IPSA RC 41 - Geopolitics

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20Jul

Madrid 2012 Papers

Please find attached the papers presented at RC 41 Panels at IPSA World Congress in Madrid 2012. You can fin find more information on the event here http://rc41.ipsa.org/pages/2012-Madrid

The Emerging Balance of Institutions in the Asia-Pacific: A Game on Two Chessboards? Dr. Artyom Lukin

Artyom Lukin

The US vs. The East Asian Rising Powers: Can the US Stay on Top? Dr. Ziv Rubinovitz

Ziv Rubinovitz

What Determines Secondary Powers’ Strategy Toward Rising Power? China’s Rise and East Asian States’ Responses Mr. Jeongseok Lee

Jeongseok Lee

Central Asia and the Great Powers: Different Times, the Same Game? Mr. Paulo Duarte

Paulo Duarte

Large Refugee Populations, Resource Scarcity and Conflict Miss Heidrun Bohnet

Heidrun Bohnet

Water Resource Management and North American Paradiplomacy: The Case of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Mrs. Annie Chaloux, Prof. Stéphane Paquin

Annie Chaloux

Rethinking the "Middle East" as an Object of Study in Political Science Dr. Carimo Mohomed

Carimo Mohomed

The Shifting Hard and Soft Balance of Power in the Euro-Mediterranean Regional Security Complex Dr. Astrid Boening

Astrid Boening

Thinking Regions in the 21st Century. A Mediterranean Approach Miss Maria Ayllon

Maria Ayllon

10Aug

XXII IPSA World Congress of Political Science, RC 41 Geopolitics Panels, Madrid, Spain, 8-12.07.2012

During the upcoming IPSA 2012 World Congress in Madrid on July 8-12, our Research Committee on Geopolitics (RC-41) is planning to organize 4 panels:

1. THE GEOGRAPHY, POLITICS AND ECONOMICS OF PROJECTED GLOBAL RESOURCE SCARCITY

2. THE IMPACT OF THE ‘ARAB SPRING’ ON EURO-MED RELATIONS

3. BACK TO THE BALANCE OF POWER? ASIAN-PACIFIC CONTESTS AND REALIGNMENTS

4. BUSINESS MEETING. WHERE DO WE GO FROM MADRID?

Please find the full description of the panels below.

If you are planning to submit one or more abstracts to any of these panels, please contact the specific panel convener/chair by e-mail indicated in the full description below.

Please note, however, that formal submission of paper proposals must be filed -- directly and officially – to the Organizers of the Conference.

Additional information on the Congress and about the abstracts submission procedure can be found on the official IPSA web-site (www.ipsa.org).

Panel 1

THE GEOGRAPHY, POLITICS AND ECONOMICS OF PROJECTED GLOBAL RESOURCE SCARCITY

Organized jointly by Research Committee RC-15: Political Geography and Research Committee RC-41: Geopolitics

Conveners & Co-Chairs: Aharon Klieman (RC-41) aklieman@gmail.com, Sanjay Chaturvedi (RC-15) csgiorg@gmail.com, TakashiYamazaki (RC-15) Takashiyamataka@lit.osaka-cu.ac.jp

“Scarcity is the new norm”.

The warning has been sounded of a new and unprecedented era now emerging in which food scarcity in particular will increasingly dominate and shape world affairs. At issue are the most basic staples for sustained human life and social development, questioning the mobilizing and carrying capacity of the earth -- and our own professional ability as students of political geography to contribute meaningfully both at understanding and alleviating the crisis.

“Maldistribution” has long endured as one of the primary causes frustrating the emergence of a strong international system. Yet, what Mackinder referred to as “the science of distribution” remains sorely underdeveloped even as signposts of this looming resource crisis appear.

The cause is patently simple. We are using up the Earth’s resources far faster than they can be sustainably replenished. In effect, we are eating into the future.

This panel, marked by a sense of urgency, aims at probing the deeper underlying causes (an expanding global population, increased consumption, water shortages, climate changes) as well as the potential dire consequences (social unrest, bread riots, upheaval and even revolution; intensifying competition for sources of food supply; armed conflicts; failed states).

Practical, down-to-earth recommendations (individual, national, multilateral) are invited from different disciplines, approaches, perspectives.

Panel 2

THE IMPACT OF THE ‘ARAB SPRING’ ON EURO-MED RELATIONS

Convener and Chair, Pere Vilanova, Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals pvilat@yahoo.es

The Mediterranean Sea area is widely considered to represent a distinctive geopolitical region of the world system, with common features and a dynamic of its own. Objectively, therefore, the analyst ought to be able to understand conflict, cooperation and coexistence within this geopolitical framework of a single Mediterranean regional complex.

While generally accepted, the hypothesis of a unified physical and geographic space is questionable, however. Our panel presents an alternative construct of the Mediterranean as a fragmented and heterogeneous space -- a space where conflicts, cooperation processes, negotiations and all kind of interactions (cultural, political, economic, etc) take on a quite different dynamic.

