Developmentalist Cities addresses the missing urban story in research on East Asian developmental... more Developmentalist Cities addresses the missing urban story in research on East Asian developmentalism and the missing developmentalist story in studies of East Asian urbanization. It does so by promoting inter-disciplinary research into the subject of urban developmentalism: a term that editors Jamie Doucette and Bae-Gyoon Park use to highlight the particular nature of the urban as a site of and for developmentalist intervention. The contributors to this volume deepen this concept by examining how the legacy of Cold War and post-Cold War geopolitical economy, spaces of exception (from special zones to industrial districts), and diverse forms of expertise have helped produce urban space in East Asia. " This original and provocative collection is the fi rst critically to interrogate the nexus of urbanism and developmentalism in East Asia, mobilizing in the process the kaleidoscopic lens that is geopolitical economy. Highly recommended, the book inaugurates new ways of thinking about cities, urban theory, and (late) developmental states, both within the region and beyond. "
Combining the three words composing the name of this journalthat is, territory, politics and gove... more Combining the three words composing the name of this journalthat is, territory, politics and governancealways reminds me of the word 'state'. Even though we have to avoid any kind of state-centric approaches to territory, politics and governance, it is impossible to talk about these three words without consideration of the state. The state is always at the core of the processes through which social relations are spatially governed, political processes are territorially mobilized, and spaces and territories are politically contested and organized. In this editorial, I want to position the five papers collected in this issue in relation to recent efforts to develop spatial readings of the state. For the last decade, there has been growing literature dealing with issues of the spatialities of the state. Earlier works on state space, building on the neo-Marxist conceptualization of the state as a social relation, had been concerned with issues related to the production and transformation of state space in the context of neo-liberal globalization. In particular, there have been lots of interesting works exploring the restructuring of territorially demarcated forms of state power, the rescaling of state spatiality, and the effects of newly emergent state spaces on the nature of
This special issue highlights an exciting range of contemporary, interdisciplinary research into ... more This special issue highlights an exciting range of contemporary, interdisciplinary research into spatial forms, political economic processes, and planning policies that have animated East Asian urbanization. To help situate this research, this introductory article argues that the urban as form, process, and imaginary has often been absent from research on East Asian developmentalism; likewise, the influence of developmentalism on East Asian urbanization has remained under-examined in urban research. To rectify this issue, we propose a concept of urban developmentalism that is useful for highlighting the nature of the urban as a site of and for developmentalist intervention in East Asia. We then outline the contribution made by the articles in this special issue to three key themes that we feel are germane for the study of urban developmentalism across varied contexts: geopolitical economies, spaces of exception, and networks of expertise.
For the last three decades, the politics of regionalism has significantly influenced South Korean... more For the last three decades, the politics of regionalism has significantly influenced South Korean politics. This paper addresses the historical origin of regionalist politics in South Korea, with focus on the sociopolitical and institutional conditions under which territory-based political cleavages first emerged in South Korea in the early 1970s. In particular, it examines the ways in which the politics of local economic development in South Korea was turned into a politics of regionalism in the early 1970s, within the specific context of uneven regional development that was attributable to the territoriality of state regulation and representation, and the territorialization of party politics. More specifically, the analytical focus is on examining: (1) how the territoriality of state-led capitalist industrialization in South Korea was responsible for increased regional economic disparities in the 1960s and 1970s; (2) how the politics of local economic development, organized in different regions in reaction to state-conditioned uneven regional development, contributed to the construction of regionally differentiated political and economic interests; and (3) how political parties constructed territorialized social bases by utilizing regionally differentiated political and economic interests, thereby, leading to the rise of regionalist politics.
''Yes, I only have one language, yet it is not mine'' (Derrida, 1996, p. 2). ''.each time we look... more ''Yes, I only have one language, yet it is not mine'' (Derrida, 1996, p. 2). ''.each time we look in the mirror, the images will be changing'' (Ferguson & Mansbach, 1999, p. 102).
