El aumento de la demanda energética que ha experimentado la humanidad en los últimos años, sumado al incesante avance del calentamiento global asociado al uso de combustibles fósiles como principal fuente de energía, han hecho que en la actualidad la humanidad se enfrente a uno de los mayores retos de su historia: la búsqueda de nuevas fuentes de energía más sostenibles. En la actualidad, el uso de sistemas de conversión electroquímica de energía, como electrolizadores y pilas de combustible, se postula como un buen candidato para solventar este problema. Tal es la importancia de estos dispositivos que ya se han planteado numerosas estrategias por los gobiernos de la Unión Europea para favorecer la transición energética hacia el H2 verde. En el caso de España, estrategias como las recogidas en "Hoja de Ruta del Hidrógeno: una apuesta por el hidrógeno renovable " o la "Estrategia de almacenamiento energético " recalcan la importancia de contribuir en el desarrollo de estas tecnologías para alcanzar un futuro más sostenible. El desarrollo de estas tecnologías tiene su principal limitación en las reacciones que implican al O2, como son la evolución (OER) y reducción de oxígeno (ORR), las cuales, debido a su alto potencial de equilibrio (1,23 V frente al electrodo reversible de hidrógeno), hacen que sea necesario el empleo de catalizadores basados en metales nobles que encarecen significativamente el coste de estos dispositivos. Para tratar de solucionar esto, en la última década se han centrado los esfuerzos en el uso de materiales carbonosos como catalizadores, en combinación con metales de la primera serie de transición, dando lugar a una nueva gama de materiales denominados composites o materiales compuestos, cuya alta conductividad, abundancia y estabilidad los han convertido en buenos candidatos para sustituir a los catalizadores basados en metales nobles como Pt o Ir que se emplean en la actualidad. Es por esto que el objetivo de esta tesis doctoral es el diseño y optimización de un método de síntesis que permita la obtención de materiales compuestos preparados mediante la combinación de grafenos dopados con nitrógeno y nanopartículas de óxidos de Ti y Co. El trabajo se ha centrado en la optimización de variables como la preparación del material precursor con el fin de obtener diferentes estructuras de grafeno dopado nitrógeno, así como, la temperatura y el tiempo de pirólisis durante el proceso de reducción térmica. En la primera parte de este estudio se ha llevado a cabo el diseño de un método de síntesis para la obtención de grafenos reducidos dopados con nitrógeno y modificado con nanopartículas de Ti o Co, con el fin de determinar tanto las propiedades físico-químicas, como catalíticas, de los composites monometálicos. En este estudio, además, se ha estudiado la influencia del tiempo (1 – 2 – 3 horas) en el método de síntesis empleado para la preparación de composites modificados con Ti, observándose algunas diferencias en la naturaleza de las fases de Ti encontradas. A continuación, se ha preparado un catalizador modificado con Co y sus propiedades han sido comparadas con el mejor de los catalizadores modificados con Ti. La parte central de la tesis doctoral se ha centrado en el estudio del efecto combinado de ambos metales en un mismo composite. Para ello, se ha modificado el método de síntesis para modificar el grafeno dopado con nitrógeno con Ti y Co en una sola etapa. Para optimizar el método de síntesis se han comparado distintos materiales preparados a dos temperaturas de reacción (700 – 800 ºC) y distintos tiempos de reacción (1 – 2 – 3 horas). La evolución de las fases encontradas en cada material ha sido estudiada a partir de técnicas físico-químicas, a través de las cuales se ha podido determinar la aparición de distintos óxidos metálicos en función de la temperatura de pirólisis empleada para la reducción de los materiales. Así mismo, al igual que ocurría en los materiales monometálicos, se ha podido determinar la evolución de las fases metálicas, así como la naturaleza de la fase grafénica en función del tiempo de pirólisis empleado. A partir de los estudios anteriores, se han tomado las condiciones en las que han obtenido los catalizadores con el mejor rendimiento electrocatalítico como base para la preparación de un nuevo método de síntesis que permita la obtención de estructuras tridimensionales de grafeno, denominadas criogeles de grafeno, con el objetivo de aumentar el área BET de los catalizadores. Además, a partir de esta síntesis se ha estudiado el efecto de la sal del Co utilizada como precursor en las propiedades de los catalizadores obtenidos. Los estudios llevados a cabo a partir de la determinación de las