Abstracts - Year VIII, no.1 / 2006

LE KOSOVO: PROTECTORAT INTERNATIONAL ET/OU PROTO-ETAT? UNE ETUDE DE CAS DANS LA NOUVELLE GEOGRAPHIE POLITIQUE DES BALKANS

André-Louis SANGUIN

Faculté de Géographie, Université Paris IV-Sorbonne, alsanguin@wanadoo.fr

Jusqu'en février 1998, l'opinion publique occidentale ne savait pas grand-chose du Kosovo et il n'est même pas sûr qu'elle se souvenait que cette province perdue au fin fond du Sud de la Serbie avait perdu son autonomie en mars 1989, autonomie qui lui avait pourtant été accordée par la Constitution yougoslave de 1974 au point d'en faire une quasi-septième république de la Fédération (Malcom, 1998 ; Vickers, 1998). Principal foyer politique et culturel de la Grande Serbie pendant près de trois siècles, le Kosovo avait vu fleurir sur son sol un « blanc manteau d'églises » entre le XIIème et le XIVème siècles. A la faveur de l'occupation ottomane après 1389, il fut vidé de sa population serbe au profit des Albanais. La crise actuelle du Kosovo est le dernier épisode en date du combat multiséculaire opposant dans les Balkans l'Islam ottoman à la Chrétienté slave orthodoxe. Elle renvoie à un passé lointain dans lequel s'enracinent les mythes fondateurs des adversaires d'aujourd'hui (Roux, 1999). Avec ses 10.887 km2 de hautes terres à climat continental, le Kosovo a été peuplé par les Slaves aux VIème et VIIème siècles. Les Illyriens (ancêtres des Albanais ?) se replièrent alors vers les régions littorales. Il ne restait plus que 5 à 10% d'Albanais au Kosovo durant la première moitié du XVème siècle. Le 28 juin 1389, la Bataille du Champ des Merles au Kosovo Polje porta un coup fatal aux Serbes du Kosovo, d'autant que Belgrade tombait en 1521. Cet événement entraîna une migration considérable de Serbes. Petit à petit, jusqu'au XVIIIème siècle, des régions entières furent désertées et c'est par dizaines de milliers que les Serbes allèrent peupler les Confins Militaires de l'Empire des Habsbourg en Voïvodine, en Slavonie, en Croatie centrale… Bien plus, chaque offensive autrichienne contre la Sublime Porte (1689-1690, 1718, 1788-1791…) engendra l'exil, la servitude ou la conversion.

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THE RUSSION-UKRAINE GEO-POLITICAL RELATIONS IN TERMS OF ECONOMIC, POLITIC AND SOCIAL FACTORS/ELEMENTS OR "THE GAS GEO-POLITICS” IN CONTEMPORARY PHASE IN EUROPE

Valeriu SAINSUS

ASEM, Catedra „Geografie şi Economia Mediului

The geopolitical relations among states is an expression of past historyc period/phase, but with a conditional form for created situations, the economic, politic and social surroundings of contemporary period. Esentially, they are reduced to a more apropriate form, to the human. Through the big variations in this two country there were essential changes in geo-political view, geo-economic development and geo-strategy. At a certain moment Russia's all efforts were those to keep its position, if not in the whole world, in the region. Cert is that Russia applied to all kind of possibilities to achieve the desired aim. First of all, an argument to this is the array of local conflict in the former area of ex-USSr. The direct intention for resolving this problem was to build up the CSI. In the CSI were distinguished two centrifugal directions – where Russia and the Slav countries, which lie around it, had the main place, like Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

Keywords : Geo-Political Relations, The Russian-Ukrainian Relations, The Gas Geo-Politics

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CULTURAL PREMISSES OF NEGOTIATION WITHIN THE ISLAMIC WORLD

Radu SĂGEATĂ

Institute of Geography, Romanian Academy, Bucharest, e-mail: radusageata @yahoo.com

Marcela SĂGEATĂ

Faculty of International Economic Relations, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, e-mail: marcelasageata @yahoo.com

Despite its considerable extension and a heterogeneous natural and human potential, the Islamic world presents a relative cultural homogeneity whose hardcore is profound respect for religion and ancestral tradition. In view of it, economic practices are grafted on a cultural and religious substrate, tending towards autarchy and the rejection of Western values. Therefore, when transnational companies wish to acceed to the Islamic market, prompted also by geopolitical reasons, oil resources and the reshaping of the spheres of influences after the USSR fell apart, might encounter serious difficulties unless negotiations take into account local cultural particularities.

