Regionalism in Central Asia: New Geopolitics, Old Regional Order

Behind the rhetoric of regional cooperation, the Central Asian states have been embroiled with increasing frequency in conflicts among themselves, including trade wars, border disputes and disagreements over the management and use of water and energy resources. Far from engendering a new regional order in Central Asia, the events of September 11, 2001 and the subsequent basing of US troops in the region have served to entrench pre-existing patterns of regional cooperation, while highlighting the obstacles that have beset the regionalization process there since the mid-1990s. While all five Central Asian states have been attempting to use the renewed rivalry between Russia and the United States, which is being played out in the Central Asian region, to maximize their strategic and economic benefits, the formation of the United States–Uzbekistan strategic partnership has increased the resolve of the other Central Asian states (Turkmenistan excepted) to balance Uzbekistan's preponderance by enthusiastically pursuing regional projects involving Russia and, to a lesser extent, China. This regional dynamic has resulted in the steady gravitation of the centre of regionalism in Central Asia to the north from a nominal Tashkent–Astana axis to a more stable Astana–Moscow one, with possible repercussions for the poorer states of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The article examines the major constraints on regionalism in Central Asia, considering in particular the ways in which the personalist, non-democratic regimes of Central Asia have obstructed state–centric 'top–down' regionalism as well as informal regionalist processes 'from below'.     

区域史研究的考察——以中亚史为例

地区史或区域史的研究应是世界史研究的一部分。在全球化的今天,世界历史的研究,既应是跨区域跨文化的综合整体研究,同时又是各个地区或区域研究的深入。在地区史研究中,地理上的划分是否能够提供一个满意体系,一直存有疑窦,而中亚史研究中更突出地存在着地理划分的争议。事实上,每一部有关中亚的著作都有自己的地理界定,不同的界定又体现出作者对自己所研究的地区的理解和期望,划定地域界限,就是确定、分析、重建,从而选择和采纳某种历史哲学。国内中亚区域史的研究,起步较晚,很大程度地受语言因素的制约,因此,在一些具体研究领域上,与国际最高水准还有不同程度的差距。     

Exploring Personal History: A Case Study of an Italian Immigrant Woman

This paper is a study of an Italian immigrant woman based oninterviews conducted with my grandmother in 1996. Her testimonyalongside traditional conceptual frameworks shows that interpretingoral history is a work that must be handled with care. Withthis article, I have tried to give validity and context to theuniqueness of the experience of an Italian-American immigrantwoman. I also argue against Virignia Yans-McLaughlin's interpretationof interviews and the basis of her comparative work. FollowingJürgen Habermas's call for self-knowledge in Knowledgeand Human Interests (1968), this paper is a work of personaldiscovery as well as an attempt to liberate and take responsibilityfor the ways in which interpretation of immigrant testimonycan enforce presuppositions and suppress careful and interesteddialogue about gender difference and ethnic diversity.     

Regionalism, Regional Structures and Security Management in Central Asia

The security dimension of regionalism and regional structures in Central Asia and Azerbaijan has been limited by Russia's influence as a regional hegemon, aswell as by various other constraints specific to the region and the local states. Moreover, as a peripheral zone in the world system, Central Eurasia has not shown much evidence of regionalization as a process. But in response to the proximity of hegemonic power the smaller states have tried to adopt bandwagoning and balancing strategies in regional formats. Although their fixation on 'regime security' has encouraged them to accommodate Russia through CIS structures, this is changing as new bilateral security relationships develop with the United States. The Russian-sponsored Collective Security Treaty Organization is unable to address the most serious challenges for regional security management in Central Asia. Yet the local states have been unable on their own to establish a regional security consensus and to institutionalize cooperation on that basis. The diffuse GUUAM grouping (Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova) has not offered a basis for selfsustaining regional security cooperation. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has created a venue to engage China in the security dialogue on Central Asia, particularly over counterterrorism, but has otherwise failed to tackle security challenges among and within the Central Asian states. Overall, the current focus of these states and their sponsors on bilateral relations to provide security assistance continues to displace security-related regionalism.     

区域史研究理论与近代东北区域史研究

从上世纪80年代以来,随着地方史研究的复兴,区域性历史研究也日益繁荣,并逐渐成为中国近代史学研究的一个新取向.在这种形势下,近代东北史的研究也逐渐突破了传统的地方史研究模式,兴起了一股区域史研究的浪潮.然而,在近代东北区域史研究中也存在着概念混淆、理论研究不足、研究方法单一等问题,只有解决好这些关键性的问题,才能更好地推动近代东北区域史研究工作向纵深方向发展.     