isotermas de absorción de los materiales, ha permitido confirmar un aumento significativo del área BET en todos los criogeles sintetizados. Así mismo, el estudio de las propiedades físico-químicas de los materiales ha revelado diferencias significativas en los materiales en función del precursor de Co empleado. El comportamiento electrocatalítico de los materiales, así como, su estabilidad y su bifuncionalidad para la OER y la ORR ha sido caracterizado mediante un sistema electroquímico de tres electrodos para determinar aquella combinación de materiales con mayor actividad electrocatalítica. Aquellos que han presentado el mejor comportamiento bifuncional han sido además caracterizados por técnicas electroquímicas avanzadas como el electrodo de difusión de gases (GDE) y un sistema prototipo de pila de combustible regenerativa. Comparando el comportamiento de los materiales basados en grafenos reducidos dopado con nitrógeno, se ha podido demostrar que el método de síntesis diseñado permite la obtención de materiales basados en Ti con una buena actividad catalítica hacia la ORR, en comparación con otros trabajos reportados en la bibliografía. Además, mediante la combinación ambos metales, se ha podido mejorar el rendimiento catalítico y la estabilidad de los materiales en comparación con los composites monometálicos. En el caso de los criogeles de grafeno dopado con nitrógeno, se ha podido observar una mejora del rendimiento catalítico frente a los grafenos reducidos, sobre todo, mediante el empleo de sistemas electroquímicos avanzados como el GDE. Así mismo, se ha conseguido un aumento significativo de la estabilidad de los materiales, permitiendo su uso a largos tiempos de operación. ; The increasing demand of energy that humanity had suffer in the last times, added to the global warming expanse associated to the fossil fuels used as main energy source, have made that the humanity has to afford one of its highest challenges: the search for new sources of sustainable energy. Currently, the use of electrochemical energy conversion systems like fuel cells (FC) and electrolysers (PEM) have been raised as good candidate to solve this problem. These kinds of devices are so important than some government agencies like European Union have proposed some strategies in order to develop the use of green H2 as alternative for the generation of electrical energy. In Spain, according with de UE guidelines, some strategies like the pickups on "Hoja de Ruta del Hidrógeno: una apuesta por el hidrógeno renovable " or "Estrategia de almacenamiento energético " remarks the importance of contribute to the improvement of these technologies in order to reach a more sustainable future. Development of these technologies have its main limitation in the oxygen electrode reaction, which are the oxygen reduction (ORR) and evolution (OER) reactions, whose high equilibrium potential (1.23 V vs RHE) make necessary the use of catalysts based on noble metals which increase significantly the cost of manufacture. To solve this, in the last decade the efforts have been focused in the use of carbon-based materials as catalysts combined with early transition metals, creating a new range of materials named composites, whose high conductivity, availability and stability make them good candidates to substitute actual noble metal-based catalysts as Pt or Ir. For this reason, the aim of this doctoral thesis is the design and optimization of a synthesis method which allow the obtention of composites prepared by combining nitrogen doped graphene with Ti and Co nanoparticles. This work has been focused in the optimization of some parameters as the precursor mixture preparation, in order to obtain different n-doped graphene structures, and the pyrolysis temperature and time for the thermal reduction step. In the first part of this study, a new synthesis method has been employed to prepare nitrogen doped graphene modified with Ti or Co nanoparticles. Prepared materials have been characterized by different techniques in order to determine the physicochemical and catalytic properties of monometallic composites. In addition, the influence of the pyrolysis time has been studied for 1, 2 and 3 hours in the Ti-based materials, finding some differences in the nature of the Ti found phases. A Co-based monometallic composite has been prepared and their properties have been compared with the monometallic Ti-based composites. The core part of this doctoral thesis has been focused on the study of the combined effect of Ti and Co in the same composite. To do this, synthesis method has been modified in order to introduce Ti and Co at the same time. In addition, to optimize the synthesis method, some parameters