Asian sovereigntyscapes The papers in this special issue were all presented at a session of the T... more Asian sovereigntyscapes The papers in this special issue were all presented at a session of the Third International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS), held in Singapore from 19 to 22 August 2003. ICAS has now held four meetings (in Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands, Berlin, Singapore and Shanghai), each bringing together an international community of scholars seeking to ''to transcend the boundaries between disciplines, between nations studied, and between the geographic origins of the Asianists involved'' (http://www.icassecretariat.org/ accessed 8 May 2005). In the spirit of ICAS's goals, and reflecting how critical political geographies might contribute to interdisciplinary area studies scholarship, we termed the session ''Alternative Political Geographies: Beyond Boundaries and Sovereign Territories''. Our stress on thinking ''beyond boundaries'' and ''alternative political geographies'' celebrated the interdisciplinary spirit of ICAS and advertised (to the wider area studies community) how political geography is about much more than the empirical study of frontiers and boundaries. However, we were also careful not to denigrate such work and the wider practice (of scholarship on the morphology of states) to which it belongs. Indeed, both in aspects of our some of own research (for example,
In this paper, I seek to examine the ways in which the sovereign territoriality of the state has ... more In this paper, I seek to examine the ways in which the sovereign territoriality of the state has been contested and (re)constructed in relation to globalization and economic liberalization, especially in the context of the East Asian developmental state. In particular, by building on Aiwa Ong's concept of ''graduated sovereignty'', I will address how the forms of state regulation and sovereignty can be spatially differentiated or graduated within a national territory, with a focus on the spatial processes of economic liberalization in South Korea. In focusing on a recent globalization project of the Korean government, which aims to develop global hubs of international movement of capital and skilled labor in several localities by designating these ''economic free zones'', my analytical focus in this paper is on answering this question: Why and under what political and economic circumstance has the Korean government decided to use this spatial strategy? More specifically, I argue in this paper that the strategy of building ''special economic zones'' in South Korea is partly a spatial outcome of East Asian ''neo-liberalization'', stemming from politically contested interactions between inherited institutional forms and policy frameworks of the developmental state, and the emergent forces of economic liberalization. In other words, the Korean government's project to build ''economic free zones'' can be considered a strategy of ''spatially selective
International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 2008
In this article, I examine how the spatiality of the state and its associated territorial politic... more In this article, I examine how the spatiality of the state and its associated territorial politics can have an impact on the spatial and scalar restructuring of the state. Building on recent theoretical developments on state space, this article examines how territorial politics can be organized under the particular spatiality of the state, and how that particular form of territorial politics can have an impact on the future restructuring of state spatiality. In particular, by focusing on the spatial processes of state restructuring in South Korea, I will attempt to conceptualize the ways in which the spatiality of top-down regulatory processes led by the state can generate inter-scalar tensions between the national and the local; this, in turn, results in the downward rescaling of the state. More specifically, the empirical focus is on how the processes of decentralization in South Korea have been shaped by the influences of various kinds of territorial politics (for example, inter-scalar tensions between the national and the local, territorialized party politics, etc.) that occur within the context of uneven regional development stemming from the spatial selectivity of state regulation.
Developmentalist Cities addresses the missing urban story in research on East Asian developmental... more Developmentalist Cities addresses the missing urban story in research on East Asian developmentalism and the missing developmentalist story in studies of East Asian urbanization. It does so by promoting inter-disciplinary research into the subject of urban developmentalism: a term that editors Jamie Doucette and Bae-Gyoon Park use to highlight the particular nature of the urban as a site of and for developmentalist intervention. The contributors to this volume deepen this concept by examining how the legacy of Cold War and post-Cold War geopolitical economy, spaces of exception (from special zones to industrial districts), and diverse forms of expertise have helped produce urban space in East Asia. " This original and provocative collection is the fi rst critically to interrogate the nexus of urbanism and developmentalism in East Asia, mobilizing in the process the kaleidoscopic lens that is geopolitical economy. Highly recommended, the book inaugurates new ways of thinking about cities, urban theory, and (late) developmental states, both within the region and beyond. "
Combining the three words composing the name of this journalthat is, territory, politics and gove... more Combining the three words composing the name of this journalthat is, territory, politics and governancealways reminds me of the word 'state'. Even though we have to avoid any kind of state-centric approaches to territory, politics and governance, it is impossible to talk about these three words without consideration of the state. The state is always at the core of the processes through which social relations are spatially governed, political processes are territorially mobilized, and spaces and territories are politically contested and organized. In this editorial, I want to position the five papers collected in this issue in relation to recent efforts to develop spatial readings of the state. For the last decade, there has been growing literature dealing with issues of the spatialities of the state. Earlier works on state space, building on the neo-Marxist conceptualization of the state as a social relation, had been concerned with issues related to the production and transformation of state space in the context of neo-liberal globalization. In particular, there have been lots of interesting works exploring the restructuring of territorially demarcated forms of state power, the rescaling of state spatiality, and the effects of newly emergent state spaces on the nature of
This special issue highlights an exciting range of contemporary, interdisciplinary research into ... more This special issue highlights an exciting range of contemporary, interdisciplinary research into spatial forms, political economic processes, and planning policies that have animated East Asian urbanization. To help situate this research, this introductory article argues that the urban as form, process, and imaginary has often been absent from research on East Asian developmentalism; likewise, the influence of developmentalism on East Asian urbanization has remained under-examined in urban research. To rectify this issue, we propose a concept of urban developmentalism that is useful for highlighting the nature of the urban as a site of and for developmentalist intervention in East Asia. We then outline the contribution made by the articles in this special issue to three key themes that we feel are germane for the study of urban developmentalism across varied contexts: geopolitical economies, spaces of exception, and networks of expertise.