Keywords: Islamic world, cultural and religious substrate, oil resources, negociation.

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THE POLICY OF EUROPEAN UNION CONCERNING “LAND” – TYPE REGIONS

Gabriela ILIEŞ

Universitatea „Babeş-Bolyai” Cluj-Napoca, Facultatea de Geografie, Extensia Sighetu Marmaţiei, e-mail : gabrielailies@yahoo.com

The “lands” are, in general, constituted around the consciousness of a common destiny and very deeply rooted. It always is a well marked territory, perceived by the collective consciousness. The trends indicate a strong revival of the regional geography. In France, since 1995, it has appeared a real study-current for the land-type regions. It was published the first law for organizing the territory that had a definition of the “land”. At the same time, at Romanian level, the necessity of new approaches, based on recent major changes, brought in front the problems of the new regional geography.

Keywords: land type region , regional politicies, regional development

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INDIRECT ESTIMATION ON THE TYPES OF INTERNATIONAL ELDERLY MIGRATION IN HUNGARY

Sándor ILLÉS

Demographic Research Institute, 1119 Budapest, Andor u. 47-49. Hungary, e-mail: illes@demografia.hu

During the last decade international elderly migration (hereafter IEM) related to Hungary has grown strongly and its types multiplied. This paper examines the process, with particular attention to the distinguishing feature of the forms. Based on the probable effects of IEM we formulate a motivational system of the eleven most important sending countries to gain possibility for the results are embedded into the contemporary conceptual frameworks. Using register based comparable data between 1996 and 2004, this paper contributes to the information on and understanding of IEM. The IEM occurres at specific times, transformation to the socialism to capitalism, in specific context that means different level of harmonisation to the EU legal rules in the Central and Eastern European countries. We identify seven different types in which two most useful (amenity seeking and return) and one less useful (higher pension hunting) in the light of effective international migration policy forming in Hungary. The paper ends summary and discussion section. It concludes with recommendations for the Hungarian policy makers to end the legal disadvantage about the most effective way without tensions among the recent and candidate member states of the European Union. Moreover, we try to find potential partners belong to Central and Eastern Europe for the international comparison in order to diversify the existing literature, which has been very much based on North American and Western European experiences.

Keywords : international elderly migration; migration policy; Hungary; Central and Eastern Europe

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CHANGES IN THE GENERAL ETHNIC STRUCTURE OF ROMANIAN BANAT (1900-2002)

Creţan REMUS

West University of Timişoara

Schimbări în structura etnică generală în perioada 1900-2002. Banatul românesc a traversat o serie de fenomene geografico-istorice în ultimul secol. Deşi au existat forme incipiente de redare a structurii etnice a populaţiei de-a lungul sec. al XIX-lea, abia la 1900 putem vorbi de un prim recensământ mai complex asupra populaţiei regiunii. Principalele migraţii, cele două războaie mondiale, anumite probleme politice şi sociale concrete (momentul Bărăgan, politicile de creştere a natalităţii etc.) au stabilit o elasticitate a structurii etnice a Banatului, dar cu o manifestare continuă a predomin ării etniei băştinaşe româneşti. Dacă sârbii şi germanii au format principalele minorităţi tradiţionale, cu impact în cultura bănăţeană, astăzi maghiarii şi rromii întregesc un peisaj etnic regional format din 16 etnii.

Keywords : general ethnic structure, geographical-historic evolution, Romanian Banat

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GEODEMOGRAPHIC REMARKS ON THE GREEK-CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 20TH - CENTURY TRANSYLVANIA

Ioan MĂRCULEŢ

Colegiul Tehnic „Miron Nicolescu“, B-dul Metalurgiei, 89, Sect. 4, 041832, Bucureşti, România, e-mail: ioan_marculet@yahoo.com .