Special attention will be paid to recent, ongoing transformations associated with the so-called “Arab Spring” that offers an exceptional case of “regional transition”, with deep consequences on at least three levels:

• the change, reform or continuity of State political systems and regimes,

• the impact upon the Mediterranean as a region of stability, security and development,

• broader repercussions at the international level.

The session on “fragmented regionalism” is open to papers exploring any of the following suggested specific topics: consequences of the “Arab spring” on some of the enduring conflicts in the region; its implications for greater regional integration; the reaction of EU and NATO policies and attitudes towards democratic change.

Paper presentations will lead to a general discussion on the prospects for a genuine Mediterranean regional process, as well as its global relevance in the second decade of the 21st century.

Panel 3

BACK TO THE BALANCE OF POWER? ASIAN-PACIFIC CONTESTS AND REALIGNMENTS

Convener and Chair: Igor Okunev, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, okunev_igor@yahoo.com

The expansive Asian-Pacific region (Northeast and Southeast Asia, the South Pacific basin and North America) is assuming greater prominence in world politics. This shift of strategic emphasis from the North Atlantic zone and Europe poses a series of questions for geopolitics.

To what extent are regional realignments a function of Great Power contests (USA, China, Russia, Japan)? In light of its maritime buildup, what pivotal role should we anticipate China, in particular, to play? What place do other significant regional players like Australia, Canada, Indonesia and Vietnam have in shaping this emerging balance? And what are prospects for the smaller nations in the shadow of stronger actors to preserve their independence and room for maneuver?

Similarly, how will this rebalancing of power influence the opposing poles of integration and separatism throughout the region? What is advisably the best formula for regional stability? Bilateral ties, or multilateral frameworks like ANZUS? Mutual security pacts, or regional economic integration structures modeled on APEC and ASEAN? Should realignments already underway prove destabilizing, what are plausible scenarios for regional conflict centering on North Korea, Taiwan and rival territorial claims in the South China and Japan Seas?

From the perspective of the international system, to what extent can developments in the Asian-Pacific region influence the global agenda and the nature of international relations? Lastly, which concepts and methods for the scientific study of geopolitics deepen our understanding of processes at work in this region of both promise and peril?

Panel 4

BUSINESS MEETING

WHERE DO WE GO FROM MADRID?

Relating Geography to Politics: Our Research Agenda for the Next 2 – 5 Years

Convenors: Aharon Klieman aklieman@gmail.com, Pere Vilanova pvilat@yahoo.es, Igor Okunev okunev_igor@yahoo.com

This planning session is open to RC-41 members, as well as all others interested in Geopolitics from a multidisciplinary perspective wishing to pool resources with us and join our range of professional and research activities.

27Mar

Summer School of the Mediterranean, Barcelona, Spain, 11-15.07.2011

The second edition of the IBEI Summer School of the Mediterranean will take place at the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals (IBEI) during July 11-15. The objective of IBEI's Summer School is to offer different short courses on significant topics in international relations and the mediterranean area, taught by experts of international prestige. The direction and coordination of the summer school will be provided by Prof. Pere Vilanova (Universitat de Barcelona).

The summer school is aimed at graduate students, professors and researchers in the areas of political science, economics, and international relations and international studies who are interested in learning first-hand about the latest advances in research on Mediterranean politics and international relations. The courses offer a discussion and evaluation of the ongoing process of transition and transformation of the Arab countries of the region, under the light of this year's events.

The Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals is a graduate teaching and research institution created through the initiative of the five universities in Barcelona (the University of Barcelona, the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Pompeu Fabra University, the Open University of Catalonia, and the Technical University of Catalonia). The Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals supports research in all fields of international political economics, international relations, international security, foreign policy and comparative public policy.

The price of each course is 300 euros. However, there is a discount for early registration. Before June 6th, the price of each course will be 240 euros.For second course (and successive) the price will be 225 euros each one of them.

Courses:

  • Armed Islamist Movements: Jihadism and Beyond (Dr. Omar Ashour, University of Exeter) - July 11/15
  • Middle East Armies: Political, Social, and Economic Roles and Impacts (Prof. Yezid Sayigh, King’s College London) - July 11/15
  • Limits of International Interventions and the Role of the EU (Besa Shahini, Freelance Policy Analyst) - July 11/15
  • The Economics of Euro-Mediterranean Integration (Prof. Alfred Tovias, Hebrew University Jerusalem ) - July 11/15
  • The Mediterranean as a Geopolitical Unit (Prof. Pere Vilanova, Universitat de Barcelona; Dr. Eduard Soler i Lecha, CIDOB) - July 11/15

Each course will be taught over a period of one week, in a format of a daily two-hour sessions (10 hours). During these weeks, the teaching staff of the IBEI Summer School of the Mediterranean will also be available to participants hours to discuss their research projects.

Further information and registration form can be found at www.ibei.org

Mediterranean