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Mia M Bennett

The University of Hong Kong, Geography, Faculty Member

University of California, Los Angeles, Geography, Graduate Student

University of Vienna, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Graduate Student

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I am a political geographer with geospatial skills interested in transportation infrastructure and frontier development, namely in the Arctic and areas within China's Belt and Road Initiative.
Address: Hong Kong

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Institute of Archaeology of Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences

Dimitrios Dalaklis

World Maritime University

Albert Buixadé Farré

Jaap van Rijckevorsel

University of Oxford

Frederic Lasserre

Université Laval

World Maritime University

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Papers by Mia M Bennett

The opening of the Transpolar Sea Route: Logistical, geopolitical, environmental, and socioeconomic impacts

by Mia M Bennett and Bert De Jonghe

Marine Policy, 2020

With current scientific models forecasting an ice-free Central Arctic Ocean (CAO) in summer by mi... more With current scientific models forecasting an ice-free Central Arctic Ocean (CAO) in summer by mid-century and potentially earlier, a direct shipping route via the North Pole connecting markets in Asia, North America, and Europe may soon open. The Transpolar Sea Route (TSR) would represent a third Arctic shipping route in addition to the Northern Sea Route and Northwest Passage. In response to the continued decline of sea ice thickness and extent and growing recognition within the Arctic and global governance communities of the need to anticipate and regulate commercial activities in the CAO, this paper examines: (i) the latest estimates of the TSR's opening; (ii) scenarios for its commercial and logistical development, addressing the various transportation systems that could evolve; (iii) the geopolitics of the TSR, focusing on international and national regulations and the roles of Russia, a historic power in the Arctic, and China, an emerging one; and (iv) the environmental and socioeconomic consequences of transpolar shipping for local and Indigenous residents of communities along the TSR's entrances. Our analysis seeks to inform national and international policymaking with regard to the TSR because although climate change is proceeding rapidly, within typical policymaking timescales, there is still time to prepare for the emergence of the new Arctic shipping corridor.

The geopolitics of China's Arctic tourism resources

by Mia M Bennett and Ben Iaquinto

Territory, Politics, Governance, 2021

Chinese outbound tourism is extending into new frontiers, including the Arctic. In this region, w... more Chinese outbound tourism is extending into new frontiers, including the Arctic. In this region, where the Chinese state does not claim territorial sovereignty, it seeks to exert its influence by other means. One strategy involves the development of ‘tourism resources’, which the government’s 2018 Arctic Policy promotes. In line with recent work interrogating the geopolitics of tourism, we draw on a review of policy and media documents complemented by field observations to interrogate how the Chinese state and enterprises seek to envision, regulate and extract value from three key forms of tourism resources: individuals, infrastructure and data. Empirically, we advance knowledge of the politics and processes underlying Chinese tourism in a new region. Theoretically, we contribute to a critical geopolitics that reflects upon how governments can develop resources and exercise authority in spaces where they lack territorial sovereignty and where physical territory may be altogether absent, as in the high seas or cyberspace. This study is particularly timely in light of the Chinese state’s expanding governance of areas and issues experiencing calls for international cooperation, including not only the Arctic but also the global commons, the internet and climate change.

Anywhere but here: Experiences of islandness in Pearl River Delta island tourism

by Mia M Bennett and Zhikang Wang

Island Studies Journal, 2020

This study considers the phenomenology of 'islandness' by analysing the experiences of tourists, ... more This study considers the phenomenology of 'islandness' by analysing the experiences of tourists, islanders, and migrant tourism workers on two Chinese islands in the South China Sea. Although we begin by presuming place to be a phenomenological concept centring on 'being-in-the-world', we find that people's experiences both on and off the islands of Dong'ao and Wailingding engender a desire to 'be-in-many-worlds' at once. Findings drawn from three months of ethnographic fieldwork suggest that while tourists privilege 'being-at-the-seaside', long-term residents prioritize being both 'on' and 'off' the island. Meanwhile, migrant tourism workers' sense of islandness emerges from 'being-at-the-seaside' and 'being-on-the-island'. In all cases, we find that islands challenge people's desires to dwell in just one specific place to which they have an attachment. We argue that this liminal place attachment arises partly because the physical geography of islands, being surrounded by the sea, facilitates movement and may prompt a longing for elsewhere. Our findings have consequences for the phenomenology of place, which assumes that people have an innate desire to be somewhere. Yet thinking through and from islands shows that people equally wish to be somewhere else, too. The manifold human experiences of islandness underscore the need for a more relational phenomenology of place based not just on 'being-in-the-world', but rather 'in-many-worlds' at once.

Viral borders: COVID-19’s effects on securitization, surveillance, and identity in Mainland China and Hong Kong

Dialogues in Human Geography, 2020

As COVID-19 spreads, new processes, forms, and scales of bordering practices are transcending nat... more As COVID-19 spreads, new processes, forms, and scales of bordering practices are transcending national territorial limits. This commentary critiques how 'viral borders' are securitizing the global supply chains of medical products, disciplining citizens, and reterritorializing communities and contemplates the consequences of these practices for the post-pandemic era.

The making of post-post-Soviet ruins: Infrastructure development and disintegration in contemporary Russia

International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 2020

Western journalists and photographers fetishize the infrastructural ruination of the former Sovie... more Western journalists and photographers fetishize the infrastructural ruination of the former Soviet Union. While sites like abandoned railway stations are assumed to be artefacts of the country’s collapse in 1991, many of these ruins are actually products of contemporary Russian state policies. This article critiques the way in which Soviet ruins are imagined as archaeological relics of a long-gone polity by examining the recent political processes that have generated infrastructural obsolescence long after the Soviet collapse. In pursuit of this aim, I draw on an analysis of texts and imagery depicting Soviet ruins and ethnographic fieldwork and observations in the Russian North and Far East. Specifically, I examine infrastructural construction and ruination in Vladivostok, where the federal government spearheaded a multibillion dollar megaproject in advance of the 2012 Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit for which four new bridges were built. Residents of Podnozhye, a community located on an island to which one of the bridges extends, assert that its construction caused the discontinuation of their ferry service to Vladivostok, which consequently rendered infrastructure and amenities along the waterfront obsolete. This dynamic indicates that while ruins often denote the reversal of development, development itself can prompt decay and disintegration, too.

