Globalizing Geographies Perspectives From Eurasia

This volume examines the Eurasian engagement with geographies of globalisation through an understanding of the intersection of space and place in Eurasia, Eurasian encounters with globalisation in terms of shifting spheres in politics, economics and culture, levels of integration and the intricate patterns of roads and routes. It also takes note of challenges encountered by social groups and communities in the face of globalising tendencies. The role of emerging alternatives within the region and community partnerships in Eurasia has also been addressed. Written by Eurasian scholars and others working on the region, it takes note of the formal and informal linkages between local communities and the larger global arena of which they are a part. The Eurasian context and the changing contours of Eurasia’s globalised space have been addressed in this book. The book would be of value to scholars and practitioners engaged in policy debates and area studies.

Processes of globalization have changed the world in many, often fundamental, ways. Increasingly these processes are being debated and contested. This Handbook offers a timely, rich as well as critical panorama of these multifaceted processes with up-to-date chapters by renowned specialists from many countries. It comprises chapters on the historical background of globalization, different geographical perspectives (including world systems analysis and geopolitics), the geographies of flows (of people, goods and services, and capital), and the geographies of places (including global cities, clusters, port cities and the impact of climate change).

Geographies of Globalization 2nd edition offers an animated and fully-updated exposition of the geographical impacts of globalization and the contribution of human geography to studies and debates in this area. Energetic and engaging, this book: • Illustrates how the core principles of human geography – such as space and scale – lead to a better understanding of the phenomenon • Debates the historical evolution of globalized society • Analyses the interconnected economic, political and cultural geographies of globalization • Examines the impact of global transformations ‘on the ground’ using examples from six continents • Discusses the three global crises currently facing the world – inequality, the environment and unstable capitalism most recently manifested in the Great Recession • Articulates a human geographical framework for progressive globalization and approaching solutions to the problems we face Boxed sections highlight key concepts and innovative work by geographers as well as topical and lively debates concerning current global trends. The book is also generously illustrated with a wide range of Figures, photographs, and maps.

This book explores Eurasia’s growing embrace of its maritime geography from the Indian Ocean to Pacific Asia and the Arctic. In an age of climate change, the melting of the Arctic will transform Eurasia’s importance, in addition to influencing the political, economic, and military dynamics across Eurasia’s main maritime regions. These emerging shifts have already begun to alter maritime trade and investment patterns, and thus the global political economy. It also creates a rising threat to the current status quo of world order that has long been dominated by the Atlantic World. This edited volume showcases some of the world’s leading experts and examines Eurasia from a saltwater perspective, analyzing its main maritime spaces in a threefold manner—as avenue, as arena, as source—to show the significance of this geostrategic change and why it matters for the future of the world’s oceans.

This book discusses the significance of cultural symbols/‘images’ in the nation-building of Eurasian states that emerged out of the former Soviet Union. It particularly focuses on the cases of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in the post-Soviet era and argues that the relationship between nation- and image-building has been particularly relevant for Eurasian states. In an increasingly globalized world, nation-state building is no longer an activity confined to the domestic arena. The situating of the state within the global space and its ‘image’ in the international community (nation branding) becomes in many ways as crucial as the projection of homogeneity within the state. The relationship between politics and cultural symbols/ ‘images’, therefore acquires and represents multiple possibilities. It is these possibilities that are the focus of Symbols and the Image of the State in Eurasia. It argues that the relationship between politics and cultural symbols/ ‘images’, became particularly relevant for states that emerged in the wake of the disintegration of the Soviet Union in Central Asia. It extends the argument further to contend that the image that the state projects is largely determined by its legacy and it attempts to do this by taking into account the Uzbek and Kazakh cases. In the shaping of the post-Soviet future these legacies and projections as well as the policy implications of these projections in terms of governmentality and foreign policy have been decisive.

The Belt and Road Initiative (hereafter BRI) of China has attracted worldwide attention and participation, causing a lot of debate over its implications for international society. Although it is still in a budding stage, the BRI seems to afford a framework for an increasing number of countries to explore jointly new international economic governance mechanisms and offer significant opportunities for them to cope jointly with global challenges. Taking a globalization perspective and tracking the ancient silk roads, this book tries to examine the general context in which the BRI is raised and implemented, arguing that this Chinese initiative, instead of replacing existing international cooperation mechanisms, is a call for the reform and development of neoliberal globalization and will open up a new era of inclusive globalization. Inclusive globalization is neither an overturning nor a simple continuation of neoliberal globalization but rather a proposal capable of addressing the problems of existing globalization. The difference between them lies in the fact that globalization cannot only serve the "spatial fix" of capital but also has to meet the needs of living people. The book also addresses a number of major issues on building the Belt and Road and contains Chinese media’s interviews with the author on various BRI issues. Given the author has been intensively involved in the study of and planning for the BRI, the book offers a valuable academic insight into this Chinese initiative.