Towards an uncertain future? The strengthening of Japan's autonomy in Asia-Pacific

Recently, Japan has been increasing tensions with China regarding the Pinnacle Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. Due to the Chinese military development, Japan has been working on its political and military strengthening in Asia. This essay presents two possible scenarios for Japan.

The other Gulf oil crisis - in Southwest Asia

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a rude reminder of the risks inherent in an economy dependent upon petroleum. But there's a quieter crisis in the other gulf - the Persian Gulf - that should call Americans' attention to the even more severe consequences of relying upon imported oil. The costs of using the military to protect the transport of oil from the most turbulent part of the world should convince our country's policymakers to increase investments in researching and developing affordable, American-made clean-burning alternative fuels. But, first, we have to understand the real causes, costs and consequences of importing 12.9 million barrels of oil per day, which make up nearly 60 percent of U.S. oil consumption at a total direct cost of roughly $300 billion per year.

Modeling the Potential Geographic Distribution of Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) in Asia Using GIS Tools

Known as the "king of spices", black pepper (Piper nigrum), a perennial crop of the tropics, is economically the most important and the most widely used spice crop in the world. To understand its suitable bioclimatic distribution, maximum entropy based on ecological niche modeling was used to model the bioclimatic niches of the species in its Asian range. Based on known occurrences, bioclimatic areas with higher probabilities are mainly located in the eastern and western coasts of the Indian Peninsula, the east of Sumatra Island, some areas in the Malay Archipelago, and the southeast coastal areas of China. Some undocumented places were also predicted as suitable areas. According to the jackknife procedure, the minimum temperature of the coldest month, the mean monthly temperature range, and the precipitation of the wettest month were identified as highly effective factors in the distribution of black pepper and could possibly account for the crop's distribution pattern. Such climatic requirements inhibited this species from dispersing and gaining a larger geographical range.

The Global Paleomonsoon as seen through speleothem records from Asia and the Americas

The regional monsoons of the world have long been viewed as seasonal atmospheric circulation reversal-analogous to a thermally-driven land-sea breeze on a continental scale. This conventional view of monsoons is now being integrated at a global scale and accordingly, a new paradigm has emerged which considers regional monsoons to be manifestations of global-scale seasonal changes in response to overturning of atmospheric circulation in the tropics and subtropics, and henceforth, interactive components of a singular Global Monsoon (GM) system. The paleoclimate community, however, tends to view 'paleomonsoon' (PM), largely in terms of regional circulation phenomena. In the past decade, many high-quality speleothem oxygen isotope (delta O-18) records have been established from the Asian Monsoon and the South American Monsoon regions that primarily reflect changes in the integrated intensities of monsoons on orbital-to-decadal timescales. With the emergence of these high-resolution and absolute-dated records from both sides of the Equator, it is now possible to test a concept of the 'Global-Paleo-Monsoon' (GPM) on a wide-range of timescales. Here we present a comprehensive synthesis of globally-distributed speleothem delta O-18 records and highlight three aspects of the GPM that are comparable to the modern GM: (1) the GPM intensity swings on different timescales; (2) their global extent; and (3) an anti-phased inter-hemispheric relationship between the Asian and South American monsoon systems on a wide range of timescales.

Oceanic crust and island arc formation in Central Asia during late Neoproterozoic times - evidence from petrological and geochemical studies