Is a pixel worth 1000 words? Critical remote sensing and China's Belt and Road Initiative

Political Geography, 2020

As a novel means of researching China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), this article advances a c... more As a novel means of researching China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), this article advances a critical remote sensing agenda that connects the view from above provided by satellite imagery with the grounded, qualitative methodologies more typical of political geography such as ethnographic fieldwork. Satellite imagery is widely used to produce empirics relating to the BRI, and the Chinese state is showing increasing interest in applying Earth observation data to governance. A more critical approach attentive to the politics of remote sensing, especially in light of China's emergence as a space and satellite power and its embrace of big data, is needed to more precisely reveal what changing pixels represent on the ground and expose the potential issues with data captured from high above the planet. This paper offers three theoretical and methodological objectives for critical remote sensing. First, I reflect on the geopolitics involved in the production and analysis of satellite imagery. Second, through analysis of night light imagery, which captures illuminated anthropogenic activities, I interrogate metanarratives of development. Third, I engage with qualitative methods by "ground-truthing" remote sensing with ethnographic observations along China's borders. I also seek to avoid the methodological nationalism often present in remote sensing research by situating these mixed-methods case studies at scales above and below the nation-state. As one of the largest development interventions in history materializes, pursuing critical remote sensing can create opportunities for social scientists to leverage quantitative and geo-spatial methods in support of more equitable and sustainable futures.

Chinese infrastructure diplomacy in Russia: the geopolitics of project type, location, and scale

Eurasian Geography and Economics, 2018

The Chinese government actively engages in infrastructure diplomacy, with the state financing and... more The Chinese government actively engages in infrastructure diplomacy, with the state financing and constructing capital goods multilaterally under the Belt and Road Initiative and bilaterally in countries like Russia. There, Chinese infrastructure diplomacy is making inroads, especially in Russia's transporta- tion and energy sectors. New bridges and pipelineswill soon link the two countries across the Amur River border. While some scholars see infrastructure diplomacy as dependent on bilateral relations, we argue that the type, location and scale of a project also affect its implementation. By analyzing government docu- ments and media reports, we consider Chinese infrastructure projects in Russia across two categories – energy and transpor- tation – and two locations – cross-border and interior – to answer three questions. First, what distinguishes bilateral coop- eration in transportation infrastructure from bilateral coopera- tion in energy infrastructure? Second, how does cooperation on cross-border projects differ from projects located wholly within the recipient country’s territory? Third, what is the significance of the imagined scale of a project for its realization? We conclude that energy projects in a country’s interior are more likely to succeed than cross-border transportation projects. This finding suggests Chinese efforts to enhance infrastructural and “people- to-people” ties in cross-border locations may prove problematic.

Automated extraction of built-up areas by fusing VIIRS nighttime lights and Landsat-8 data

Remote Sensing, 2019

As the world urbanizes and builds more infrastructure, the extraction of built-up areas using rem... more As the world urbanizes and builds more infrastructure, the extraction of built-up areas using remote sensing is crucial for monitoring land cover changes and understanding urban environments. Previous studies have proposed a variety of methods for mapping regional and global built-up areas. However, most of these methods rely on manual selection of training samples and classification thresholds, leading to low extraction efficiency. Furthermore, thematic accuracy is limited by interference from other land cover types like bare land, which hinder accurate and timely extraction and monitoring of dynamic changes in built-up areas. This study proposes a new method to map built-up areas by combining VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) nighttime lights (NTL) data and Landsat-8 multispectral imagery. First, an adaptive NTL threshold was established, vegetation and water masks were superimposed, and built-up training samples were automatically acquired. Second, the training samples were employed to perform supervised classification of Landsat-8 data before deriving the preliminary built-up areas. Third, VIIRS NTL data were used to obtain the built-up target areas, which were superimposed onto the built-up preliminary classification results to obtain the built-up area fine classification results. Four major metropolitan areas in Eurasia formed the study areas, and the high spatial resolution (20 m) built-up area product High Resolution Layer Imperviousness Degree (HRL IMD) 2015 served as the reference data. The results indicate that our method can accurately and automatically acquire built-up training samples and adaptive thresholds, allowing for accurate estimates of the spatial distribution of built-up areas. With an overall accuracy exceeding 94.7%, our method exceeded accuracy levels of the FROM-GLC and GUL built-up area products and the PII built-up index. The accuracy and efficiency of our proposed method have significant potential for global built-up area mapping and dynamic change monitoring.

From state-initiated to Indigenous-driven infrastructure: The Inuvialuit and Canada’s ﬁrst highway to the Arctic Ocean

World Development, 2018

Between 2010 and 2050, the world’s combined road and rail network will grow an estimated 60%. Nat... more Between 2010 and 2050, the world’s combined road and rail network will grow an estimated 60%. National governments are building many of these roads, which are often perceived as disenfranchising Indigenous communities. Yet in the Canadian Arctic’s Mackenzie Delta, a joint venture between two Indigenous-owned construction and transportation companies built the ﬁrst public highway in North America to the Arctic Ocean, which opened in November 2017. This research, based on qualitative ﬁeld-work in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region where the highway was constructed, challenges ideas that roads are invariably top-down initiatives which negatively impact Indigenous peoples and their lands. Inuvialuit community leaders lobbied for this road project and succeeded in winning CAD $299 million in government funding to construct the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway. They leveraged opportunities afforded by land claims treaties and shifting geopolitics in the warming Arctic, which turned their region into a frontier of renewed national and global interest, to accumulate funding. Strategically, they discursively rescaled a road they sought to promote economic development and improve local mobility between two communities into a highway of national importance. This study thus extends work on tribal capitalism to explore the place-based dynamics of Indigenous political economies. It unpacks the scale-oriented strategies Indigenous peoples use to advocate for new roads and increased connectivity, ﬁnding that these discourses and practices can complement the state’s promotion of nation-building and market capitalism in frontier spaces. This research also suggests that more attention is required to the circumstances in which Indigenous peoples initiate or become partners in infrastructure development rather than examining only instances of resistance.

