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International Geographical
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Commission on Political Geography NEWSLETTER 5 (September 2005) Edited by André-Louis Sanguin |
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IGU Commission on Political Geography, 2004-2008 Chair: Professor André-Louis Sanguin, Faculty of Geography, University of Paris-Sorbonne, 191 rue Saint-Jacques, 75005 Paris, France. E-mail : alsanguin@wanadoo.fr Vice-Chair: Professor Anton Gosar, Dean, Faculty of Humanities, University of Primorska, Glagoljaska 8, 6000 Koper, Slovenia. E-mail : anton.gosar@guest.arnes.si Secretary: Professor David Newman, Department of Politics & Government, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, POB 653, 84105 Beer Sheva, Israel. E-mail : newman@bgumail.bgu.ac.il Webmaster: Asst. Prof. Carl Dahlman, Department of Geography, University of South Carolina, Columbia SC 29208, USA. E-mail : dahlman@sc.edu Steering Committee:
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I – Chairman’s Column Dear Friends and Colleagues, The year which has just gone out since the Glasgow IGU International Congress (August 2004) has offered the wide spectrum of positive and negative aspects regarding the geography of international affairs: natural hazards with powerless States, putsches, genocides and ethnic cleansings, terrorist attacks, religious gatherings, civil wars, peace accords, border openings, cross-border cooperations... From the Switzerland's entering into Schengen Space to the Israeli disengagement in the Gaza Strip, from the Darfur War to the Ivory Coast's partition, from the Iraki chaos to the nuclearization of North Korea and Iran, a great deal of key national or international problems represents a lot of in vivo practical works of political geography.
In
some countries, political geographers are very present and very active
in the
medias in order to propose objective and precise analysis for the
general
public. In other countries, political geographers are absent and other
social
scientists are substituting them in the media foreground. Political
geographers
have to stop being timorous. Certainly, they are not journalists but
the
"restraint of medias which instils a certain Western scientific
education" according to the anthropologist Yves Coppens should not
compel
them to be silent.
The
issues regarding peace and conflicts are more than ever in the heart of
the
political geography's concerns. In this view, political geographers are
keenly
invited to attend and submit papers to both IGU next international
meetings,
namely the IGU 2006 Regional Conference in Brisbane, Australia (3-7
July 2006)
(see chapter Future Events Sponsored by the Commission) and the IGU
2008
International Congress in Tunis, Tunisia (25-29 August 2008) (see
chapter Future
Events Sponsored by the Commission). André-Louis Sanguin,
Chair
II - Future Events Sponsored by the Commission 1. International Conference « Dayton – Ten Years Later : Conflict Resolution and Cooperation Perspectives ». Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, November 29-December 1, 2005. The conference will be held in Sarajevo on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Dayton Peace Accords signature. It will be organized by the University of Primorska (Slovenia) and University of Sarajevo under the auspices of the Slovenian OSCE Chairmanship with support of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina. The multi-layered conference will bring together politicians, officials, scholars and experts from various disciplines who may contribute to the geopolitical, historical, security, cultural, social and economic factors analysis having an impact on divergence and convergence processes and prospects in the area of former Yugoslavia and South-Eastern Europe, from the perspective of the Agreement. The aim of the conference is to make a comprehensive assessment of the historical background leading to the signature of the Dayton Peace Accords, to provide an analysis of the current situation, to discuss problems concerning integration and disintegration processes, to enlighten social and spatial, geopolitical and security trends, and indicate future opportunities for cooperation within a broader European and global context. Ten years after the establisment of the Office of the High Representative and the later institution of the so-called Bonn Powers, the international community has to rethink its role in Bosnia-Herzegovina, specifically having in mind the country's strategic objective of joining Euro-Atlantic institutions. The conference will be chaired by Dimitrij Rupel, OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Slovenia. Among the keynote speakers and official guests, the Conference will welcome: Richard Holbrooke, former US Assistant Secretary of State and Chief Negociator of the Dayton Peace Accords, Lord Paddy Ashdown, High Representative and EU Special Representative in BiH, Wolfgang Petritsch, former