Die vorliegende Arbeit behandelt die Entwicklung des 570 Ma alten, neoproterozoischen Agardagh - Tes-Chem Ophioliths (ATCO) in Zentralasien. Dieser Ophiolith liegt südwestlich des Baikalsees (50.5° N, 95° E) und wurde im frühen Stadium der Akkretion des Zentralasiatischen Mobilgürtels auf den nordwestlichen Rand des Tuvinisch-Mongolischen Mikrokontinentes aufgeschoben. Bei dem Zentralasiatische Mobilgürtel handelt es sich um einen riesigen Akkretions-Subduktionskomplex, der heute das größte zusammenhängende Orogen der Erde darstellt. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurden eine Reihe plutonischer und vulkanischer Gesteine, sowie verschiedene Mantelgesteine des ATCO mittels mikroanalytischer und geochemischer Verfahren untersucht (Elektronenstrahlmikrosonde, Ionenstrahlmikrosonde, Spurenelement- und Isotopengeochemie). Die Auswertung dieser Daten ermöglichte die Entwicklung eines geodynamisch-petrologischen Modells zur Entstehung des ATCO. Die vulkanischen Gesteine lassen sich aufgrund ihrer Spurenelement- und Isotopenzusammensetzung in inselbogenbezogene und back-arc Becken bezogene Gesteine (IA-Gesteine und BAB-Gesteine) unterscheiden. Darüber hinaus gibt es eine weitere, nicht eindeutig zuzuordnende Gruppe, die hauptsächlich mafische Gänge umfasst. Der grösste Teil der untersuchen Vulkanite gehört zur Gruppe der IA-Gesteine. Es handelt sich um Al-reiche Basalte und basaltische Andesite, welche aus einem evolvierten Stammmagma mit Mg# 0.60, Cr ~ 180 µg/g und Ni ~ 95 µg/g hauptsächlich durch Klinopyroxenfraktionierung entstanden sind. Das Stammmagma selbst entstand durch Fraktionierung von ca. 12 % Olivin und geringen Anteilen von Cr-Spinell aus einer primären, aus dem Mantel abgeleiteten Schmelze. Die IA-Gesteine haben hohe Konzentrationen an inkompatiblen Spurenelementen (leichte-(L)- Seltenerdelement-(SEE)-Konzentrationen etwa 100-fach chondritisch, chondrit-normierte (La/Yb)c von 14.6 - 5.1), negative Nb-Anomalien (Nb/La = 0.37 - 0.62) und niedrige Zr/Nb Verhältnisse (7 - 14) relativ zu den BAB-Gesteinen. Initiale eNd Werte liegen bei etwa +5.5, initiale Bleiisotopenverhältnisse sind: 206Pb/204Pb = 17.39 - 18.45, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.49 - 15.61, 208Pb/204Pb = 37.06 - 38.05. Die Anreicherung lithophiler inkompatibler Spurenelemente (LILE) in dieser Gruppe ist signifikant (Ba/La = 11 - 130) und zeigt den Einfluss subduzierter Komponenten an. Die BAB-Gesteine repräsentieren Schmelzen, die sehr wahrscheinlich aus der gleichen Mantelquelle wie die IA-Gesteine stammen, aber durch höhere Aufschmelzgrade (8 - 15 %) und ohne den Einfluss subduzierter Komponenten entstanden sind. Sie haben niedrigere Konzentrationen an inkompatiblen Spurenelementen, flache SEE-Muster ((La/Yb)c = 0.6 - 2.4) und höhere initiale eNd Werte zwischen +7.8 und +8.5. Nb Anomalien existieren nicht und Zr/Nb Verhältnisse sind hoch (21 - 48). Um die geochemische Entwicklung der vulkanischen Gesteine des ATCO zu erklären, sind mindestens drei Komponenten erforderlich: (1) eine angereicherte, ozeaninselbasalt-ähnliche Komponente mit hoher Nb Konzentration über ~ 30 µg/g, einem niedrigen Zr/Nb Verhältnis (ca. 6.5), einem niedrigen initialen eNd Wert (um 0), aber mit radiogenen 206Pb/204Pb-, 207Pb/204Pb- und 208Pb/204Pb-Verhältnissen; (2) eine N-MORB ähnliche back-arc Becken Komponente mit flachem SEE-Muster und einem hohen initialen eNd Wert von mindestens +8.5, und (3) eine Inselbogen-Komponente aus einer verarmten Mantelquelle, welche durch die abtauchende Platte geochemisch modifiziert wurde. Die geochemische Entstehung der ATCO Vulkanite lässt sich dann am besten durch eine Kombination aus Quellenkontamination, fraktionierte Kristallisation und Magmenmischung erklären. Geodynamisch gesehen entstand der ATCO sehr wahrscheinlich in einem intraozeanischen Inselbogen - back-arc System. Bei den untersuchten Plutoniten handelt es sich um ultramafische Kumulate (Wehrlite und Pyroxenite) sowie um gabbroische Plutonite (Olivin-Gabbros bis Diorite). Die geochemischen Charakteristika der mafischen Plutonite sind deutlich unterschiedlich zu denen der vulkanischen Gesteine, weshalb sie sehr wahrscheinlich ein späteres Entwicklungsstadium des ATCO repräsentieren. Die Spurenelement-Konzentrationen in den Klinopyroxenen der ultramafischen Kumulate sind extrem niedrig, mit etwa 0.1- bis 1-fach chondritischen SEE-Konzentrationen und mit deutlich LSEE-verarmten Mustern ((La/Yb)c = 0.27 - 0.52). Berechnete Gleichgewichtsschmelzen der ultramafischen Kumulate zeigen grosse Ähnlichkeit zu primären boninitischen Schmelzen. Die primären Magmen waren daher boninitischer Zusammensetzung und entstanden in dem durch vorausgegangene Schmelzprozesse stark verarmten Mantelkeil über einer Subduktionszone. Niedrige Spurenelement-Konzentrationen zeigen einen geringen Einfluss der abtauchenden Platte an. Die Spurenelement-Konzentrationen der Gabbros sind ebenfalls niedrig, mit etwa 0.5 - 10-fach chondritischen SEE-Konzentrationen und mit variablen SEE-Mustern ((La/Yb)c = 0.25 - 2.6). Analog zu den Vulkaniten der IA-Gruppe haben alle Gabbros eine negative Nb-Anomalie mit Nb/La = 0.01 - 0.31. Die initialen eNd Werte der Gabbros variieren zwischen +4.8 und +7.1, mit einem Mittelwert von +5.9, und sind damit identisch mit denen der IA-Vulkanite. Bei den untersuchten Mantelgesteinen handelt es sich um teilweise serpentinisierte Dunite und Harzburgite, die alle durch hohe Mg/Si- und niedrige Al/Si-Verhältnisse gekennzeichnet sind. Dies zeigt einen refraktären Charakter an und steht in guter Übereinstimmung mit den hohen Cr-Zahlen (Cr#) der Spinelle (bis zu Cr# = 0.83), auf deren Basis der Aufschmelzgrad der residuellen Mantelgesteine berechnet wurde. Dieser beträgt etwa 25 %. Die geochemische Zusammensetzung und die petrologischen Daten der Ultramafite und Gabbros lassen sich am besten erklären, wenn man für die Entstehung dieser Gesteine einen zweistufigen Prozess annimmt. In einer ersten Stufe entstanden die ultramafischen Kumulate unter hohem Druck in einer Magmenkammer an der Krustenbasis, hauptsächlich durch Klinopyroxen-Fraktionierung. Bei dieser Magmenkammer handelte es sich um ein offenes System, dem von unten laufend neue Schmelze zugeführt wurde, und aus dem im oberen Bereich evolviertere Schmelzen geringerer Dichte entwichen. Diese evolvierten Schmelzen stiegen in flachere krustale Bereiche auf und bildeten dort meist isolierte Intrusionskörper. Diese Intrusionskörper erstarrten ohne Magmen-Nachschub, weshalb petrographisch sehr unterschiedliche Gesteine entstehen konnten. Eine geochemische Modifikation der abkühlenden Schmelzen erfolgte allerdings durch die Assimilation von Nebengestein. Da innerhalb der Gabbros keine signifikante Variation der initalen eNd Werte existiert, handelte es sich bei dem assimilierten Material hauptsächlich um vulkanische Gesteine des ATCO und nicht um ältere, möglicherweise kontinentale Kruste.