Using multitemporal night-time lights data to compare regional development in Russia and China, 1992–2012

Multitemporal remotely sensed night-time lights data are often used as a proxy for population and... more Multitemporal remotely sensed night-time lights data are often used as a proxy for population and economic growth, with China the most commonly researched area. Less is known about how lights respond to socioeconomic decline. Russia, a depopulating neighbour of China that experienced severe economic turmoil following the Soviet Union’s disintegration in 1991, provides a useful case study to investigate the relationships between lights, depopulation, and economic contraction at national and provincial scales. We use the U.S. Air Force Defence Meteorological Satellite Program-Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) V4 annual stable lights composites to compare changes in lights in Russia and China from 1992 to 2012. These two countries share a history of communist planning but have experienced divergent development patterns since the collapse of communism in the early 1990s. At the national scale, the total amount of lights in Russia declined between 1992 and 2012, while China’s lights more than doubled. At the provincial scale, Russia exhibited an increase in inequality of lights per federal subject, while China’s provinces became more equal to one another, particularly as Western China caught up to the more developed East Coast. To understand what may have driven these changes in lights, relationships with population and gross domestic product (GDP) are examined from 2000 to 2012 using panel regression models. While changes in population and GDP explain 81% of change over time in lights within China’s provinces, they explain only 6% of change within Russia’s provinces. The strong relationships found between changes in lights, population, and GDP in rapidly growing, urbanizing China appear to break down in areas undergoing depopulation and economic contraction.

Advances in using multitemporal night-time lights satellite imagery to detect, estimate, and monitor socioeconomic dynamics

Remote Sensing, 2017

Since the late 1990s, remotely sensed night-time lights (NTL) satellite imagery has been shown to... more Since the late 1990s, remotely sensed night-time lights (NTL) satellite imagery has been shown to correlate with socioeconomic parameters including urbanization, economic activity, and population. More recent research demonstrates that multitemporal NTL data can serve as a reliable proxy for change over time in these variables whether they are increasing or decreasing. Time series analysis of NTL data is especially valuable for detecting, estimating, and monitoring socioeconomic dynamics in countries and subnational regions where reliable official statistics may be lacking. Until 2012, multitemporal NTL imagery came primarily from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS), for which digital imagery is available from 1992 to 2013. In October 2011, the launch of NASA/NOAA's Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite, whose Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor has a Day/Night Band (DNB) specifically designed for capturing radiance from the Earth at night, marked the start of a new era in NTL data collection and applications. In light of these advances, this paper reviews progress in using multitemporal DMSP-OLS and VIIRS imagery to analyze urbanization, economic, and population dynamics across a range of geographic scales. An overview of data corrections and processing for comparison of multitemporal NTL imagery is provided, followed by a meta-analysis and integrative synthesis of these studies. Figures are included that visualize the capabilities of DMSP-OLS and VIIRS to capture socioeconomic change in the post-Soviet Russian Far East and war-torn Syria, respectively. Finally, future directions for NTL research are suggested, particularly in the areas of determining the fundamental causes of observed light and in leveraging VIIRS' superior sensitivity and spatial and radiometric resolution.

The Silk Road goes north: Russia's role within China's Belt and Road Initiative

Russia, the world’s largest country, forms a key part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). ... more Russia, the world’s largest country, forms a key part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Underfunded infrastructure and vast energy resources into which Western investment is now largely prohibited by US and European Union sanctions also make Russia a logical site for BRI projects. Two are currently under way: the Moscow–Kazan high-speed railway and the Yamal liquefied natural gas plant. These BRI endeavours build on recent Sino-Russia energy cooperation and a longer history of transportation infrastructure partnership in which China is now the investor. However, longstanding mutual suspicions that peaked during the Cold War may challenge implementation.

Discursive, material, vertical, and extensive dimensions of post-Cold War Arctic resource extraction

This paper proposes an integrated framework for rethinking the Arctic resource frontier that invo... more This paper proposes an integrated framework for rethinking the Arctic resource frontier that involves consideration of its discursive, material, vertical, and extensive dimensions. Such a model enables more rigorous analysis of the drivers of Arctic natural resource extraction in the post-Cold War era than contemporary pronouncements about the region as pristine, unexploited, and newly opened by climate change. Indeed, despite five centuries of extraction, state and corporate discourses position the Arctic as on the brink of unprecedented development. Yet in fact, the development of the Arctic resource frontier represents a place-based, cumulative process that builds on previous rounds of degradation, extraction, and export of commodities ranging from furs to oil. The post-Cold War Arctic resource frontier is a globally networked space of extraction that exemplifies three characteristics of resource frontiers worldwide: existing histories of environmental degradation that legitimize further extraction, vertical intensification fueled by technological and spatio-legal innovations, and a growing array of lateral, fixed connections like pipelines and roads with cities that are increasingly concentrating capital and commodities. I argue that the Arctic’s concretizing links with the world’s urban core are possibly peripheralizing the region within the global economy by creating a path dependency towards deepened resource extraction.

Torched Earth: Dimensions of extraterritorial nationalism in the Chinese and Russian Olympic torch relays

Spanning tens of thousands of kilometers around the world, the torch relays for the 2008 Beijing ... more Spanning tens of thousands of kilometers around the world, the torch relays for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics were the two longest in history and arguably some of the most provocative. As spectacles designed by committees with close affiliations to the state in both China and Russia, the relays also constituted state-orchestrated extraterritorial displays of nationalism. This paper uses these events as case studies to theorize the role of spaces beyond a country’s borders in state performances and mobilization of nationalism. I first sketch out the evolving relationships between the state, space, and nationalism in Russia and China while paying close attention to how longstanding narratives of universal and civilizational nationalism in each country are unfolding in a globalizing, deterritorializing world. Then, I examine how the international legs of the Olympic torch relays provided opportunities for the Chinese and Russian states to expand the national geo-body significantly outside state borders in a variety of dimensions. The Beijing relay passed through cities important for the Chinese diaspora and trade routes while the Sochi relay traveled to the global commons of the North Pole and outer space. Both of these state displays of nationalism supported the extraterritorial expansion of a nation’s geo-body and socio-spatial consciousness, suggesting the creation of a more spatially unbounded national identity not necessarily linked to the contained territory over which the state exercises sovereignty.