like pyrolysis temperature (700 – 800 ºC) and time (1 – 2 – 3h) have been compared. The evolution of the founded phases in each material has been studied through physicochemical techniques which have revealed the presence of different metal oxides according to the pyrolysis temperature employed for the thermal reduction procedure. However, the time pyrolysis influence has been determined. From these results, the best synthesis condition to obtain the best electrocatalytic performance have been selected as base for the preparation of a new synthesis method for the obtention of three-dimensional graphene structures, called graphene cryogels, with the aim of increase the specific BET area of catalysts. In addition, from this synthesis, the effect of Co precursor has been studied too. By these studies have been confirmed an increase of BET area in all synthetized cryogels. However, the physicochemical properties study has shown significant differences according to the employed Co precursor. Catalytic performance of synthetized materials, stability and bifunctionality towards OER and ORR have been measured by a three-electrode system in order to determine which catalysts have the best performance. Those which have shown the best bifunctional behaviour have been tested by advanced electrochemical techniques like gas diffusion electrode (GDE) and a prototype URFC system. The comparison between reduced graphene-based materials has been demonstrated that the designed synthesis method allows the obtention of Ti-based composites with good performance as catalysts for the ORR, compared with similar materials reported on literature. In addition, by combining both metals, some properties like catalytic performance of stability have been upgraded. Composites based on cryogels have shown a better performance in advanced electrochemical techniques like GDE, having a better behaviour as bifunctional catalysts and being more stable than reduced graphene-based catalysts.
Este trabajo presenta el desarrollo del estudio de las concentraciones de los 16 hidrocarburos aromáticos policíclicos (HAPs) prioritarios por la Agencia de Protección Ambiental de los Estados Unidos (US-EPA) en matrices marinas de la bahía de Tumaco en la costa Pacífica colombiana, donde se evaluaron tres sub-áreas de estudio de interés de acuerdo a sus fuentes de contaminación. El análisis de HAPs fue realizado en muestras de sedimentos marinos y bivalvos (Anadara tuberculosa), adicionalmente se recolectaron muestras de agua marina para la caracterización fisicoquímica. Para el estudio de bivalvos se seleccionó la especie Anadara tuberculosa debido a su gran abundancia en el área de estudio y a su importancia comercial. En total se seleccionaron trece puntos de muestreo distribuidos así: siete en el área portuaria, cuatro en el área de desembocadura del río Rosario y dos en el área residencial. En cuatro puntos se realizó muestreo combinado de sedimentos marinos, Anadara tuberculosa y agua marina, en ocho puntos se realizó solo muestreo de sedimentos marinos y en un punto solo se obtuvieron muestras Anadara tuberculosa compradas a recolectores de bivalvos del área de desembocadura. Fueron recolectadas de 3 a 5 muestras de Anadara tuberculosa en cada punto de muestreo, dependiendo de la cantidad que fueran encontradas. El muestreo fue realizado el día 11 de septiembre de 2019 en dos períodos de bajamar. La metodología de muestreo para las diferentes matrices se basó en los siguientes protocolos analíticos: US-EPA 823-B-01-002, el protocolo analítico de INVEMAR y la guía de muestreo del Programa de Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA). En sedimentos marinos, las más altas concentraciones de Ʃ16HAPs fueron encontradas en el área de la desembocadura del río Rosario, con un un valor de 76.2 ng g-1 en la muestra marina y un rango de 171.4 a 564 ng g-1 en las muestras estuarinas, seguida por el área portuaria con un rango de 15.5 a 77.5 ng g-1 y finalmente el área Residencial con un rango de 16.5 a 26.5 ng g-1. Asimismo, en Anadara tuberculosa las más altas concentraciones de Ʃ16HAPs fueron encontradas en el área de desembocadura del río Rosario, con un rango de 31 a 169 ng g-1, seguida por el área residencial con un rango de 78 a 157 ng g-1 y por último el área portuaria con un rango de 24 a 63 ng g-1. Ningunas de las concentraciones de Ʃ16HAPs en las muestras de sedimentos marinos analizadas superaron la norma establecida por la Administración Oceánica y Atmosférica Nacional de los Estados Unidos (NOAA) (1684.1 ng g-1). Sin embargo, la concentración de algunos HAPs individuales como fenantreno (98.7 ng g-1), fluoranteno (160.7 ng g-1) y pireno (292.5 ng g-1) en la muestra SD5 