Identification and genetic diversity in phytoplasmas associated with diseases of cassava and other agronomic relevant crops in south-east Asia and Latin America

Identification and genetic diversity of phytoplasmas infecting tropical plant species, selected among those most agronomically relevant in South-east Asia and Latin America were studied. Correlation between evolutionary divergence of relevant phytoplasma strains and their geographic distribution by comparison on homologous genes of phytoplasma strains detected in the same or related plant species in other geographical areas worldwide was achieved. Molecular diversity was studied on genes coding ribosomal proteins, groEL, tuf and amp besides phytoplasma 16S rRNA. Selected samples infected by phytoplasmas belonging to diverse ribosomal groups were also studied by in silico RFLP followed by phylogenetic analyses. Moreover a partial genome annotation of a ‘Ca. P. brasiliense’ strain was done towards future application for epidemiological studies. Phytoplasma presence in cassava showing frog skin (CFSD) and witches’ broom (CWB) diseases in Costa Rica - Paraguay and in Vietnam – Thailand, respectively, was evaluated. In both cases, the diseases were associated with phytoplasmas related to aster yellows, apple proliferation and “stolbur” groups, while only phytoplasma related to X-disease group in CFSD, and to hibiscus witches’ broom, elm yellows and clover proliferation groups in CWB. Variability was found among strains belonging to the same ribosomal group but having different geographic origin and associated with different disease. Additionally, a dodder transmission assay to elucidate the role of phytoplasmas in CWB disease was carried out, and resulted in typical phytoplasma symptoms in periwinkle plants associated with the presence of aster yellows-related strains. Lethal wilt disease, a severe disease of oil palm in Colombia that is spreading throughout South America was also studied. Phytoplasmas were detected in symptomatic oil palm and identified as ‘Ca. P. asteris’, ribosomal subgroup 16SrI-B, and were distinguished from other aster yellows phytoplasmas used as reference strains; in particular, from an aster yellows strain infecting corn in the same country.

