Articles in Geopolitics
More on “Divided Russia” Maps and Xenophobic Nationalist Views
As noted in an earlier GeoNote, many Russian nationalists see the their country in the future breaking into its constituent parts rather than enlarging at the expense of neighboring states. In some instances, such as the ones discussed in the earlier GeoNote, the xenophobic worries of such nationalists focus on religious minorities, especially Muslims, as being too “foreign” for a …
Mapping German Anti-Semitism
Since 1945, anti-Semitism in Germany went from official policy to taboo, but nonetheless a striking proportion of the German population to this day holds—and confesses to—anti-Jewish views. In a series of “cultural economy” studies, German scholars Nico Voigtländer and Hans-Joachim Voth set out to map and explain spatial patterns in the distribution of anti-Semitic attitudes in Germany.
Japan to Seek Only Two Russian-held Kuril Islands
The Japanese government offers to negotiate the return of two rather than all four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido, in hopes that the proposed compromise might finally lead to a breakthrough in the decades-old territorial dispute.
Divided Russia: Nationalistic Maps
Most hyper-nationalistic fantasy maps greatly enlarge the group’s home country at the expense of the neighbors. However, most fantasy maps from Russia are quite different in nature, as they subdivide the country rather than extend it.
Border Disputes over Damansky Island and the Troubled Relations between Russia and China
In March 1969 Damansky/Zhenbao island became the site of a bloodbath which left several hundred Soviet and Chinese military and border guards dead. And even today this speck of land, together with two bigger islands near Khabarovsk, remains the focal point of simmering Russian-Chinese tensions.
Birobidzhan: Frustrated Dreams of a Jewish Homeland
An interesting anomaly on the map of the federal subjects of the Russian Federation (see the map on the left) is the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in the Russian Far East, the only member of its category. Numerous Russian autonomous oblasts marked the map of the early Soviet Union. As recently as June 1991, five remained: Adyghe, Gorno-Altai, Karachay–Cherkess, Khakas, and …
Political Prisoners of Siberia, part 1: Tsarist Russia
Any discussion of Siberia is incomplete without an examination of its role in the history of Russia as a penal colony.
Pollution Problems in Norilsk
The city of Norilsk in the north-central part of the region, has been deemed the most polluted place in Russia for 19 years running. By some measures, Norilsk may be the most environmentally degraded city in the world.
Anti-Mining Protests in Ecuador and Peru
In Ecuador, hundreds of indigenous protestors have been marching for two weeks from the Amazonian lowlands to the capital city of Quito, which they are scheduled to reach today. Road blockades have led to clashes with the police as well as numerous arrests.
The Political Contradictions of Anti-Urban NIMBY Activism in California
This final entry on Northern California will conclude the series by elaborating on the previously stated thesis that the local drive to protect urban and inner suburban neighborhoods from development is self-contradictory. Although anti-development activists incline to the left, their land-use policies are actually conservative, undermining their own larger agenda. Earlier posts looked at environmental sustainability and class divergence, contending …
Terranova: The Black Petaltail - A Novel
Diversity Amid Globalization: World Regions, Environment, Development (5th Edition)
Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World (3rd Edition)
