THE SEVEN THEMES OF MUSIC GEOGRAPHY*

Music geography first emerged as a subfield of cultural geography c. 1970, During the past 25 years, a significant body of research has been published in scholarly journals, books, and reference works. Seven major themes are outlined in the formation of music geography: I - origins (non-‘geographical’); II - world distribution and types; III - location analysis; IV-source areas of musical activities; V - trends based on electricity; VI - impact of music on landscapes; and VII - global music. A view is offered of how an eighth theme (technological innovations) might develop on the basis of recent observations. La géographiede la musique est apparueau début comme un sous-domaine de la géographie de la culture aux alentours de 1970. Au cours des vingt-cinq dernières années, un grand nombre de travaux sur ce sujet a été publié dans des revues scientifiques, des livres et des ouvrages de référence. On peut cerner sept thèmes principauxdans la formation de la géographie de la musique: 1. les origines (non ‘géographiques’); 2. la répartition mondiale et les genres; 3. /‘analyse de /‘emplacement; 4. les sources régionales des activités musicales; 5. les tendances fondées sur l'électricité; 6. l'impact de la musique sur les paysages; 7. la musique globale. À partir de récentes observations, on propose une perspective sur l'élaboration éventuelle d'un huitième thème, à savoir les innovations technologiques. Mots-clés:géographie de la musique, géographie de la culture, sources régionales, paysage sonore, musique globale.     

The Chronology of the Southeast Arabian Iron Age

Drawing on the results of the Australian Archaeological Expedition's excavation of Tell Abraq, a three-fold division of the southeast Arabian Iron Age is suggested. A re-analysis of ¹⁴C data in line with the latest agreed calibration curve together with an analysis of the foreign parallels of southeast Arabian Iron Age pottery permits the construction of a complete Iron Age sequence. The results argue for a lower chronology for the Iron II and III periods than has, up until now, been suggested.     

New Evidence of the Initial Appearance of Iron in Southeastern Arabia

The third season of excavations at Muweilah in the United Arab Emirates has revealed new evidence of the initial use of iron in southeastern Arabia. The evidence is contextualised within existing evidence of iron use in this region and some tentative interpretations of the importance of the find are presented.     

THE CRISIS OF THE MOVEMENTS: THE ENABLING STATE AS QUISLING

The basic argument of this paper is that the anti-systemic movements political successes over the last century have turned out to be medium-term cul de sacs at the expense of the real longue duree purposes of the movements. The discovery of the enabling state by radicals towards the end of the nineteenth century has resulted in a Quisling in the anti-systemic ranks. This argument brings to the fore the anarchist critique which never accepted the enabling state as a legitimate part of the radical political repertoire. Nevertheless this essay is not a plea for a return to anarchist roots but rather attempts to reinsert anarchism, and feminism, into a single framework of anti-systemic movements alongside socialism and nationalism. As the state is being shown to be disenabling rather than enabling across the various zones of the world-economy it is argued that anarchist ideas deserve some priority as we revise radical political strategies.     

The coming revolution in foreign affairs: rethinking American national security

For the last two decades the US has pursued what some analysts have called the ‘fantastical idea’ of military transformation that would enable the US to change the very nature of war. Known as the ‘revolution in military affairs’, this process would use technology to provide the US with battlefield dominance that no opponent could overcome. Motivated by the politics of the Cold War, however, this exit from reality has proved less than effective in what has become known as the ‘war on terror’. The US has been pulled into nasty, ‘small’ wars, against enemies utilizing asymmetric tactics. The Bush administration has tried to destroy these groups through the use of military force, failing, or even worse refusing, to recognize that these enemies feed off the economical, political and social rot of weak and failing states. For the last eight years the US government has addressed the symptoms of a problem rather than the actual disease. If America wants to make serious progress with the most pressing national security risks, the next American president must enact a revolution in foreign affairs that sees a massive overhaul and substantial investment in the State Department and USAID. A critical mass of research exists to illustrate the links between development and security—it is time Washington gets serious and embraces a conception of security that is more holistic, and ultimately, more effective.