Articulating the Arctic: contrasting state and Inuit maps of the Canadian north

by Mia M Bennett and Will Greaves

This paper compares four maps produced by the Canadian government and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, th... more This paper compares four maps produced by the Canadian government and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the indigenous peoples' organisation representing Inuit living in the four recognised Inuit regions (Inuit Nunangat) of Canada. Our analysis is based on publicly available maps, documents, and records and extends the rich existing literature examining the history of definitions of the Canadian north. Distinctly, our research aims to understand the different ways in which the Arctic has been articulated as a geographic, political, and social region during the Harper government (2006–2015) and the effects these articulations have had on northern policy and people. We find that the federal government maintained a flexible definition of the Canadian Arctic as a region when in pursuit of its own policy objectives. However, when it comes to incorporating areas outside the boundaries of Canada's three federal territories, particularly communities along their southern fringes, those boundaries are inflexible. The people who live in these areas, which the state considers to be outside the Canadian Arctic, are marginalised within Arctic public policy in terms of access to federal funds, determination of land use, and a sense of social belonging to the Canadian Arctic. Our goal in this paper is to demonstrate that national-level disputes over what constitutes 'the Arctic' can significantly impact the day-today lives of people who live within and just outside the region, however it is conceived.

Bounding Nature: Conservation and Sovereignty in the Canadian and Russian Arctic

Today, conservation efforts of Arctic states reflect a state-based approach. This contrasts with ... more Today, conservation efforts of Arctic states reflect a state-based approach. This contrasts with international
conservation efforts in the post-Cold War period, which were grounded in perceiving the region as a global commons.
In this article, I examine the ways in which Canada and Russia use natural conservation areas as instruments to
express sovereign rights. I compare Canada’s proposed Lancaster Sound National Marine Conservation Area at
the eastern mouth of the Northwest Passage and Russia’s recently expanded Natural System (zapovednik) of
Wrangel Island Reserve at the eastern entrance to the Northern Sea Route. These two case studies allow for an
examination of the domestic politics of zoning, exclusion, and access alongside Arctic geopolitics and foreign policy
discourse. Both parks are complex products of domestic and foreign policy, making them densely layered spaces of
contested and contingent sovereignty. Moreover, Canada and Russia draw on regimes such as UNCLOS and
UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee to defend their sovereignty in contested waterways. Whereas around the
world, states have historically created national parks in areas without significant economic value, the conservation
areas in and around Lancaster Sound and Wrangel Island lie in waters valuable for their geostrategic position
and shipping potential. Yet importantly, the conservation areas are situated so as not to coincide with hydrocarbon
interests. Ultimately, Russia and Canada’s establishment of these two conservation areas suggests ulterior motives
of sovereignty and economic interests at work, suggesting that we should be carefully attuned to scrutinizing the
intentions behind environmental measures taken in the Arctic.

North by Northeast: toward an Asian-Arctic region

Though the Arctic Council accepted China, Japan, and South Korea as observers in May 2013, the mu... more Though the Arctic Council accepted China, Japan, and South Korea as observers in May 2013, the multilateral organization’s permanent member states continue to treat them as non-Arctic outsiders due to their lack of territory north of the Arctic Circle. Applying geographic perspectives that consider the importance of territory and proximity on the one hand and relations and networks on the other, the author argues for a reconceptualization of the Arctic region extending beyond the Arctic Circle. After presenting an overview of the Arctic’s long-standing economic integration with disparate parts of the globe, the author examines the bilateral economic cooperation occurring between countries in Northeast Asia and the eight countries with territory north of the Arctic Circle. Special attention is paid to the ports, or gateways and pivots, linking resources in the North Pacific and wider Arctic region to destinations in Northeast Asia. Importantly, the shipping lanes of the Northern Sea Route and the North Pacific Great Circle Route are facilitating these commercial ties, especially as northern countries seek to export their liquefied natural gas to expanding markets in Northeast Asia. Finally, as political cooperation has not grown to match the intensifying economic cooperation between Northeast Asian and Arctic countries, the author considers present and future directions of regional governance within the Asian-Arctic region. Possibilities examined include more focused regional and mini-lateral structures along with mechanisms based less on territory and more on networks and relations, especially those concentrated in the North Pacific – Northeast Asia’s maritime entryway to the Arctic.

How China Sees the Arctic: Reading Between Extraregional and Intraregional Narratives

In May 2013, China gained observer status in the Arctic Council, exemplifying its growing legitim... more In May 2013, China gained observer status in the Arctic Council, exemplifying its growing legitimacy as a regional actor in the eyes of the eight countries with territory north of the Arctic Circle. Yet since China remains an extraregional state without territory in the Arctic, Chinese officials continue to bolster their state’s legitimacy as an Arctic stakeholder through two spatially inconsistent but mutually reinforcing grand regional narratives. On the one hand, Chinese officials recognize the salience of territory and presence in the Arctic, underscoring their country’s “near-Arctic” location and polar scientific expeditions. On the other hand, officials depict the Arctic as a maritime, global space where climate change has potential ramifications for the entire planet. Significantly, these reframings are affecting intraregional states’ perceptions of the Arctic, demonstrating how a region’s territorial extent, symbolic meaning, and institutional form emerge through the ongoing conversation between extraregional and intraregional narratives.

The Maritime Tiger: Exploring South Korea’s Interests and Role in the Arctic

Strategic Analysis, 2014

South Korea is not a traditional Arctic state, but it has several key interests in the region. Th... more South Korea is not a traditional Arctic state, but it has several key interests in the region. This article explores the sources of those interests and the country’s commercial activities in the Arctic in the areas of shipping, shipbuilding and hydrocarbons. Since the country’s polar interests transcend commerce, however, attention is also paid to the importance of science and research and development in Korean culture. The article examines South Korea’s regional role in the Arctic, arguing that the country fits into an expanded area of Arctic destinational shipping centred on the Northern Sea Route. Arctic states have generally welcomed the country as a partner in the region, and South Korea’s rise in the north appears likely to continue as part of its broader effort to transform into a globally important political and economic actor.

