. In the Sydney suburb of St Ives, an attempt to create an eruv, a symbolic and only partly physical boundary around orthodox Jewish space, was vigorously opposed and eventually defeated through the planning system. The religious and physical significance of the eruv resulted in diverse rationales of opposition, centred on the physical and environmental impact, the conceptual nature of boundaries and the role of religion and ‘modernity’ in everyday suburban life. The place of an eruv was opposed with reference to spatial imaginaries of the nation, the suburb and the secular public, as religion and worship intersected with the politics of urban citizenship and belonging. Each of these spatial imaginaries was constructed by opponents in such a way as to deny a place for an eruv in St Ives, and reinforced through the application of planning instruments which eventually refused permission for an eruv. To many residents, public space was seen to be at risk, raising complex questions over amenity, the politics and perception of difference and what is in or out of place. The planning framework adjudicating such development proposals must transcend such imaginaries in the production of public spaces in multicultural cities.     

制图知识库驱动的数据库自动制图方法

随着测绘地理信息技术的快速发展,地图制图工艺发生了重大变化,基于地理空间数据库的自动化制图成为主流。尽管基于GIS(geographic information system)软件配图方式的自动制图技术逐渐成熟,并且在一定程度上满足了电子地图快速发布的需求,但地图制图领域中的高质量地图制图工艺和技术方法的改进仍然进展缓慢,人工依然承担大量重复的低效率的制图工作。本方法以制图知识库为驱动、基于制图软件平台开发自动制图系统,在保持软件原有制图工艺特点和功能不被改变的前提下,对专业制图软件的制图功能进行扩展,实现了制图软件中GIS数据库的全要素的自动化制图,减少地图制图工作量,实现高质量地图制图的自动化,极大提高制图效率。     

基于事件数据的南海周边主要国家地缘关系演化分析

结合研究期内热点地缘事件,利用GDELT数据库中新闻事件数、平均语调值及戈登斯坦分值分析南海周边主要国家地缘关系时序演化,并根据合作和冲突事件探讨地缘关系网络结构特征。结果表明：1）1997—2020年,美国提出“重返亚太”和“南海仲裁案”的结束成为整个时期内的两大标志性事件,分别以2009和2016年为时间节点,将南海周边主要国家地缘关系划分为特征差异显著的3个阶段。2）在第一阶段（1997—2008年）,各国保持稳定关注,和平发展成为主旋律,地缘关系相对缓和平稳;到第二阶段（2009—2015年）,稳定与不安因素此消彼长,地缘关系动荡,消极态势初显;进入第三阶段（2016—2020年）,各国间仍保持高位关注,但争端对抗充斥不断,地缘关系亟需维护缓和。3）中国在前个两阶段主要扮演合作与冲突事件接受国角色,从第三阶段起发起的合作事件明显增多,节点加权出入度显著增大;而中国、美国、越南和菲律宾在网络结构中相对活跃,尤其在冲突平均网络中经历了“中―美―越”到“中―菲―美―越”再到“中―菲―美”小团体组合过程;印度尼西亚和马来西亚在区域中与他国联系有所下降;文莱以接受合作或冲突事件为主,与他国地缘关系稳定。     

The politics of imaginaries and bioenergy sub-niches in the emerging Northeast U.S. bioenergy economy

As part of a transition to lower carbon energy systems, bioenergy development is often assumed to follow a uniform pathway. Yet the design, organization, and politics of bioenergy production in specific regional contexts may be contested. This study examines contestation within an emerging perennial crop bioenergy sector in the U.S. Northeast. Synthesizing conceptual contributions from the multi-level perspective on the significance of niches and sub-niches in sustainability transitions and from science and technology studies on the material and moral implications of sociotechnical imaginaries and object conflicts, this paper analyzes the politics of bioenergy sub-niche imaginaries. It identifies two main bioenergy sub-niches centered on (1) regional production and (2) community energy. Examining proposed and current production of perennial energy crops on marginal land, the study draws on 42 semi-structured interviews with bioenergy actors (e.g., scientists, industry representatives, policymakers, farmers/landowners) and secondary documents. The two bioenergy sub-niche imaginaries revealed political contestations around scale of operations, control and beneficiaries, and about definitions and uses of marginal land relative to livelihoods and community. This study highlights the potency of rival imaginaries within a developing sociotechnical niche and implications for sustainability transitions. Tracing the contours and emphases of, as well as conflicts between, bioenergy sub-niche imaginaries can clarify which pathways for transition to a lower carbon energy future could garner political and public support. The paper concludes by considering how disagreements between sub-niche actors could lead to productive mutual learning and the possibility of forging solutions contributing to more robust and equitable sustainability transitions.     

Connections or conflict? A social and economic analysis of the interconnections between the professional fishing industry,recreational fishing and marine tourism in coastal communities in NSW,Australia

Resource conflict is a common feature of coastal management. This conflict is often managed by using spatial planning tools to segregate uses, with access decisions made through a comparison of the economic costs and benefits of the competing sectors. These comparisons rarely include an in-depth analysis of the extent or nature of the conflict. One commonly experienced form of resource conflict in coastal communities involves professional fishing, recreational fishing and broader coastal tourism. In New South Wales, Australia the professional fishing industry is often seen as being in conflict with recreational fishing and tourism, and there are frequent calls to close areas to professional fishing, arguing that this will provide improved economic benefits to local communities. This research examined the relationships between the three sectors using economic valuations, qualitative interviews and a large-scale representative questionnaire of the general public. The results revealed highly interconnected and mutually supportive relationships, with professional fishing providing a range of services that benefit both tourism and recreational fishing. These results suggest that spatial management exercises that seek to segregate or remove one sector from an area, may be counterproductive to the interests of all these groups. Relying on economic valuations of each sector as if they stand alone is insufficient to adequately understand their roles in local communities. Resource allocation decisions should be based on evaluations that consider the interconnections between sectors, and consider whether negotiated sharing of resources may provide greater community benefits than excluding certain groups of users.