y, acenafteno (8.6 ng g-1) y fluoreno (24.1 ng g-1) en la muestra SD6, ambas muestras en el área desembocadura, superaron la norma establecida por la guía de calidad de sedimentos (SQG, por sus siglas en inglés) para la protección de la vida acuática de Canadá (fenantreno = 87 ng g-1, fluoranteno = 113 ng g-1, pireno = 153 ng g-1, acenafteno = 6.7 ng g-1 y fluoreno = 21 ng g-1). Las concentraciones en cuatro muestras de Anadara tuberculosa excedieron el límite regulatorio para consumo humano colombiano (35 ng g-1) y cinco muestras el límite regulatorio de la Unión Europea (30 ng g-1). Límites reportados como la sumatoria de cuatro HAPs Ʃ4HAPs: benzo(a)pireno, benzo(a)antraceno, benzo(b)fluoranteno y criseno. Relaciones diagnósticas de algunos HAPs isómeros (fluoranteno-pireno y antraceno-fenantreno) fueron aplicadas en sedimentos marinos para estimar las posibles fuentes de contaminación. Se encontró que ambas relaciones diagnósticas para las dos muestras recolectadas en el estuario de la desembocadura del río Rosario sugieren que los HAPs provienen de fuentes petrogénicas. Para la muestra recolectada en el área desembocadura más externa (más alejada del estuario) sugieren que los HAPs provienen de combustión de biomasa, carbón o madera. Mientras que para las muestras de las áreas portuaria y residencial sugieren una combinación de fuentes petrogénicas y de combustión. Los equivalentes carcinogénicos (EqT) y mutagénicos (EqM) fueron determinados para las muestras de sedimentos marinos y Anadara tuberculosa para evaluar el riesgo toxicológico. En sedimentos marinos los equivalentes tóxicos variaron entre 0.07 y 7.56 EqT-BaP, por lo tanto, ninguno de los EqT-BaP obtenidos excedieron el valor recomendado por la guía canadiense de calidad de suelo para HAPs (600 EqT-BaP). Asimismo, los equivalentes mutagénicos variaron entre 0.17 y 9.45 EqM-BaP. Por su parte en Anadara tuberculosa los equivalentes tóxicos variaron entre 0.11 y 5.01 EqT-BaP, de la misma manera, los equivalentes mutagénicos variaron entre 0.15 y 6.12 EqM-BaP. Debido a la problemática ambiental por el uso de solventes orgánicos que presentan la mayoría de los métodos analíticos para la determinación de HAPs en matrices ambientales, se usaron métodos con bajo consumo de solventes orgánicos como extracción miniaturizada por ultrasonido y dispersión de la matriz en fase sólida. Con base en la eco-escala de análisis verde, se determinó que los métodos usados en este estudio presentan un análisis verde excelente (eco-escala de 80) para el análisis de sedimentos y aceptable para el análisis de Anadara tuberculosa (eco-escala de 58). ; This work presents the concentrations of the 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) prioritized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) in marine matrices of the Tumaco Bay on the Colombian Pacific coast. Three study sub-areas of interest were evaluated according to their sources of contamination. The analysis of PAHs was carried out in samples of marine sediments and bivalves (Anadara tuberculosa). Additionally, samples of marine water were collected for the physicochemical characterization. For the bivalve species, the Anadara tuberculosa specie was selected due to its great abundance in the study area and its commercial importance. In total, thirteen sampling points were selected, they were distributed as follows: seven in the port area, four in the Rosario river mouth area, and two in the residential area. Combined sampling of marine sediments, Anadara tuberculosa and seawater were carried out at four points, at eight points only sampling of marine sediments were carried out, and at one point only Anadara tuberculosa samples were obtained, purchased from bivalve collectors in the mouth area. From 3 to 5 samples of Anadara tuberculosa were collected at each sampling point, depending on the quantity that were found. The sampling campaign was carried out on September 11, 2019 in two periods of low tide. The methodology of the sampling, for the different matrices, was based on the following analytical protocols: US-EPA 823-B-01-002, INVEMAR analytical protocol and the sampling guide of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). In marine sediments, the highest concentrations of Ʃ16PAHs were found in the area of Rosario river mouth, with a value of 76.2 ng g-1 (marine sediments), and in the estuarine samples ranged from 171.4 to 564 ng g-1; followed by the port area ranged from 15.5 to 77.5 ng g-1 and finally the Residential area ranged from 16.5 to 26.5 ng g-1. Likewise, in Anadara tuberculosa the highest concentrations of Ʃ16PAHs were found in the Rosario river mouth, ranged from 31 to 169 ng g-1, followed by the