The opening of the Transpolar Sea Route: Logistical, geopolitical, environmental, and socioeconomic impacts

by Mia M Bennett and Bert De Jonghe

Marine Policy, 2020

With current scientific models forecasting an ice-free Central Arctic Ocean (CAO) in summer by mi... more With current scientific models forecasting an ice-free Central Arctic Ocean (CAO) in summer by mid-century and potentially earlier, a direct shipping route via the North Pole connecting markets in Asia, North America, and Europe may soon open. The Transpolar Sea Route (TSR) would represent a third Arctic shipping route in addition to the Northern Sea Route and Northwest Passage. In response to the continued decline of sea ice thickness and extent and growing recognition within the Arctic and global governance communities of the need to anticipate and regulate commercial activities in the CAO, this paper examines: (i) the latest estimates of the TSR's opening; (ii) scenarios for its commercial and logistical development, addressing the various transportation systems that could evolve; (iii) the geopolitics of the TSR, focusing on international and national regulations and the roles of Russia, a historic power in the Arctic, and China, an emerging one; and (iv) the environmental and socioeconomic consequences of transpolar shipping for local and Indigenous residents of communities along the TSR's entrances. Our analysis seeks to inform national and international policymaking with regard to the TSR because although climate change is proceeding rapidly, within typical policymaking timescales, there is still time to prepare for the emergence of the new Arctic shipping corridor.

The geopolitics of China's Arctic tourism resources

by Mia M Bennett and Ben Iaquinto

Territory, Politics, Governance, 2021

Chinese outbound tourism is extending into new frontiers, including the Arctic. In this region, w... more Chinese outbound tourism is extending into new frontiers, including the Arctic. In this region, where the Chinese state does not claim territorial sovereignty, it seeks to exert its influence by other means. One strategy involves the development of ‘tourism resources’, which the government’s 2018 Arctic Policy promotes. In line with recent work interrogating the geopolitics of tourism, we draw on a review of policy and media documents complemented by field observations to interrogate how the Chinese state and enterprises seek to envision, regulate and extract value from three key forms of tourism resources: individuals, infrastructure and data. Empirically, we advance knowledge of the politics and processes underlying Chinese tourism in a new region. Theoretically, we contribute to a critical geopolitics that reflects upon how governments can develop resources and exercise authority in spaces where they lack territorial sovereignty and where physical territory may be altogether absent, as in the high seas or cyberspace. This study is particularly timely in light of the Chinese state’s expanding governance of areas and issues experiencing calls for international cooperation, including not only the Arctic but also the global commons, the internet and climate change.

Anywhere but here: Experiences of islandness in Pearl River Delta island tourism

by Mia M Bennett and Zhikang Wang

Island Studies Journal, 2020

This study considers the phenomenology of 'islandness' by analysing the experiences of tourists, ... more This study considers the phenomenology of 'islandness' by analysing the experiences of tourists, islanders, and migrant tourism workers on two Chinese islands in the South China Sea. Although we begin by presuming place to be a phenomenological concept centring on 'being-in-the-world', we find that people's experiences both on and off the islands of Dong'ao and Wailingding engender a desire to 'be-in-many-worlds' at once. Findings drawn from three months of ethnographic fieldwork suggest that while tourists privilege 'being-at-the-seaside', long-term residents prioritize being both 'on' and 'off' the island. Meanwhile, migrant tourism workers' sense of islandness emerges from 'being-at-the-seaside' and 'being-on-the-island'. In all cases, we find that islands challenge people's desires to dwell in just one specific place to which they have an attachment. We argue that this liminal place attachment arises partly because the physical geography of islands, being surrounded by the sea, facilitates movement and may prompt a longing for elsewhere. Our findings have consequences for the phenomenology of place, which assumes that people have an innate desire to be somewhere. Yet thinking through and from islands shows that people equally wish to be somewhere else, too. The manifold human experiences of islandness underscore the need for a more relational phenomenology of place based not just on 'being-in-the-world', but rather 'in-many-worlds' at once.

Viral borders: COVID-19’s effects on securitization, surveillance, and identity in Mainland China and Hong Kong

Dialogues in Human Geography, 2020

As COVID-19 spreads, new processes, forms, and scales of bordering practices are transcending nat... more As COVID-19 spreads, new processes, forms, and scales of bordering practices are transcending national territorial limits. This commentary critiques how 'viral borders' are securitizing the global supply chains of medical products, disciplining citizens, and reterritorializing communities and contemplates the consequences of these practices for the post-pandemic era.

The making of post-post-Soviet ruins: Infrastructure development and disintegration in contemporary Russia

International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 2020

Western journalists and photographers fetishize the infrastructural ruination of the former Sovie... more Western journalists and photographers fetishize the infrastructural ruination of the former Soviet Union. While sites like abandoned railway stations are assumed to be artefacts of the country’s collapse in 1991, many of these ruins are actually products of contemporary Russian state policies. This article critiques the way in which Soviet ruins are imagined as archaeological relics of a long-gone polity by examining the recent political processes that have generated infrastructural obsolescence long after the Soviet collapse. In pursuit of this aim, I draw on an analysis of texts and imagery depicting Soviet ruins and ethnographic fieldwork and observations in the Russian North and Far East. Specifically, I examine infrastructural construction and ruination in Vladivostok, where the federal government spearheaded a multibillion dollar megaproject in advance of the 2012 Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit for which four new bridges were built. Residents of Podnozhye, a community located on an island to which one of the bridges extends, assert that its construction caused the discontinuation of their ferry service to Vladivostok, which consequently rendered infrastructure and amenities along the waterfront obsolete. This dynamic indicates that while ruins often denote the reversal of development, development itself can prompt decay and disintegration, too.

