Neo‐Colonialism in South–South Relations? The Case of China and North Korea

The past decade has seen the rapid expansion of economic ties between China and North Korea, leading to questions of whether this emerging relationship resembles neo‐colonialism or a more positive form of South–South cooperation. This article argues that China's engagement is driven in the first instance by strategic considerations, namely the maintenance of the geopolitical status quo on the Korean peninsula. However, North Korea has also become increasingly important in terms of Beijing's aims of revitalizing its north‐eastern region, and as such, economic relations are becoming increasingly market‐led. Although this mode of engagement bears similarities with China's engagement elsewhere in the developing world, North Korea's catastrophic economic decline in the 1990s largely preceded the more recent revival of relations with China. We argue therefore that bilateral relations between the two countries cannot usefully be regarded as ‘neo‐colonial’ since North Korea is receiving much needed trade and investment from China within the context of broader international isolation. As such, we suggest that more attention needs to be paid to how geopolitical specificities influence the manner in which South–South cooperation shapes the possibilities of development, and that the dichotomous terrain of the existing debate between optimistic and pessimistic viewpoints is unhelpful.     

Book reviews

THE CAUSES OF WAR. Geoffrey Blainey. Macmillan, London, 1973. 333–14199–7. 278 pp. $9.50.

THE BASES OF INTERNATIONAL ORDER. Alan James (ed.) Oxford U.P., London, 1973. 0–19–215801–5. 218 pp. $10.10.

THE ABERYSTWYTH PAPERS: INTERNATIONAL POLITICS 1919–69. Brian Porter (ed.). Oxford University Press, London, 1972. 019 2151932. 390 pp. $17.10.

THE STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: ESSAYS IN HONOUR OF KENNETH YOUNGER. Roger Morgan fed.). Oxford University Press, London, 1972. 019 214989X. 309 pp. $15.60.

FOREIGN POLICY FOR AUSTRALIA: CHOICES FOR THE SEVENTIES. Australian Institute of Political Science (Proceedings of the 39th Summer School). Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1973. 198 pp. $3.50.

IN THE SPIRIT OF THE RED BANTENG: INDONESIAN COMMUNISTS BETWEEN MOSCOW AND PEKING 1959–65. Antonie C. A. Dake. Mouton & Co., The Hague, 1973. 73–75520. 479 pp.

CANADA'S MARITIME FORCES. C. S. Gray. Wellesley Paper 1, Canadian Institute of International Affairs, Toronto, 1973. 79 pp. $2.00.

CANADIAN MILITARY PROFESSIONAL: THE SEARCH FOR IDENTITY. R. B. Byers and C. S. Gray (eds.). Wellesley Paper 2, Canadian Institute of International Affairs, Toronto, 1973, 84 pp. $2.00.

DEFENCE PERSPECTIVES. Ken Keith (ed.). Price Milburn, Wellington, for the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, 1972. 133 pp. 0–70 55367–4. $NZ2.00.

KOREA AND MANCHURIA BETWEEN RUSSIA AND JAPAN, 1895–1904: THE OBSERVATIONS OF SIR ERNEST SATOW, BRITISH MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY TO JAPAN (1895–1900) AND CHINA (1900–1906). Selected and Edited with a Historical Introduction by George Alexander Lensen. Sophia. University Tokyo in cooperation with The Diplomatic Press, Tallahassee, Florida, 1968. 296 pp. $US12.50.

JAPANESE FOREIGN POLICY ON THE EVE OF THE PACIFIC WAR: A SOVIET VIEW. Leonid N. Kutakov. Edited with a Foreword by George Alexander Lensen. The Diplomatic Press, Tallahassee, Florida, 1972. 241 pp. $US15.00.

PORTRAITS OF THAI POLITICS. Jayanta Kumar Ray. Orient Longman, New Delhi, 1972. 225 pp. RS. 20.

HET EKONOMISCH BELEID IN NEDERLANDSCH‐INDIE, CAPITA SELECTA (Economic Policy in the Netherlands Indies, Selected Subjects), Part I. P. Creutzberg (ed.). Publication No. 5 of the ‘Committee for the Publication of Primary Sources Concerning the History of the Netherlands‐Indies 1900–1942’, Wolters‐Noordhoff, Groningen, The Netherlands, 1972. 756 pp.