residential area with ranged of 78 to 157 ng g-1 and the port area ranged from 24 to 63 ng g-1. No concentrations of Ʃ16PAHs in the analyzed marine sediment samples exceeded the regulatory limit established by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (1684.1 ng g-1). However, the concentration of individual PAHs of two samples located in the river mouth area exceeded the standard established by the sediments quality guides (SQG) for the protection of aquatic life in Canada (phenanthrene =87 ng g-1, fluoranthene = 113 ng g-1, pyrene = 153 ng g-1, acenaphthene = 6.7 ng g-1 and fluorine = 21 ng g-1). These samples are SD5 and SD6, which had higher concentrations of these congeners such as phenantrene (98.7 ng g-1), fluoranthene (160.7 ng g-1) and pyrene (292.5 ng g-1) in the SD5 sample, and acenaphthene (8.6 ng g-1) and fluorene (24.1 ng g-1) in sample SD6. The concentrations of four samples of Anadara tuberculosa exceeded the regulatory limit of Colombia for human consumption (35 ng g-1) and five samples the regulatory limit of the European Union for human consumption (30 ng g-1). Limits reported as the sum of four PAHs Ʃ4PAHs: benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene and chrysene. Diagnostic relationships of some isomeric PAHs (fluoranthene-pyrene and anthracene-phenanthrene) were applied in marine sediments to estimate possible sources of contamination. It was found that the diagnostic relationships, for the two samples collected in the estuary of the Rosario river mouth, suggest that the PAHs come from petrogenic sources. For the sample collected in river mouth more external (farthest from the estuary) suggest that the PAHs come from combustion of biomass, coal, or wood. While for the samples from the port and residential areas suggest a combination of petrogenic and combustion sources. Carcinogenic (TEQ) and mutagenic (MEQ) equivalents were determined for marine sediment samples and Anadara tuberculosa to assess toxicological risk. In marine sediments, toxic equivalents ranged from 0.07 to 7.56 BaP-TEQ, therefore, no BaP-TEQ obtained exceeded the value recommended by the Canadian soil quality guide for PAHs (600 BaP-TEQ). Likewise, mutagenic equivalents ranged from 0.17 to 9.45 BaP-MEQ. On the other hand, in Anadara tuberculosa the BaP-TEQ the TEQ ranged from 0.11 to 5.01 BaP-TEQ. Additionally, the BaP-MEQ ranged from 1.5 to 61.2 BaP-MEQ. Due to the environmental problems due to the use of organic solvents that most analytical methods present for the determination of PAHs in environmental matrices, methods with low consumption of organic solvents were used such as miniaturized extraction by ultrasound and dispersion of the matrix in solid phase. Based on the eco-scale for assessing the greenness of analytical procedures, it was determined that the methods used in this study present an excellent green analysis for sediment analysis (eco-scale 80) and acceptable for the analysis of Anadara tuberculosa (eco-scale 58). ; Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Sede Manizales ; Líquenes como potenciales indicadores pasivos de la contaminación atmosférica ; Trabajo final de maestría presentado como requisito para optar al título de: Magister en Ingeniería – Ingeniería Ambiental. -- Grupo de Investigación: Grupo de Trabajo Académico en Ingeniería Hidráulica y Ambiental – GTAIHA. ; Maestría
Pocs incendis grans i destructius representen els impactes més negatius en els valors socioeconòmics i naturals de les zones mediterrànies. Com a conseqüència de l'augment de l'acumulació de biomassa en els paisatges culturals prèviament elaborats, aquests esdeveniments no característics que es produeixen en condicions meteorològiques extremes són resistents als esforços de supressió a causa de les brases massives de dutxa, les intensitats de foc aclaparadores i les taxes d'expansió molt elevades. D'altra banda, l'augment de les àrees d'interfície de zones silvestres-urbanes representa un factor condicionant que exigeix protecció i augmenta substancialment la complexitat de la gestió d'emergències. Les polítiques de prevenció d'ignició i de supressió d'incendis només resulten ineficaces per mitigar les pèrdues dels focs contemporanis. En aquesta tesi he implementat un marc analític a escala múltiple per informar sobre la presa de decisions d'una estratègia de gestió de riscos d'incendis forestals amb l'objectiu de crear paisatges resistents al foc, restaurar el règim de foc cultural, donar suport a la supressió d'incendis segura i eficient i crear comunitats adaptades al foc. En descompondre el risc d'incendis forestals en els principals factors causals a les escales relacionades amb les capacitats de gestió dels diferents