High Representative in BiH, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, NATO Secretary General, Olli Rehn, European Commissioner for Enlargement, Vladimir Chizhov, Head of the Mission of the Russian Federation to the EU, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia-Montenegro and Croatia Professor Anton Gosar (Vice-Chair, IGU Commission on Political Geography) is the Head of the Organizational Board of the entire conference. The third circular, containing a more detailed programme and logistical information on the event, will be forwarded to participants in October 2005. For further information and a registration form, please contact, preferably via e-mail: Ms. Valentina Bertok, Department of Geography, University of Primorska, Koper, Slovenia at: valentina.bertok@fhs-kp.si. Fax: ++386-5-663-7742. Phone: ++386-5-663-7752. 2. International Conference "Borderscapes: Spaces in Conflict / Symbolic Places / Networks of Peace"; Trento, Italy, 11-14 June 2006. Venue: Centro Congressi Panorama (altitude 560 meters) above Trento City and connected by a cable car to the city. Organized by Elena Dell'Agnese (University of Milano-Biccoca and Member of the Steering Committe, IGU Commission of Political Geography), this conference is planned to discuss the following questions: Borderscapes as symbolic landscapes: Demarcating objects and symbols – Borderscapes in popular litterature – Teaching about boundaries: borderscapes in textbooks and education – The myth of the natural boundary – Mountain borderscapes Borderscapes as spaces of cultural encounters: Identities, sociolinguistics boundaries, education – Minorities, territorial disputes, irredentism – Classical models of the political geography of boundaries revisited Borderscapes of fluxes and communication, trans-border cooperation: Transborder institutions and cross-border regions – Governance and policy around borders – Fluxes, gravitation areas, commercial spaces and traffics A fieldtrip to Trento and its province will be organized between the sessions to visit the relict boundary and its borderscapes and the local wineries. After the conference, a 3-days post-conference excursion will be organized to the bilingual area of Bolzano, the Brenner Pass and the trilingual area of Alta Badia (14-17 June 2006). For further information, registration form, please contact: elena.dellagnese@unimib.it 3. IGU 2006 Regional Conference "Regional Responses to Global Changes. A View from the Antipodes", Brisbane, Australia, 3-7 July 2006. Traditionnally, the IGU Regional Conference is scheduled between two IGU International Congresses. This conference will focus geographical attention on critical physical and human processes driving global change. Complex, global-scale processes exert pressures on environmental, social, cultural and economic resources at regional and local scales. The conference will look at regional responses in a changing world, with emphasis on tropical zones, particularly in South-East Asia and the South-West Pacific. The Commission on Political Geography will organize two sessions. Interested people are invited to submit and present papers on the two following subjects: 1/ Political Spaces in and around the South Pacific 2/ Maritime Boundaries in South-East Asia and South-West Pacific For enquiries and information please contact the Chair of the Commission (alsanguin@wanadoo.fr). The second session will be organized by Dr. Clive Schofield, Center for Maritime Policy, University of Wollongong, Wollongong NSW 2522. E-mail: clives@uow.edu.au. Fax: ++ 61-2-4221-5544 IGU Brisbane Regional Conference Website: www.igu2006.org; Chair, Programme Committee: Nigel Taper at: Nigel.Tapper@arts.monash.edu.au 4. IGU 2008 International Congress "Collaboratively Building Our Territories", Tunis, Tunisia, 25-29 August 2008. The proposed congress structure follows the traditional IGU pattern, with plenary sessions, paper sessions, technical and poster sessions, exhibition, social programs, pre-congress and post-congress excursions. In order to mobilize intellectual energies and scientific contributions to the 2008 Tunis IGU Congress, the IGU Executive Committee has approved a Mediterranean Renaissance Programme. This initiative was designed to focus on the geographical conditions of the Mediterranean region, its perspectives for human development, the pecularities of inter-cultural relationships among local communities, the perception of this region from the rest of the world, and the perception of the rest of the world from the region. The Commission on Political Geography is an active member of the Mediterranean Renaissance Programme. In this view, the Commission will organize on the occasion of the Tunis International Congress the following four sessions: 1/ Geopolitical Trends of the Mediterranean in a 21st Century Globalized World 2/ The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership 3/ The Maritime Boundaries of the Mediterranean: Assessments and Outlooks 4/ Conflicts and Conflict Resolutions in the