Olivier DOLLFUS, Christian GRATALOUP, Jacques LEVY. Three or four things that globalisation means for geography.
The induration of the global spatial scale is a process that has been taking place for several centuries, but which has accelerated considerably over the past thirty years. This globality is therefore a geographical object and poses new problems for our discipline. The World can be analysed as a geon with no equivalent on the same scale and which cannot be transcended. World system and earth system overlap perfectly and the configuration differs from that of other spatial systems. The complete circuit, key feature of contemporary globalisation, makes it a round spatial system. The development of lineaments of a global society renders the substance of globalisation more complex and allows us to consider the World as a territory. Thinking from a global point of view localises and relativises the divisions in the system of social sciences.
keywords: ENVIRONMENT, GLOBALISATION, GREENHOUSE EFFECT, INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
Christian GRATALOUP. Representation and perception of a globalised World. (2 annexes)
The growing importance of the global geographical scale raises the question of how to represent it. The old problem of the limitations of the planisphere takes on a new dimension: in a multicentric World, the obsolescence of monocentric images also casts doubt on other figures of the World. The problem is especially acute as it concerns the representation of the World system, in all senses of the term. The single-scale continuity of all the literature is less and less satisfactory for representing - and by extension perceiving - an increasingly multimetric space. The planisphere has become a problem for the geographical perception of the World.
keywords: DISTANCE, METRIC, PLANISPHERE, REPRESENTATION, WORLD
Jacques LEVY. Geography visited by the World.
Studies of globalisation are founded on certain established principles of geography, but the basic hypothesis underlying this research - that the World tends partly to exist as a unified space - requires that analytical tools be adapted to reflect this reality. This paper examines some of the theoretical effects of taking account of the World as object on the general approach of geography. It looks at the status of singular objects (there is only one World, but we can conceptualise and model it); the importance of scales and metrics (the World scale is characterised by a specific combination of territories and networks); complex lacunary systems (the very existence of the world system is jeopardised by the resistance of some of its components); and the coexistence of spaces which appear to be interlinked, but which function separately (the places of the world have a variable share of globality). Universality makes it possible to define the issue, the emergence of the World as place, and to enhance the role of the players and their strategic competence.
keywords: COMPLEXITY, GEOGRAPHY, GLOBALISATION, METRIC, PLACE, SCALE, WORLD SYSTEM
Olivier DOLLFUS. Globalisation and greenhouse gazes.
The issue of «global change», i.e. possible climate change on earth as a result of greenhouse gas emissions produced by human activity, induces us to re-examine the relationships between the World system - the spatial interactions of humankind - and the earth system - the structure, envelopes and interfaces of the planet. The two systems overlap perfectly and interact like two intersecting subsets, which introduces a new way of viewing «man-nature» relationships on the scale of the planet: we are dealing with a «global» system.
keywords: COMPLETE CIRCUIT, GLOBALISATION, WORLD, WORLD SYSTEM
Debate. Globalisation. (B. Antheaume, O. Dollfus, Fr. Durand-Dastès, R. Brunet, Cl. Grasland, Ch. Grataloup, R. Knafou, J. Lévy, D. Pumain, V. Rey, M.-Cl. Robic, Th. Saint-Julien, Ch. Taillard)
Habib DLALA. New coastal industrial development in Tunisia, globalisation and country planning. (6 fig.)
The observation of the Tunisian industrial complex over a sufficiently long period of time (46 years) suggests the hypothesis of the emergence of new coastal industrial dynamics, which are less concentrated on the traditional port positions. This paper seeks first to validate the hypothesis of the existence of a new pattern of coastal industrial development, linked to the spread of manufacturing activities to densely populated zones in small and medium-sized towns located less than 70 km from the trading ports. Secondly, it attempts to show that the strongest points of this new coastal development, i.e. those that have recorded the most spectacular gains in employment and the fastest growth, correspond to the most active employment areas in the country. Then, in a continuous perspective that takes into account the recent impacts of globalisation and the signing of the free-trade agreement with the European Union in 1995, this study predicts that this new industrial coastal development is set to continue. Lastly, it recommends moving from a mode of extensive industrialisation, which has lasted long enough, to a rethinking of current coastal development as a sharing of economic activity between the privileged coastal positions and the employment areas in the vicinity.
keywords: COASTAL DEVELOPMENT, COUNTRY PLANNING, GLOBALISATION, INDUSTRY, TUNISIA
Micro-industrialisation and full employment in northern Italy. (1 fig., 1 tabl.)
By observing the uses of space that have developed as a result of the diffusion of micro-manufacturing in northern Italy, it can be seen that factors such as collective identity, common culture and sense of belonging to a community and territory can play an important role in economic efficiency. This paper attempts to demonstrate that economic efficiency can be achieved in other ways than by the functional separation of spaces and productive and urban concentration. It challenges the idea that urban concentration and desertification of territories are inevitable and universal consequences of economic modernity.
keywords: INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS, LOCALISED MICRO-INDUSTRIALISATION, NORTHERN ITALY, TERRITORY
Rosa JORDÁ-BORRELL. The process of technological change in Andalusia. (2 fig., 3 tabl.)
This paper studies the process of technological change that has taken place in a peripheral region of Europe with a weak industrial fabric. This process was triggered by Spain's entry into the common market and assisted by the action of regional institutions. As a result, the period from 1990 to 1998 has seen technological modernisation, the organisation of the business environment, the formation of clusters around the externalisation of certain industrial production processes (aeronautics, automotive, etc.) and finally the emergence of innovative companies with R&D departments. Upgrading of machinery and the externalisation process have changed the production and labour organisation of companies. Furthermore, new qualifications have been introduced and the technological level in small and medium-sized enterprises has improved. Costs in SMEs have also been reduced and new engineering departments have been set up. However, only 30 % of SMEs have attained an acceptable standard of quality and only large companies are seeking differentiation.
keywords: ANDALUSIA, EXTERNALISATION, MODERNISATION, ORGANISATION OF THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, TRANSFERS OF TECHNOLOGY
Yves GUERMOND, Gilles LAJOIE. About measurement in social geography. (3 fig.)
Measurement is the necessary way towards a scientific approach. Appropriate measurement methods may be used in various geographical matters, such as the optimal location of public services, the pattern of transportation networks, GIS for environmental monitoring or policy simulations, etc. The bias in the choice of such research programs is not immediately obvious, but may lead to an inability for geography to find out answers for the main social problems. These answers need an effort, beyond the scientific methods, to imagine more convenient scientific options to approach social targets. This is particularly true for the spatial and social segregation in the metropolitan cities. «Pure geography» versus «social geography»?
keywords: ANDALUSIA, EXTERNALISATION, MODERNISATION, ORGANISATION OF THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, TRANSFERS OF TECHNOLOGY
L’espace géographique 4/98
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Last modified: April 1, 1999