agents, des dels propietaris individuals fins als governs regionals, aquesta tesi intenta proporcionar una solució integral per aconseguir aquests objectius bàsics a mig termini a la Unió Europea del sud regions. Es va implementar un model de simulació contra incendis per obtenir els factors causals de risc requerits o els indicadors d'exposició. La propagació del foc i el comportament en grans àrees es van modelar tenint en compte els règims de bombers variables en termes d'estacionalitat, gran nombre de focs i distribució espacial. Les relacions de susceptibilitat definides per experts o models de mortalitat es van utilitzar per avaluar els efectes de foc com a possibles pèrdues econòmiques en valors de risc. A més, vam utilitzar una anàlisi de transmissió per definir els incendis de la comunitat i avaluar l'intercanvi de foc entre els municipis veïns. La gestió de combustibles és la principal estratègia de mitigació de riscos d'incendis forestals a escala paisatgística i s'han utilitzat models d'optimització espacial per ajudar en el disseny del tractament del paisatge estratègic i explorar les oportunitats de col·locació sota restriccions pressupostàries. Els resultats es van proporcionar a les escales operatives adequades per informar de diferents estratègies de gestió d'incendis forestals. Els perfils d'exposició i l'avaluació de riscos a escales finals per a les estructures d'habitatges individuals i els valors dels boscos de fustes intenten promoure la participació dels propietaris i exigir les bones pràctiques dels gestors forestals amb l'objectiu de mitigar les pèrdues derivades dels incendis en el mateix lloc (unitats de tractament) i les terres veïnes. Els esforços de gestió dins de les àrees de planificació articulats com a projectes de planificació col·laborativa entre diversos agents socioeconòmics inclouen tractaments sobre el combustible del paisatge en llocs estratègics que redueixen la probabilitat general d'incendis forestals i la intensitat del foc, la planificació del paisatge per excloure àrees perilloses per al desenvolupament urbà, la preparació de la comunitat reduint la vulnerabilitat social i les ordenances del municipi a reduir la vulnerabilitat de l'habitatge. La producció conjunta de tractaments representa una oportunitat en ecosistemes forestals mediterranis multifuncionals per organitzar solucions complexes. La formulació de polítiques a escala regional dóna prioritat a nivell municipal a les diferents estratègies de gestió, com ara programes de prevenció d'ignició, pre-posicionament de recursos, assignació de subvencions per a tractaments de combustible i aplicació de la llei per a la gestió de combustibles en comunitats d'interfície de zones silvestres-urbanes amb major risc. Els diferents treballs es van desenvolupar en diverses àrees mediterrànies per ressaltar l'aplicabilitat del marc en altres llocs. ; Pocos incendios grandes y destructivos representan la mayoría de los impactos negativos sobre los valores socioeconómicos y naturales en las áreas mediterráneas. Como resultado de la creciente acumulación de biomasa en los paisajes culturales que antes eran de grano fino, estos eventos no característicos que ocurren en condiciones climáticas extremas son resistentes a los esfuerzos de supresión debidos a las brasas de lluvia masiva, las intensidades de fuego abrumadoras y las tasas de propagación muy altas. Además, el aumento de las áreas de interfaz urbano-forestal representa un factor de condicionamiento que exige protección y aumenta sustancialmente la complejidad de la gestión de emergencias. Las políticas de prevención de ignición y extinción de incendios por sí solas resultan ineficaces para mitigar las pérdidas de incendios contemporáneos. En esta Tesis, implementé un marco analítico de múltiples escalas para informar la toma de decisiones de una estrategia de gestión de riesgos de incendios forestales con el objetivo de crear paisajes resistentes a incendios, restaurar el régimen cultural de incendios, apoyar la supresión segura y eficiente de incendios y crear comunidades adaptadas a incendios. Al disolver el riesgo de incendios forestales en los principales factores causales en escalas relacionadas con las capacidades de gestión de los diferentes agentes, desde los propietarios individuales hasta los gobiernos regionales, esta tesis intenta ofrecer una solución integral para lograr esos objetivos centrales a medio plazo en el sur de la Unión Europea regiones. Se implementó un enfoque de modelado de simulación de incendios para obtener los factores causales de riesgo requeridos o las métricas de exposición. La propagación y el comportamiento de los incendios en grandes áreas se modelaron teniendo en