For the last three decades, the politics of regionalism has significantly influenced South Korean... more For the last three decades, the politics of regionalism has significantly influenced South Korean politics. This paper addresses the historical origin of regionalist politics in South Korea, with focus on the sociopolitical and institutional conditions under which territory-based political cleavages first emerged in South Korea in the early 1970s. In particular, it examines the ways in which the politics of local economic development in South Korea was turned into a politics of regionalism in the early 1970s, within the specific context of uneven regional development that was attributable to the territoriality of state regulation and representation, and the territorialization of party politics. More specifically, the analytical focus is on examining: (1) how the territoriality of state-led capitalist industrialization in South Korea was responsible for increased regional economic disparities in the 1960s and 1970s; (2) how the politics of local economic development, organized in different regions in reaction to state-conditioned uneven regional development, contributed to the construction of regionally differentiated political and economic interests; and (3) how political parties constructed territorialized social bases by utilizing regionally differentiated political and economic interests, thereby, leading to the rise of regionalist politics.
''Yes, I only have one language, yet it is not mine'' (Derrida, 1996, p. 2). ''.each time we look... more ''Yes, I only have one language, yet it is not mine'' (Derrida, 1996, p. 2). ''.each time we look in the mirror, the images will be changing'' (Ferguson & Mansbach, 1999, p. 102).
Asian sovereigntyscapes The papers in this special issue were all presented at a session of the T... more Asian sovereigntyscapes The papers in this special issue were all presented at a session of the Third International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS), held in Singapore from 19 to 22 August 2003. ICAS has now held four meetings (in Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands, Berlin, Singapore and Shanghai), each bringing together an international community of scholars seeking to ''to transcend the boundaries between disciplines, between nations studied, and between the geographic origins of the Asianists involved'' (http://www.icassecretariat.org/ accessed 8 May 2005). In the spirit of ICAS's goals, and reflecting how critical political geographies might contribute to interdisciplinary area studies scholarship, we termed the session ''Alternative Political Geographies: Beyond Boundaries and Sovereign Territories''. Our stress on thinking ''beyond boundaries'' and ''alternative political geographies'' celebrated the interdisciplinary spirit of ICAS and advertised (to the wider area studies community) how political geography is about much more than the empirical study of frontiers and boundaries. However, we were also careful not to denigrate such work and the wider practice (of scholarship on the morphology of states) to which it belongs. Indeed, both in aspects of our some of own research (for example,
In this paper, I seek to examine the ways in which the sovereign territoriality of the state has ... more In this paper, I seek to examine the ways in which the sovereign territoriality of the state has been contested and (re)constructed in relation to globalization and economic liberalization, especially in the context of the East Asian developmental state. In particular, by building on Aiwa Ong's concept of ''graduated sovereignty'', I will address how the forms of state regulation and sovereignty can be spatially differentiated or graduated within a national territory, with a focus on the spatial processes of economic liberalization in South Korea. In focusing on a recent globalization project of the Korean government, which aims to develop global hubs of international movement of capital and skilled labor in several localities by designating these ''economic free zones'', my analytical focus in this paper is on answering this question: Why and under what political and economic circumstance has the Korean government decided to use this spatial strategy? More specifically, I argue in this paper that the strategy of building ''special economic zones'' in South Korea is partly a spatial outcome of East Asian ''neo-liberalization'', stemming from politically contested interactions between inherited institutional forms and policy frameworks of the developmental state, and the emergent forces of economic liberalization. In other words, the Korean government's project to build ''economic free zones'' can be considered a strategy of ''spatially selective
International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 2008
In this article, I examine how the spatiality of the state and its associated territorial politic... more In this article, I examine how the spatiality of the state and its associated territorial politics can have an impact on the spatial and scalar restructuring of the state. Building on recent theoretical developments on state space, this article examines how territorial politics can be organized under the particular spatiality of the state, and how that particular form of territorial politics can have an impact on the future restructuring of state spatiality. In particular, by focusing on the spatial processes of state restructuring in South Korea, I will attempt to conceptualize the ways in which the spatiality of top-down regulatory processes led by the state can generate inter-scalar tensions between the national and the local; this, in turn, results in the downward rescaling of the state. More specifically, the empirical focus is on how the processes of decentralization in South Korea have been shaped by the influences of various kinds of territorial politics (for example, inter-scalar tensions between the national and the local, territorialized party politics, etc.) that occur within the context of uneven regional development stemming from the spatial selectivity of state regulation.
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