Political geography and geopolitics

This essay discusses the key contributions of Canadian political geographers to the remarkable growth of the subfield in the past two decades. I focus on two burgeoning strands of work: first, the transformation of state power, and second, the current phase of war, militarization and surveillance globally. My goal is not to review the field of political geography. Rather, I use the two themes to foreground prominent strands of recent work and delineate some lines of inquiry that require more attention and are likely to grow in importance. In particular, I underscore the need for closer attention to human agency—that is, capacity to act—in political geography and geopolitics.     

Private Conflict and Policy Passage: Interest-Group Conflict and State Medical Malpractice Reform

James Madison argued in Federalist 10 that "rival political factions" work against the public good. In contrast to Madison's pessimistic account, I suggest that factional conflict can lead to more representative public policy, and thus further the will of the people. I theorize that elected officials often seek a safe political position—one that corresponds to the preferences of the public at large—during periods of high conflict. I assess this theory in one, salient policy area, medical malpractice. I measure conflict with contributions for state candidates given by (i) the health and insurance industries, which generally support malpractice laws, and (ii) lawyers, who frequently oppose the laws. I find that group conflict matters to policy outcomes. I also find evidence that, under conditions of elevated conflict, adopted policies are more likely to move toward the general ideological preferences of the public at large. These results suggest that group conflict affects both the quantity and character of policy in the American states.     

China's Emerging Neoliberal Urbanism: Perspectives from Urban Redevelopment

Abstract: China's urbanization is undergoing profound neoliberal shifts, within which urban redevelopment has emerged in the forefront of neoliberalization. This study aims to understand China's emerging neoliberal urbanism by examining the association between urban redevelopment and neoliberalism. Rather than a deliberate design, neoliberalization in China is a response to multiple difficulties/crises and the desire for rapid development. The neoliberalization process is full of controversies and inconsistencies, which involve conflicts between neoliberal practices and social resistance, and tensions between central and local states. Nevertheless, China's neoliberal urbanism has a responsive and resilient system to cope with the contradictions and imbalances inherent in neoliberalism. Meanwhile, neoliberal urbanism is more tangible at the sub‐national scale, since the local state can most effectively assist neoliberal experiments and manage crises. This study not only contributes to the understanding of China's neoliberal urbanism, but also has multiple implications for neoliberalism studies in general. First, in examining the interrelationship between the state and market, it is the actual effect of legitimizing and facilitating market operation rather than the presence (or absence) of the state that matters. Second, a new nexus of governance has formed in the neoliberalization process. Not only the nation state but also the local state is of great significance in assisting and managing neoliberal projects. Third, this study further validates the importance and necessity of scrutinizing neoliberal practices, in particular the controversies and inconsistencies within the neoliberalization process.     

Acknowledging the Racial State: An Agenda for Environmental Justice Research

Abstract:  This paper argues that environmental justice scholars have tended to overlook the significance of the state's role in shaping understandings of race and racism, and argues for the use of critical race theory to deepen insight into the role of the state in both fostering and responding to conditions of racialized environmental injustice. Critical race theory offers insights into both why and how the state manages racial categories in such a way as to produce environmental injustice, and how the state responds to the claims of the environmental justice movement. Closer attention to the interplay between the racial state and the environmental justice movement as a racial social movement will yield important insights into the conditions, processes, institutions and state apparatuses that foster environmental injustice and that delimit the possibilities for achieving environmental justice in some form or another.     

鄩氏诸器铭文及其相关历史问题

周代金文所见之鄩氏,应该是文献失载的子姓之国或子姓之族,乃殷商王族之支庶,或为殷末征人方的直接产物,其地望大致在今山东济南附近。周人入主中原后,鄩氏臣服于有周,甚至直接成了齐国的附庸。两周之际,该族曾经与曹姓之邾、任姓之吕或曹姓之莒等小国联姻。春秋晚期,则为强齐所吞并。而传统的莒国改姓之说,尚有疑点,曹姓之说或更为可靠。至于鄩仲匜铭中的(?),实为吕子二字的合文,其中的(?)符,是借笔合文的指示符。     

中世纪晚期英国市场结构的转型

前工业时期英国城乡市场体系初步形成于12至14世纪,其中各级城市市场和农村市场发挥着不同的作用。中世纪后期由于市场需求结构的变化、纺织业的兴起及出口贸易的扩大、国际性大集市的衰落、交通运输状况的改善,使得市场结构完成了从以农村市场为主体向城市市场为主体的转型。市场结构的转型改变了市场的性质,密切了城乡关系,促进了城市体系的成熟,加速了以伦敦为聚核的经济一体化进程。     

我国古代女主临朝的特征及原因探析

“在中国封建社会,曾多次出现过女主临朝,女主临朝具有重用外戚、手段残酷、宠幸宦臣的特征;而女主临朝的原因大概有皇帝体弱多病、昏庸荒淫,嗣君年幼、不能亲政,后妃本人具有政治才能等。     

春秋钟离国墓的发掘收获

近年安徽省考古工作者在安徽省蚌埠市双墩和凤阳县卞庄分别发掘了春秋时期钟离国大型土坑圆形墓葬。两墓形制独特,遗迹现象复杂,随葬品丰厚精美,为研究钟离国的地望、历史、文化和春秋时期墓葬形制结构、埋葬习俗以及淮河中游地域文化等提供了重要资料。     

对南明永历政权之考量

明末统治阶级的横征暴敛及连年自然灾害,促使农民大起义暴发。李自成农民义军攻入北京,推翻明王朝后,紧接着吴三桂引清军入关。随着全国社会主要矛盾的急剧变化,农民起义军由原之反对明王朝统治转为联合明宗室所建南明政权共同抗清斗争。     

我国文化遗产保护科技成果转化对策研究——基于文化遗产保护科技成果供求分析

进入"十二五"后,文物保护领域面临着新的发展形势。其中,科学和技术成果转化问题受到了高度关注,成为当前文化遗产保护领域的一大热点问题。目前,由于我国文化遗产保护科技成果转化的特殊性和相关领域科技事业发展的阶段性,文化遗产保护科技供给与需求脱节,科技成果转化率不高。针对这种状况,国家应建立激励评价体制,促进文博系统内外的合作,保证科技成果的有效供给和有效需求。