Cătălina MĂRCULEŢ

Institutul de Geografie al Academiei Române, D. Racoviţă, 12, Sect. 2, 023993, Bucureşti, România, e-mail: cmarculet@yahoo.com .

Observaţii geodemografice asupra cultului greco-catolic din Transilvania în secolul XX. Biserica Greco-Catolică din România, înfiinţată la sfârşitul secolului XVII în Transilvania, prin unirea confesională a unei părţi a românilor cu Biserica Romano-Catolică, cunoaşte apogeul în prima parte a secolului XX. După Unirea din 1 Decembrie 1918, populaţia greco-catolică din Transilvania devine majoritară în cadrul structurii religioase a provinciei, cu 31,1% din totalul locuitorilor. Însă, deceniile viitoare s-au caracterizat prin modificări în evoluţia numerică şi repartiţia teritorială a populaţiei greco-catolice din Transilvania, între care se remarcă: a) reducerea numărului acestora, de la 1 001 527 persoane în anul 1930, la 111 144 persoane în 1992, din cauza desfiinţării abuzive a Bisericii Greco-Catolice în anul 1948 şi a trecerii credincioşilor ei la religia ortodoxă; b) schimbarea repartiţiei credincioşilor pe medii de habitat, de la 16,1%, câţi locuiau în mediul urban în anul 1930, la 69,8% în anul 2002; c) uşoara modificare în repartiţia teritorială a provinciei, de la ponderile mai ridicate în judeţele din nord, în prima jumătate a secolului XX, la ponderi mai ridicate în cele din nord-vest şi vest, la sfârş itul acestui secol.

Keywords : population, Greek-Catholic Church, Transylvania, Romania.

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THE CHANGES IN THE FUNCTIONAL URBAN REGION IN THE NEW SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN POLAND. THE CASE OF TORUŃ.

Daniela SZYMAŃSKA

Department of Urban and Recreation Studies, Institute of Geography, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Danielewskiego 6, 87-100 Toruń, Poland, email: dani@geo.uni.torun.pl

Beata HOŁOWIECKA

Department of Urban and Recreation Studies, Institute of Geography, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Danielewskiego 6, 87-100 Toruń, Poland, email: b_holow@geo.uni.torun.pl , b_holow@tlen.pl

The deep socio-economic transformation and the introduction of a free economic market in Poland after 1989 implemented tremendous changes both on the economic and social plane. The changing economy resulted in the adjustment of employment structures, which meant liquidation of numerous industrial plants, introducing new technologies and mass redundancies, especially in the industry. Hence, political system transformation and free market competition caused on one hand de-industrialization and on the other the expansion of the services sector. In those circumstances some of the towns have created their influence range, for some it has been an opportunity to expand their territories, others have limited them. Thus an essential research task is to analyse changes in the functional urban regions in the current socio-economic conditions in Poland.

Keywords : socio-economic transformation, Toruń

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THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMICAL EVOLUTION OF GREECE AFTER WORLD WAR II

Gaceu Ovidiu

University of Oradea, Department of Geography, Tourism and Territorial Planning, Romania, e-mail: gaceu@yahoo.com

Greece is a mountainous country located in southeastern Europe, with an area of 130.000 km² and has a Mediterranean climate. Politically and economically, it developed quite a lot after the War, managing to leave behind the internal riots and become a factor of stability in the political life of the Balkanic peninsula. It also developed economically in a remarkable way, thus Greece turning from an agricultural country, with numerous goat breeders, into a country with a developed economy, in which the urban population exceeds 63% and where the services contribute with 70% to the gross domestic product. The most important services are tourism ( number 15 in the world), which brings more than 15 million visitors, more than the population of Greece, sea transports, among which Greece is number five in the world and the banking sector, which has grown stronger and extended to the other countries of the Balkanic peninsula.

Keywords: Greece, politics, economy, evolution