• Acta Via Serica
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.83-104
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• 2022

This article attempts to explain current social perceptions in Mexico about the Silk Road. Based on a critical geopolitics approach, the author analyzes how the idea of the Silk Road is socially constructed in Mexican popular geopolitics, focusing on studying digital mass media between 2013 and 2020. The main research questions are: how is the Silk Road notion constructed in Mexican popular geopolitics and what are the geopolitical implications for Mexico? The article discovers that in Mexico, the idea of the "Silk Road" is profoundly close to the idea of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) given China's geostrategic discourse that constructs the BRI as a "New Silk Road". The article also argues that Mexico's social-political agency to deal with China may be hindered by divergent social perceptions in favor and against the "Silk Road".

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.669-687
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• 2010

Critical scholarship has shown itself much more adept at identifying and analyzing the content of religious geopolitics than its impacts or effects. This article suggests ways in which the concept of social performance can be used to more carefully consider the effects of religious geopolitics. Judith Butler's identity-oriented notion of performativity is usually geographers' point of entry into issues of performance. But its strong poststructuralist distrust of agency limits its power among those who question poststructuralism's grounding beliefs. This article illustrates the added utility of other theories of performance-particularly the recent pragmatic, dramaturgical, and non-poststructuralist theorization of social performance by the cultural sociologist Jeffrey Alexander-in evaluating the impact of religious geopolitical action. It does so through the case of a recent, particularly geopolitically laden Mormon General Conference. It concludes, through Butler and Alexander, that this General Conference likely accomplished significant geopolitical work. But it also, mainly through Alexander, argues that this work likely had limited capacity to motivate new or additional geopolitical action. Its power was more to reinforce than transform.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.259-277
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• 2021

This article investigates the geopolitics of the energy transition era, concentrating on China's solar photovoltaic (PV) industry. Authors have noted that the rise of renewables is changing the geopolitical landscape of world energy systems, but these new energy sources carry their own technical characteristics and geopolitical implications. Bearing this in mind, this research answers the questions: What are the structural factors that facilitate China's use of renewable energy to achieve political goals, and what are their implications? In order to analyze the data, I devise an analytical framework based on the energy statecraft literature and contrast rival explanations, particularly the "prosumer theory" and the premise of less geopolitical interdependence in a renewable-centered world. I show that asymmetric interdependence in the solar PV sector is already a reality. China's solar PV industry is a case that suffices all conditions (centrality in industrial capacity, market share, and companies' compliance, but to a lesser extent in critical materials and technological endowments) in the solar PV sector to devise effective strategies aimed at reaping benefits out of its asymmetric interdependence with the rest of the world.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.82-95
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• 2021

Current international negotiation and cooperation for sustainable development are focused on three main themes. The first theme is implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The second theme is development of measures for climate change. The third theme is sustainable management of biodiversity and ecosystem services. In South Korea, responses of government policies and academic studies have been predominantly to one of these three themes. There have not been many integrated efforts to develop countermeasures considering all three international themes. In addition, while "green growth" policies have been setting national agendas for Korea's sustainable development, they must be scrutinized such as why they have not dealt with some parts of these three themes and whether they have ignored one of these themes due to lack of integrated responses. This study finds critical issues in South Korea on how to harmoniously respond to the three themes of international efforts and improve green growth policies. First, to achieve SDGs, the domestic statistical system must be reorganized to track the achievement of "inclusiveness" and "green growth". Second, the climate change response policy should seek inclusion between countries and between social groups. Third, in the field of biodiversity and ecosystem services, it is necessary to establish Korea's identity in global geopolitics and enhance its own traditional ecological knowledge. Fourth, it is necessary to consider how to solve discrepancy between climate change response policies and biodiversity-ecosystem service management policies. Finally, proactive improvement of laws and institutions must occur to promote inclusive green growth.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.713-737
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• 2016

This study is to review research issues on North Korea and unified territory in terms of topics and approach method in Korean human geography. The conclusion of this paper is as follows. Before 1980's, topics on political geography, such as geopolitics or unified land, were the main stream in research. In 1990's with the end of the cold war and the access to material which was published in North Korea, scope of research was widened especially in geography education. After 2000's with the expansion of cooperation between South and North Korea, the scope of topics were more expanded in all field of human geography, for example, critical geopolitic in political geography, Gaeseong Industrial Complex, Najin-Seonbong region in economic geography, place names, Geumgangsan, North Korean defectors in social and cultural geography. The approach method of toward North Korea is fall into two categories. One is regional geography and the other is the unified land. In the latter approach, topics on the regional structure after reunification or on the life adaptation of defectors in South Korea etc. were studied. After unification of land, new Korean Studiea will be established and human geographers should make ready for this. Before unification, research on the land in north Korea should be proceeded in terms of historical geography.