MODERNIZATION IN EAST MALAYSIA 1960–1970. James P. Ongkili. Oxford University Press, Kuala Lumpur, 1972. 123 pp. $4.80.

FOCUS ON WEST BENGAL. Shiresh Bhattacharyya (ed.). Samatat Prakashau, Calcutta, 1972. 207 pp. Deluxe Rs. 30.00, Popular Rs. 20.00.     

Refining the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization</Emphasis>: How Plant Fiber Technology Drove Social Complexity During the Preceramic Period

Moseley’s (1975) Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization hypothesis challenges, in one of humanity’s few pristine hearths of civilization, the axiom that agriculture is necessary for the rise of complex societies. We revisit that hypothesis by setting new findings from La Yerba II (7571–6674 Cal bp) and III (6485–5893 Cal bp), Río Ica estuary, alongside the wider archaeological record for the end of the Middle Preceramic Period on the Peruvian coast. The La Yerba record evinces increasing population, sedentism, and “Broad Spectrum Revolution” features, including early horticulture of Phaseolus and Canavalia beans. Yet unlike further north, these changes failed to presage the florescence of monumental civilization during the subsequent Late Preceramic Period. Instead, the south coast saw a profound “archaeological silence.” These contrasting trajectories had little to do with any relative differences in marine resources, but rather to restrictions on the terrestrial resources that determined a society’s capacity to intensify exploitation of those marine resources. We explain this apparent miscarriage of the Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization (MFAC) hypothesis on the south coast of Peru by proposing more explicit links than hitherto, between the detailed technological aspects of marine exploitation using plant fibers to make fishing nets and the emergence of social complexity on the coast of Peru. Rather than because of any significant advantages in quality, it was the potential for increased quantities of production, inherent in the shift from gathered wild Asclepias bast fibers to cultivated cotton, that inadvertently precipitated revolutionary social change. Thereby refined, the MFAC hypothesis duly emerges more persuasive than ever.     

Book reviews

L'avenir des villes — The Future of Cities. Marc Bonneville (Ed.), Lyon Programme Pluriannuel en Sciences Humaines Rhônes‐Alpes, 1993, 176 pp., 100FF, ISBN 2–909604–03–9.

Spatial Policy in a Divided Nation. Richard T. Harrison and Mark Hart (Eds), London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, with the Regional Studies Association, London, Regional Policy and Development Series 2, 1993, 304 pp., £25.00, ISBN 1–85302–103–2.

Les régions qui gagnent. Georges Benko and Alain Lipietz (Eds), Paris: Presses Unwersitaires de France, 1992, 424 pp..

Rebuilding the City: Property‐led Urban Regeneration. P. Healey, S. HDavoudi, S. Tavsanoglu, M. O'Toole and D. Usher (Eds), London: E & F Spon, 1992, 320 pp., £30.00, ISBN 0 419 17280 7 (hbk).

The Embedded Firm: On the Socio‐economics of Industrial Networks. Gernot Grabher (Ed.), Routledge, 1993, 306 pp., ISBN 0–415–07374‐X.

Inner City Regeneration: The Demise of Regional and Local Government. N. Lewis, Buckingham: Open University Press, 1992, £6.99, ISBN 0335086328.     

Geochemical sourcing of rock specimens and stone artifacts from Nihoa and Necker Islands,Hawai'i

We report geochemical analysis of seven rock specimens and six stone artifacts from Nihoa and Necker Islands, Hawai'i. The analyzed rock specimens exhibit chemistry consistent with published data sets and establish a major element distinction between Nihoa and Necker. Their trace element data indicate that the analyzed rocks and artifacts are local in origin and they reliably discriminate from sources on Kaua'i. These preliminary results support Emory's thesis that early (archaic) Hawaiian colonists on Nihoa and Necker relied on their local basaltic stone to manufacture stone tools, containers, and other portable objects.     

The geography of unsheltered homelessness in the city: Evidence from “311” calls in New York

We provide the first detailed evidence on the distribution of unsheltered homelessness within the city. We rely on “311” call data reporting unsheltered homeless individuals to New York City authorities, based on evidence that the distribution of calls reflects their actual locations. Centrality dominates an otherwise important role of median income in explaining variation in unsheltered homelessness across neighborhoods. Subway stations and restaurants are important as well. We also find that police respond more quickly to calls in more affluent and central neighborhoods. This suggests that the distribution of homelessness across neighborhoods could affect the city's overall response.