La cooperazione dell'UE nella creazione di uno spazio sicuro nella globalizzazione come possibile modello per la regione dell'Asia Centrale

Gli ultimi anni hanno visto importanti cambiamenti positivi nella cooperazione interstatale in Asia centrale. Crescenti minacce come il terrorismo internazionale, l'estremismo religioso e politico, il traffico di droga, ecc, causati dagli interessi geopolitici e geo-economici delle potenze mondiali, hanno contribuito alla formazione di una politica estera più coordinata e coerente degli Stati della regione. Questo processo si manifesta nella partecipazione attiva dell’istituzionalizzazione della Shanghai Organizzazione del Commonwealth (SOC), Conferenza sulle misure di costruzione d’interazione e fiducia in Asia (CICA) e Organizzazione del Trattato di Sicurezza Collettiva (CSTO). Problemi moderni di sicurezza in Asia centrale dovrebbero essere risolti in dei nuovi modi, non convenzionali. Le nuove minacce alla sicurezza richiedono modi non standard per risolvere il problema. Considerate le differenze fondamentali dell'Unione europea e degli Stati dell'Asia centrale nei valori e dal punto di vista in materia di sicurezza. I paesi dell'Asia centrale non sono pronti per l'integrazione politica. Nonostante questo, nell’Asia centrale sono state adottate misure per contrastare le minacce non convenzionali. L’esperienza europea di unire gli sforzi della regione per garantire la sicurezza interna, può essere utilizzata dai paesi dell'Asia centrale, soprattutto, in primo luogo sulla formazione del quadro istituzionale e giuridico per la cooperazione operativa delle forze dell'ordine per le seguenti aree: • prevenzione del traffico di droga attraverso gli Stati dell'Asia centrale; • lotta contro nuove forme di terrorismo ed estremismo; • limitare la dimensione della migrazione clandestina; • migliorare la protezione giuridica dei cittadini. Fino a poco tempo fa, questi temi hanno ricevuto poca attenzione, sia nella teoria sia nella pratica, poiché i problemi di sicurezza della società erano principalmente ridotti per evitare il pericolo di guerra.

The performativity of nonviolent protest in South Asia (1918 - 1948)