Mediterranean World People interested in attending these sessions and submiting papers have to contact the Commission's Chair at : alsanguin@wanadoo.fr III – Other Future Events1. International Borders Conference "Lineae Terrarum", El Paso, USA; Ciudad Juarez, Mexico; Las Cruces, USA, 27-30 March 2006. The event is a moving conference and will be held in the three neighbouring cities of El Paso (Texas), Ciudad Juarez (Chihuahua) and Las Cruces (New Mexico). Transportation will be provided between venues. Borders mean more than boundaries and are often the meeting points of different peoples and cultures. Studying border issues requires attention to interdisciplinary issues and approaches. In an age where globalization has increased economic interactions and integration, increased terrorists’s ability to operate transnationally, increased migrants’s mobility, potential disease spreading globally and contacts of different cultures, we require both theory to explain the special characteristics of border environments as well as a deeper discussion of policy.The goal of this conference is to bring together scholarship on Border Theory and Border Issues in the region Paso del Norte. The nature of the conference will be interdisciplinary with the following themes highlighted: Border Theory – Security – Trade – Economic Integration – Mobility and Migration – Health – Ethnic and Cultural Boundaries – Environment – Water Issues. The Conference is open to Faculty from various disciplines, students and political analysts. It is also a goal to assemble a multi-volume, interdisciplinary publication reflecting many of the papers presented. Papers proposals are due on October 1st, 2005 and should be about 100-150 words in lenght. Conference Administrator: Dr. Tony Payan, Department of Political Science, University of Texas at El Paso. E-mail: lineaeterrarum@utep.edu or lapayan@utep.edu. Please, visit the webpage for further information and to submit a paper proposal: www.research.utep.edu/lineaeterrarum 2. International Conference "Border Management in an Insecure World", Durham, UK, 5-7 April 2006. Much has been written in recent years about the value of "soft" borders in maintaining good relations between neighbouring states and creating borderland prosperity. However, the reality in many parts of the world is that borders are hardening rather than softening as states seek to protect their populations from perceived external threats. The aim of this confrence will be to examine the implications of the re-emergence of security as a key dimension of boundary management. Can borders actually be made secure in the 21st century? If so, what are the political, economic and social consequences, especially for border regions? And how can scholars assist practitioners in finding solutions to complex border management challenges. Potential speakers should prepare an abstract of not more than 300 words and forward it by e-mail, fax or post not later than 15 October 2005. In order to receive further information on the conference, please contact: Ms. Michelle Speak, Director of External Relations, IBRU (International Border Research Unit), Department of Geography, University of Durham, Durham DH1 3LE, UK. E-mail: michelle.speak@dur.ac.uk; fax: ++44(0)191-334-1962 Keep an eye on the IBRU website at www-ibru.dur.ac.uk/conferences.html IV – Past Events Sponsored by the CommissionWithin the conference, the participants enjoyed a field trip to the Separation Fence and to Jerusalem. After the event, a 3-days post-conference trip took them to the Israel-Jordan and Israel-Egypt boundaries with a last meeting in Eilat along the Red Sea. 2. International Conference "The Orbit of Jean Gottmann's Geography", Paris, 29-30 March 2005. Organized by Luca Muscara (University of Molise, Italy) with the help of the University of Paris-Sorbonne, the Society of Geography and the French National Library, this conference gathered 40 participants around 20 papers focused on the following topics: 1/ Megalopolis: Reappraising a landmark book; 2/ Jean Gottmann: Trans-Atlantic Communicator; 3/ Between the universalism of history and the particularism of geography; 4/ Towards a world community. The conference was the occasion to celebrate the recent publication of the Luca Muscara's book La strada di Gottmann. Tra universalismi della storia e particolarismi della geografia (Rome, Nexta Books, March 2005, 248 pages). The Conference's proceedings will be published in La Géographie/Acta Geographica by the Society of Geography (Paris). The proceedings will be published in November 2005 by a Paris publisher and later announced in a next Commission's Newsletter. VI – Second Circular Letter from the IGU President
Adalberto
Vallega, President of the International Geographical Union, has
published his
Circular Letter #2 in July 2005 in English and French. See http://www.vallega.it VII – The IGU E-Newsletter
(Quarterly) At
the end of July 2005 the IGU Home of
Geography (Rome, Italy) sent the first issue of the IGU E-Newsletter.