Is a pixel worth 1000 words? Critical remote sensing and China's Belt and Road Initiative

Political Geography, 2020

As a novel means of researching China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), this article advances a c... more As a novel means of researching China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), this article advances a critical remote sensing agenda that connects the view from above provided by satellite imagery with the grounded, qualitative methodologies more typical of political geography such as ethnographic fieldwork. Satellite imagery is widely used to produce empirics relating to the BRI, and the Chinese state is showing increasing interest in applying Earth observation data to governance. A more critical approach attentive to the politics of remote sensing, especially in light of China's emergence as a space and satellite power and its embrace of big data, is needed to more precisely reveal what changing pixels represent on the ground and expose the potential issues with data captured from high above the planet. This paper offers three theoretical and methodological objectives for critical remote sensing. First, I reflect on the geopolitics involved in the production and analysis of satellite imagery. Second, through analysis of night light imagery, which captures illuminated anthropogenic activities, I interrogate metanarratives of development. Third, I engage with qualitative methods by "ground-truthing" remote sensing with ethnographic observations along China's borders. I also seek to avoid the methodological nationalism often present in remote sensing research by situating these mixed-methods case studies at scales above and below the nation-state. As one of the largest development interventions in history materializes, pursuing critical remote sensing can create opportunities for social scientists to leverage quantitative and geo-spatial methods in support of more equitable and sustainable futures.

Chinese infrastructure diplomacy in Russia: the geopolitics of project type, location, and scale

Eurasian Geography and Economics, 2018

The Chinese government actively engages in infrastructure diplomacy, with the state financing and... more The Chinese government actively engages in infrastructure diplomacy, with the state financing and constructing capital goods multilaterally under the Belt and Road Initiative and bilaterally in countries like Russia. There, Chinese infrastructure diplomacy is making inroads, especially in Russia's transporta- tion and energy sectors. New bridges and pipelineswill soon link the two countries across the Amur River border. While some scholars see infrastructure diplomacy as dependent on bilateral relations, we argue that the type, location and scale of a project also affect its implementation. By analyzing government docu- ments and media reports, we consider Chinese infrastructure projects in Russia across two categories – energy and transpor- tation – and two locations – cross-border and interior – to answer three questions. First, what distinguishes bilateral coop- eration in transportation infrastructure from bilateral coopera- tion in energy infrastructure? Second, how does cooperation on cross-border projects differ from projects located wholly within the recipient country’s territory? Third, what is the significance of the imagined scale of a project for its realization? We conclude that energy projects in a country’s interior are more likely to succeed than cross-border transportation projects. This finding suggests Chinese efforts to enhance infrastructural and “people- to-people” ties in cross-border locations may prove problematic.

Automated extraction of built-up areas by fusing VIIRS nighttime lights and Landsat-8 data

Remote Sensing, 2019

As the world urbanizes and builds more infrastructure, the extraction of built-up areas using rem... more As the world urbanizes and builds more infrastructure, the extraction of built-up areas using remote sensing is crucial for monitoring land cover changes and understanding urban environments. Previous studies have proposed a variety of methods for mapping regional and global built-up areas. However, most of these methods rely on manual selection of training samples and classification thresholds, leading to low extraction efficiency. Furthermore, thematic accuracy is limited by interference from other land cover types like bare land, which hinder accurate and timely extraction and monitoring of dynamic changes in built-up areas. This study proposes a new method to map built-up areas by combining VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) nighttime lights (NTL) data and Landsat-8 multispectral imagery. First, an adaptive NTL threshold was established, vegetation and water masks were superimposed, and built-up training samples were automatically acquired. Second, the training samples were employed to perform supervised classification of Landsat-8 data before deriving the preliminary built-up areas. Third, VIIRS NTL data were used to obtain the built-up target areas, which were superimposed onto the built-up preliminary classification results to obtain the built-up area fine classification results. Four major metropolitan areas in Eurasia formed the study areas, and the high spatial resolution (20 m) built-up area product High Resolution Layer Imperviousness Degree (HRL IMD) 2015 served as the reference data. The results indicate that our method can accurately and automatically acquire built-up training samples and adaptive thresholds, allowing for accurate estimates of the spatial distribution of built-up areas. With an overall accuracy exceeding 94.7%, our method exceeded accuracy levels of the FROM-GLC and GUL built-up area products and the PII built-up index. The accuracy and efficiency of our proposed method have significant potential for global built-up area mapping and dynamic change monitoring.

From state-initiated to Indigenous-driven infrastructure: The Inuvialuit and Canada’s ﬁrst highway to the Arctic Ocean

World Development, 2018

Between 2010 and 2050, the world’s combined road and rail network will grow an estimated 60%. Nat... more Between 2010 and 2050, the world’s combined road and rail network will grow an estimated 60%. National governments are building many of these roads, which are often perceived as disenfranchising Indigenous communities. Yet in the Canadian Arctic’s Mackenzie Delta, a joint venture between two Indigenous-owned construction and transportation companies built the ﬁrst public highway in North America to the Arctic Ocean, which opened in November 2017. This research, based on qualitative ﬁeld-work in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region where the highway was constructed, challenges ideas that roads are invariably top-down initiatives which negatively impact Indigenous peoples and their lands. Inuvialuit community leaders lobbied for this road project and succeeded in winning CAD $299 million in government funding to construct the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway. They leveraged opportunities afforded by land claims treaties and shifting geopolitics in the warming Arctic, which turned their region into a frontier of renewed national and global interest, to accumulate funding. Strategically, they discursively rescaled a road they sought to promote economic development and improve local mobility between two communities into a highway of national importance. This study thus extends work on tribal capitalism to explore the place-based dynamics of Indigenous political economies. It unpacks the scale-oriented strategies Indigenous peoples use to advocate for new roads and increased connectivity, ﬁnding that these discourses and practices can complement the state’s promotion of nation-building and market capitalism in frontier spaces. This research also suggests that more attention is required to the circumstances in which Indigenous peoples initiate or become partners in infrastructure development rather than examining only instances of resistance.