敬播史学成就探微

敬播以他的博学多识,参与了唐初许多重要史学活动,为唐前期史学发展做出不可磨灭的贡献。他身在史馆,能秉笔直书,所纂高祖、太宗《实录》,被誉为"信而详"、"颇多详直",从而赢得"陈寿之流"的美誉。他对史书的编纂体例有独到见解,纂修《晋书》有发凡起例之功。他参与纂修隋史,为唐初"鉴戒史学"的发展做出了贡献。由他编纂的《西域图志》,在边疆史地及中外交通史研究上有重要价值。刘知几对其史学成就给予了高度评价,称他具有"良史"之才。     

Exploring the Conditions for Cooperative Energy Governance: A Comparative Study of Two Asian Pipelines

A central but often unasked question in political and sociological scholarship concerns the conditions that precipitate cooperation on large-scale transnational energy projects, especially among “developing” and “emerging” economies. Using the example of two multi-billion dollar pipeline systems – the Trans-ASEAN Natural Gas Pipeline (TAGP) Network in Southeast Asia and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline in the Caspian Sea – this article explores the factors that result in successfully completed projects, and those that lead to conflict and contention. After drawing from extensive research interviews and field research, the article approaches politics and technology through the lens of science and technology studies. It relies on the interdisciplinary concepts of “relevant social group” and “technological frame” to identify coalitions of actors associated with each pipeline project. The paper then investigates the interests and motivations behind these groups to illuminate the challenges facing the TAGP and those that accelerated the completion of the BTC. The paper concludes by offering some thoughts on the diverse elements needed to incentivise cross-border energy infrastructure, and what these may mean for energy and public policy scholars.     

现代中国地方主义的政治解读

“地方主义”一词,20世纪20年代初在中国出现,其后至今被较多地使用;中外关于地方主义的阐释也颇为复杂;依据这些阐释和对“地方主义”一词的解构,结合现代中国的实际,地方主义的内涵应是地方心理观念、地方政治意识、地方政治行为及其思维和行为模式这样一个结构。关于现代中国地方主义的界定,国家的基本法律制度和政治制度应是基本标准;中央政策是一个重要标准;国家的政治传统是一个参照的方面。界定的立足点应在于：它必须出自地方,是地方的意识和行为;它的基本方面是地方对中央;它的本质是地方同中央争权夺利。     

对全球化和区域主义的历史考察

今天,由经济和信息通讯所带来的全球化的范围和深度是前所未有的。全球化具有把各个社会向一个方向归并的倾向,但其结果却不会把各个社会汇聚一处,因为尽管各种文化之间会相互融合,但各个社会的文化发展是按照平行线的方向独立进行的。全球化的发展会给每个地区带来地域经济的新变化,所以,创造地域独立性与传统价值观相协调的新文化,是今天所有国家共同面对的任务。     

东盟与海湾合作委员会区域一体化的比较研究

本文简要评述了现行的区域一体化理论,并从历史的角度分别论述了东盟区域一体化和海湾合作委员会区域一体化的基本进程,在此基础上比较和评述了这两个组织的区域一体化的异同。笔者认为,西方流行的区域一体化理论大多不能指导或解释发展中国家的区域一体化,需要进行理论创新。东盟和海湾合作委员会的一体化实践表明,在一体化的过程中,具有文化和政治方面的相似性的成员国并不一定比差异较大的成员国更优越,除非是成员国之间已建立了一套行为规范和冲突管理机制。发展中国家之间只有先进行或同时进行政治或安全的一体化,其经济一体化才可能顺利或持久。     

关于日本现代史断代的比较与思考

中日两国不同时期的历史学者对日本现代史的断代是有区别的,在此基础上构建起来的现代史体系也各有特征。就断代的依据来看,两国学者都不是依据纯粹的社会形态更替来划分,而是依据体制的转换来划分,这些都是对传统划分方法的某种修正和发展。本文通过对中日两国历史学者编著的日本现代史的比较分析,提出了自己的若干看法。1.把现在的政治经济制度或体制回溯到重大变动的时点即为现代的上限,由于对追溯历史渊源理解的不同,历史学家对现代史开端的确定会出现差异。2.历史发展存在着互动性,因此世界史和国别史的断代是有密切联系的,两者在大的历史发展阶段上能找到吻合点或者接近点;同时,由于不同国家的历史和国情的特殊性以及外来影响传播的速度与距离存在差别,世界史和国别史的断代出现时间差异也是正常的。3.五种社会形态的发展公式所依据的是生产关系,现代化理论中"农耕→工业"的单线发展观所依据的是生产力。在历史的断代和分期中,两者不是水火不相容的,而是可以相互参照和包容的。     

近代福建鼠疫的传播与社会影响

鼠疫是近代福建的主要传染病,它在福建的传播有其明显的地域特色。鼠疫导致了福建人口锐减,严重破坏了当地经济的发展,影响了社会的稳定,给民众心理留下了难以抚平的创伤。关注这段灾难史,有助于加强对鼠疫等公众传染病的防范意识。     

历史人类学与近代区域社会史研究

近年来,“历史人类学”这一名词开始频繁在国内报刊出现,既有学者大力倡导,亦有学者相当怀疑。①近代史学界对此亦有回应。桑兵《从眼光向下回到历史现场———社会学人类学对近代中国史学的影响》,从学术史的维度,系统地回顾了20世纪社会学和人类学在中国史学发展进程中的影响,其间对历史学引入人类学视野与方法有诸多分析与讨论②,张佩国则直接使用“历史人类学”一词,出版了他的专著《近代江南乡村地权的历史人类学研究》③。那么,什么是历史人类学?历史人类学在中国史学界的出现对近代史研究可能意味着什么?回答这些问题,对于新世纪的中…