This study seeks to address a gap in the study of nonviolent action. The gap relates to the question of how nonviolence is performed, as opposed to the meaning or impact of nonviolent politics. The dissertation approaches the history of nonviolent protest in South Asia through the lens of performance studies. Such a shift allows for concepts such as performativity and theatricality to be tested in terms of their applicability and relevance to contemporary political and philosophical questions. It also allows for a different perspective on the historiography of nonviolent protest. Using concepts, modes of analysis and tropes of thinking from the emerging field of performance studies, the dissertation analyses two different cases of nonviolent protest, asking how politics is performatively constituted. The first two sections of this study set out the parameters of the key terms of the dissertation: nonviolence and performativity, by tracing their genealogies and legacies as terms. These histories are then located as an intersection in the founding of the nonviolent. The case studies at the analytical core of the dissertation are: fasting as a method in Gandhi's political arsenal, and the army of nonviolent soldiers in the North-West Frontier Province, known as the Khudai Khidmatgar. The study begins with an overview of current theorisations of nonviolence. The approach to the subject is through an investigation of commonly held misconceptions about nonviolent action, such as its supposed passivity, the absence of violence, its ineffectiveness and its spiritual basis. This section addresses the lacunae within existing theories of nonviolence and points to possible fertile spaces for further exploration. Section 3 offers an overview of the different shades of the concept of performativity, asking how it is used in various contexts and how these different nuances can be viewed in relation to each other. The dissertation explores how a theory of performativity may be correlated to the theorisation of nonviolence. The correlations are established in four boundary areas: action/inaction, violence/absence of violence, the actor/opponent and the body/spirit. These boundary areas allow for a theorising of nonviolent action as a performative process. The first case study is Gandhi's use of the fast as a method of nonviolent protest. Using a close reading of his own writings, speeches and letters, as well as a reading of responses to his fast in British newspapers and within India, the dissertation asks what made fasting into Gandhi's most favoured mode of protest and political action. The study reconstructs his unique praxis of the fast from a performative perspective, demonstrating how display and ostentation are vital to the political economy of the fast. It also unveils the cultural context and historical reservoir of body practices, which Gandhi drew from and adapted into 'weapons' of political action. The relationship of Gandhian nonviolence to the body forms a crucial part of the analysis. The second case study is the nonviolent army of the Pashtuns, Khudai Khidmatgar (KK), literally Servants of God. This anti-imperialist movement in the North-West Frontier Province of what is today the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan existed between 1929 and 1948. The movement adopted the organisational form of an army. It conducted protest activities against colonial rule, as well as social reform activities for the Pashtuns. This group was connected to the Congress party of Gandhi, but the dissertation argues that their conceptualisation and praxis of nonviolence emerged from a very different tradition and worldview. Following a brief introduction to the socio-political background of this Pashtun movement, the dissertation explores the activities that this nonviolent army engaged in, looking at their unique understanding of the militancy of an unarmed force, and their mode of combat and confrontation. Of particular interest to the analysis is the way the KK re-combined and mixed what appear to be contradictory ideologies and acts. In doing so, they reframed cultural and historical stereotypes of the Pashtuns as a martial race, juxtaposing the institutional form of the army with a nonviolent praxis based on Islamic principles and social reform. The example of the Khudai Khidmatgar is used to explore the idea that nonviolence is not the opposite of violent conflict, but in fact a dialectical engagement and response to violence. Section 5, in conclusion, returns to the boundary areas of nonviolence: action, violence, the opponent and the body, and re-visits these areas on a comparative note, bringing together elements from Gandhi's fasts and the practices of the KK. The similarities and differences in the two examples are assessed and contextualised in relation to the guiding question of this study, namely the question of the performativity of nonviolent action.

Accessibility as a determinant of environmental dynamics in socio-economic disparities in mainland Southeast Asia

Access and accessibility are important determinants of people’s ability to utilise natural resources, and have a strong impact on household welfare. Physical accessibility of natural resources, on the other hand, has generally been regarded as one of the most important drivers of land-use and land-cover changes. Based on two case studies, this article discusses evidence of the impact of access to services and access to natural resources on household poverty and on the environment. We show that socio-cultural distances are a key limiting factor for gaining access to services, and thereby for improved household welfare. We also discuss the impact of socio-cultural distances on access to natural resources, and show that large-scale commercial exploitation of natural resources tends to occur beyond the spatial reach of socio-culturally and economically marginalised population segments. We conclude that it is essential to pay more attention to improving the structural environment that presently leaves social minority groups marginalised. Innovative approaches that use natural resource management to induce poverty reduction – for example, through compensation of local farmers for environmental services – appear to be promising avenues that can lead to integration of the objectives of poverty reduction and sustainable environmental stewardship.

Im/possible Lives: Gender, Class, Self-Fashioning, and Affinal Solidarity in Modern South Asia

Drawing on ethnographic research and employing a micro-historical approach that recognizes not only the transnational but also the culturally specific manifestations of modernity, this article centers on the efforts of a young woman to negotiate shifting and conflicting discourses about what a good life might consist of for a highly educated and high caste Hindu woman living at the margins of a nonetheless globalized world. Newly imaginable worlds in contemporary Mithila,South Asia, structure feeling and action in particularly gendered and classed ways, even as the capacity of individuals to actualize those worlds and the “modern” selves envisioned within them are constrained by both overt and subtle means. In the context of shifting cultural anchors, new practices of silence, literacy, and even behaviors interpreted as “mental illness” may become tactics in an individual’s negotiation of conflicting self-representations. The confluence of forces at play in contemporary Mithila, moreover, is creating new structures of feeling that may begin to reverse long-standing locally held assumptions about strong solidarities between natal families and daughters, on the one hand, and weak solidarities between affinal families and new daughters-in-law, on the other.