Using multitemporal night-time lights data to compare regional development in Russia and China, 1992–2012

Multitemporal remotely sensed night-time lights data are often used as a proxy for population and... more Multitemporal remotely sensed night-time lights data are often used as a proxy for population and economic growth, with China the most commonly researched area. Less is known about how lights respond to socioeconomic decline. Russia, a depopulating neighbour of China that experienced severe economic turmoil following the Soviet Union’s disintegration in 1991, provides a useful case study to investigate the relationships between lights, depopulation, and economic contraction at national and provincial scales. We use the U.S. Air Force Defence Meteorological Satellite Program-Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) V4 annual stable lights composites to compare changes in lights in Russia and China from 1992 to 2012. These two countries share a history of communist planning but have experienced divergent development patterns since the collapse of communism in the early 1990s. At the national scale, the total amount of lights in Russia declined between 1992 and 2012, while China’s lights more than doubled. At the provincial scale, Russia exhibited an increase in inequality of lights per federal subject, while China’s provinces became more equal to one another, particularly as Western China caught up to the more developed East Coast. To understand what may have driven these changes in lights, relationships with population and gross domestic product (GDP) are examined from 2000 to 2012 using panel regression models. While changes in population and GDP explain 81% of change over time in lights within China’s provinces, they explain only 6% of change within Russia’s provinces. The strong relationships found between changes in lights, population, and GDP in rapidly growing, urbanizing China appear to break down in areas undergoing depopulation and economic contraction.

Advances in using multitemporal night-time lights satellite imagery to detect, estimate, and monitor socioeconomic dynamics

Remote Sensing, 2017

Since the late 1990s, remotely sensed night-time lights (NTL) satellite imagery has been shown to... more Since the late 1990s, remotely sensed night-time lights (NTL) satellite imagery has been shown to correlate with socioeconomic parameters including urbanization, economic activity, and population. More recent research demonstrates that multitemporal NTL data can serve as a reliable proxy for change over time in these variables whether they are increasing or decreasing. Time series analysis of NTL data is especially valuable for detecting, estimating, and monitoring socioeconomic dynamics in countries and subnational regions where reliable official statistics may be lacking. Until 2012, multitemporal NTL imagery came primarily from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS), for which digital imagery is available from 1992 to 2013. In October 2011, the launch of NASA/NOAA's Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite, whose Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor has a Day/Night Band (DNB) specifically designed for capturing radiance from the Earth at night, marked the start of a new era in NTL data collection and applications. In light of these advances, this paper reviews progress in using multitemporal DMSP-OLS and VIIRS imagery to analyze urbanization, economic, and population dynamics across a range of geographic scales. An overview of data corrections and processing for comparison of multitemporal NTL imagery is provided, followed by a meta-analysis and integrative synthesis of these studies. Figures are included that visualize the capabilities of DMSP-OLS and VIIRS to capture socioeconomic change in the post-Soviet Russian Far East and war-torn Syria, respectively. Finally, future directions for NTL research are suggested, particularly in the areas of determining the fundamental causes of observed light and in leveraging VIIRS' superior sensitivity and spatial and radiometric resolution.

The Silk Road goes north: Russia's role within China's Belt and Road Initiative

Russia, the world’s largest country, forms a key part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). ... more Russia, the world’s largest country, forms a key part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Underfunded infrastructure and vast energy resources into which Western investment is now largely prohibited by US and European Union sanctions also make Russia a logical site for BRI projects. Two are currently under way: the Moscow–Kazan high-speed railway and the Yamal liquefied natural gas plant. These BRI endeavours build on recent Sino-Russia energy cooperation and a longer history of transportation infrastructure partnership in which China is now the investor. However, longstanding mutual suspicions that peaked during the Cold War may challenge implementation.

Discursive, material, vertical, and extensive dimensions of post-Cold War Arctic resource extraction

This paper proposes an integrated framework for rethinking the Arctic resource frontier that invo... more This paper proposes an integrated framework for rethinking the Arctic resource frontier that involves consideration of its discursive, material, vertical, and extensive dimensions. Such a model enables more rigorous analysis of the drivers of Arctic natural resource extraction in the post-Cold War era than contemporary pronouncements about the region as pristine, unexploited, and newly opened by climate change. Indeed, despite five centuries of extraction, state and corporate discourses position the Arctic as on the brink of unprecedented development. Yet in fact, the development of the Arctic resource frontier represents a place-based, cumulative process that builds on previous rounds of degradation, extraction, and export of commodities ranging from furs to oil. The post-Cold War Arctic resource frontier is a globally networked space of extraction that exemplifies three characteristics of resource frontiers worldwide: existing histories of environmental degradation that legitimize further extraction, vertical intensification fueled by technological and spatio-legal innovations, and a growing array of lateral, fixed connections like pipelines and roads with cities that are increasingly concentrating capital and commodities. I argue that the Arctic’s concretizing links with the world’s urban core are possibly peripheralizing the region within the global economy by creating a path dependency towards deepened resource extraction.

Torched Earth: Dimensions of extraterritorial nationalism in the Chinese and Russian Olympic torch relays

Spanning tens of thousands of kilometers around the world, the torch relays for the 2008 Beijing ... more Spanning tens of thousands of kilometers around the world, the torch relays for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics were the two longest in history and arguably some of the most provocative. As spectacles designed by committees with close affiliations to the state in both China and Russia, the relays also constituted state-orchestrated extraterritorial displays of nationalism. This paper uses these events as case studies to theorize the role of spaces beyond a country’s borders in state performances and mobilization of nationalism. I first sketch out the evolving relationships between the state, space, and nationalism in Russia and China while paying close attention to how longstanding narratives of universal and civilizational nationalism in each country are unfolding in a globalizing, deterritorializing world. Then, I examine how the international legs of the Olympic torch relays provided opportunities for the Chinese and Russian states to expand the national geo-body significantly outside state borders in a variety of dimensions. The Beijing relay passed through cities important for the Chinese diaspora and trade routes while the Sochi relay traveled to the global commons of the North Pole and outer space. Both of these state displays of nationalism supported the extraterritorial expansion of a nation’s geo-body and socio-spatial consciousness, suggesting the creation of a more spatially unbounded national identity not necessarily linked to the contained territory over which the state exercises sovereignty.