This
communication tool will be circulated quarterly. Each issue may be
easily
downloaded from both the IGU (www.igu-net.org)
and the Home of Geography (www.homeofgeography.org)
websites. The next issue, which is expected to be circulated next
October, will
include special, ample session on the Home of Geography organization
and
activities. All of you are kindly invited to send any material that
could be of
interest to the world geographers' community. Many Commissions, Task
Forces and
National Committees will use this channel to diffuse information of
their
activities. Thanks to the IGU E-Newsletter, institutions having already
their
own websites may reach an even large number of people.
BIGER, Gideon, The Boundaries of Modern Palestine 1840-1947, London, Routledge, 2004. CSURGAI, Gyula, La nation et ses territoires en Europe centrale, une approche géopolitique, Berne, Peter Lang, 2005. CUTTER, Susan, RICHARDSON, Douglas & Thomas WILBANKS (Editors), The Geographical Dimensions of Terrorism, London, Routledge, 2003. GANSTER, Paul & David LOREY (Editors), Borders and Border Politics in a Globalized World, Lanham, SR Books, 2005. GRAHAM, Stephen (Editor), Cities, War and Terrorism: Towards an Urban Geopolitics, Malden, Blackwell, 2004. HAMMER, Juliane, Palestinians Born in Exile. Diaspora and the Search for a Homeland, Austin, University of Texas Press, 2005. HEATHER, Nicol & Ian TOWNSEND-GAULT (Editors), Holding the Line: Borders in a Global World, Vancouver, University of British Columbia Press, 2005. KELLY, Philip, Checkerboards and Shatterbelts. The Geopolitics of South America, Austin, University of Texas Press, 2004. KLEMENCIC, Matjaz & Mitja ZAGAR, The Former Yugoslavia's Diverse Peoples. A Reference Sourcebook, Santa Barbara, ABC-Clio Inc., 2004. KRAMSCH, Oliver & Barbara HOOPER (Editors), Cross-Border Governance in the European Union, London, Routledge, 2004. MANSVELT-BECK, Jan, Territory and Terror, Conflicting Nationalisms in the Basque Country, London, Routledge, 2005. MORGENTHALER, Jefferson, The River Has Never Divided US. A Border History of La Junta de los Rios, Austin, University of Texas Press, 2004. MUSCARA, Luca, La strada di Gottmann. Tra universalismi della storia e particolarismi della geografia, Rome, Nexta Books, 2005. PAVLAKOVICH, Vera, MOREHOUSE, Barbara & Doris WASTL-WALTER (Editors), Challenged Borderlands: Trancending Political and Cultural Boundaries, Burlington, Ashgate, 2004. ROSIERE, Stéphane, Nettoyage ethnique, violences politiques et peuplement, special issue of Revue Géographique de l'Est (Nancy), 2005. SMITH, Neil, American Empire. Roosevelt's Geographer and the Prelude to Globalization, Berkeley, University of California Press, 2003. SOLIOZ, Christophe & Tobias VOGEL (Editors) Dayton and Beyond: Perspectives on the Future of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Baden-Baden, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, 2004. TODOROVA, Maria (Editor), Balkan Identities, Nation and Memory, New York, New York University Press, 2004. This newsletter has been produced and published at the Sorbonne (Paris) by Professor André-Louis SANGUIN (Chair of the Commission) with the assistance of Caroline MOUMANEIX, postgraduate in political geography. |
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IGU-CPG Website: www.cas.muohio.edu/igu-cpg Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of its authors. The contents of the page have not been reviewed or approved by Miami University. Maintained by Carl Dahlman dahlmac@muohio.edu |