Articulating the Arctic: contrasting state and Inuit maps of the Canadian north

by Mia M Bennett and Will Greaves

This paper compares four maps produced by the Canadian government and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, th... more This paper compares four maps produced by the Canadian government and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the indigenous peoples' organisation representing Inuit living in the four recognised Inuit regions (Inuit Nunangat) of Canada. Our analysis is based on publicly available maps, documents, and records and extends the rich existing literature examining the history of definitions of the Canadian north. Distinctly, our research aims to understand the different ways in which the Arctic has been articulated as a geographic, political, and social region during the Harper government (2006–2015) and the effects these articulations have had on northern policy and people. We find that the federal government maintained a flexible definition of the Canadian Arctic as a region when in pursuit of its own policy objectives. However, when it comes to incorporating areas outside the boundaries of Canada's three federal territories, particularly communities along their southern fringes, those boundaries are inflexible. The people who live in these areas, which the state considers to be outside the Canadian Arctic, are marginalised within Arctic public policy in terms of access to federal funds, determination of land use, and a sense of social belonging to the Canadian Arctic. Our goal in this paper is to demonstrate that national-level disputes over what constitutes 'the Arctic' can significantly impact the day-today lives of people who live within and just outside the region, however it is conceived.

Bounding Nature: Conservation and Sovereignty in the Canadian and Russian Arctic

Today, conservation efforts of Arctic states reflect a state-based approach. This contrasts with ... more Today, conservation efforts of Arctic states reflect a state-based approach. This contrasts with international
conservation efforts in the post-Cold War period, which were grounded in perceiving the region as a global commons.
In this article, I examine the ways in which Canada and Russia use natural conservation areas as instruments to
express sovereign rights. I compare Canada’s proposed Lancaster Sound National Marine Conservation Area at
the eastern mouth of the Northwest Passage and Russia’s recently expanded Natural System (zapovednik) of
Wrangel Island Reserve at the eastern entrance to the Northern Sea Route. These two case studies allow for an
examination of the domestic politics of zoning, exclusion, and access alongside Arctic geopolitics and foreign policy
discourse. Both parks are complex products of domestic and foreign policy, making them densely layered spaces of
contested and contingent sovereignty. Moreover, Canada and Russia draw on regimes such as UNCLOS and
UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee to defend their sovereignty in contested waterways. Whereas around the
world, states have historically created national parks in areas without significant economic value, the conservation
areas in and around Lancaster Sound and Wrangel Island lie in waters valuable for their geostrategic position
and shipping potential. Yet importantly, the conservation areas are situated so as not to coincide with hydrocarbon
interests. Ultimately, Russia and Canada’s establishment of these two conservation areas suggests ulterior motives
of sovereignty and economic interests at work, suggesting that we should be carefully attuned to scrutinizing the
intentions behind environmental measures taken in the Arctic.

North by Northeast: toward an Asian-Arctic region

Though the Arctic Council accepted China, Japan, and South Korea as observers in May 2013, the mu... more Though the Arctic Council accepted China, Japan, and South Korea as observers in May 2013, the multilateral organization’s permanent member states continue to treat them as non-Arctic outsiders due to their lack of territory north of the Arctic Circle. Applying geographic perspectives that consider the importance of territory and proximity on the one hand and relations and networks on the other, the author argues for a reconceptualization of the Arctic region extending beyond the Arctic Circle. After presenting an overview of the Arctic’s long-standing economic integration with disparate parts of the globe, the author examines the bilateral economic cooperation occurring between countries in Northeast Asia and the eight countries with territory north of the Arctic Circle. Special attention is paid to the ports, or gateways and pivots, linking resources in the North Pacific and wider Arctic region to destinations in Northeast Asia. Importantly, the shipping lanes of the Northern Sea Route and the North Pacific Great Circle Route are facilitating these commercial ties, especially as northern countries seek to export their liquefied natural gas to expanding markets in Northeast Asia. Finally, as political cooperation has not grown to match the intensifying economic cooperation between Northeast Asian and Arctic countries, the author considers present and future directions of regional governance within the Asian-Arctic region. Possibilities examined include more focused regional and mini-lateral structures along with mechanisms based less on territory and more on networks and relations, especially those concentrated in the North Pacific – Northeast Asia’s maritime entryway to the Arctic.

How China Sees the Arctic: Reading Between Extraregional and Intraregional Narratives

In May 2013, China gained observer status in the Arctic Council, exemplifying its growing legitim... more In May 2013, China gained observer status in the Arctic Council, exemplifying its growing legitimacy as a regional actor in the eyes of the eight countries with territory north of the Arctic Circle. Yet since China remains an extraregional state without territory in the Arctic, Chinese officials continue to bolster their state’s legitimacy as an Arctic stakeholder through two spatially inconsistent but mutually reinforcing grand regional narratives. On the one hand, Chinese officials recognize the salience of territory and presence in the Arctic, underscoring their country’s “near-Arctic” location and polar scientific expeditions. On the other hand, officials depict the Arctic as a maritime, global space where climate change has potential ramifications for the entire planet. Significantly, these reframings are affecting intraregional states’ perceptions of the Arctic, demonstrating how a region’s territorial extent, symbolic meaning, and institutional form emerge through the ongoing conversation between extraregional and intraregional narratives.

The Maritime Tiger: Exploring South Korea’s Interests and Role in the Arctic

Strategic Analysis, 2014

South Korea is not a traditional Arctic state, but it has several key interests in the region. Th... more South Korea is not a traditional Arctic state, but it has several key interests in the region. This article explores the sources of those interests and the country’s commercial activities in the Arctic in the areas of shipping, shipbuilding and hydrocarbons. Since the country’s polar interests transcend commerce, however, attention is also paid to the importance of science and research and development in Korean culture. The article examines South Korea’s regional role in the Arctic, arguing that the country fits into an expanded area of Arctic destinational shipping centred on the Northern Sea Route. Arctic states have generally welcomed the country as a partner in the region, and South Korea’s rise in the north appears likely to continue as part of its broader effort to transform into a globally important political and economic actor.