cuenta los regímenes de incendios variables en términos de estacionalidad, gran número de incendios y distribución espacial. Las relaciones de susceptibilidad definidas por los expertos o los modelos de mortalidad se utilizaron para evaluar los efectos del fuego como posibles pérdidas económicas a valores en riesgo. Además, utilizamos un análisis de transmisión para delimitar las cuencas comunitarias y evaluar el intercambio de incendios entre los municipios vecinos. La gestión de combustibles es la principal estrategia de mitigación del riesgo de incendios forestales a escala del paisaje, y se utilizaron modelos de optimización espacial para ayudar en el diseño estratégico del tratamiento del paisaje y explorar oportunidades de colocación bajo restricciones presupuestarias. Los resultados se proporcionaron en escalas operativas apropiadas para informar diferentes estrategias de manejo de incendios forestales. Los perfiles de exposición y la evaluación del riesgo a escalas finas para las estructuras de viviendas individuales y los valores forestales de los bosques de madera intentan promover la participación de los propietarios y demandan las buenas prácticas de los administradores forestales con el objetivo de mitigar las pérdidas por incendios encendidos en el mismo sitio (unidades de tratamiento) y las tierras vecinas. Los esfuerzos de gestión dentro de las áreas de planificación articulados como proyectos de planificación colaborativa entre diversos agentes socioeconómicos incluyen tratamientos de combustible de paisaje en lugares estratégicos que reducen la probabilidad general de incendios forestales y la intensidad de incendios, la planificación del paisaje para excluir áreas peligrosas para el desarrollo urbano, la preparación de la comunidad para reducir la vulnerabilidad social y las ordenanzas municipales para reducir la vulnerabilidad de la vivienda. El tratamiento conjunto de la producción representa una oportunidad en los ecosistemas forestales mediterráneos multifuncionales para organizar soluciones complejas. La formulación de políticas a escala regional prioriza a nivel municipal las diferentes estrategias de manejo, como los programas de prevención de ignición, el posicionamiento previo de recursos de supresión, la asignación de subsidios para tratamientos de combustible y la aplicación de la ley para el manejo de combustibles en comunidades de interfaz urbano-forestal en mayor riesgo. Los diferentes documentos se desarrollaron en varias áreas mediterráneas para resaltar la aplicabilidad del marco en otros lugares. ; Few large and destructive fires account for most negative impacts on socioeconomic and natural values in Mediterranean areas. As a result of an increasing amount of biomass accumulation on the previously fine-grained cultural landscapes, these uncharacteristic events occurring under extreme weather conditions are resistant to suppression efforts due to massive showering embers, overwhelming fire intensities, and very high spread rates. Moreover, increasing wildland-urban interface areas represent a conditioning factor demanding protection and substantially increasing emergency management complexity. Ignition prevention and fire suppression policies alone result ineffective to mitigate losses from contemporary fires. In this Thesis I implemented a multiple-scale analytical framework to inform the decision-making of a wildfire risk management strategy aiming at creating fire resilient landscapes, restoring the cultural fire regime, supporting safe and efficient fire suppression, and creating fire-adapted communities. By decomposing wildfire risk into the main causative factors at scales related to management capabilities for the different agents, from the individual homeowners to Regional Governments, this dissertation attempts to provide a comprehensive solution to achieve those core goals on the mid-term in southern European Union regions. A fire simulation modeling approach was implemented to obtain the required risk causative factors or exposure metrics. Fire spread and behavior in large areas were modeled accounting for variable fire regimes in terms of seasonality, large fire number, and spatial distribution. Expert-defined susceptibility relations or mortality models were then used to assess fire effects as potential economic losses to values at risk. Moreover, we used a transmission analysis to delineate community firesheds and assess fire exchange among neighboring municipalities. Fuels management is the main wildfire risk mitigation strategy at the landscape scale, and spatial optimization models were used to help in strategic landscape treatment design and explore collocation opportunities under budgetary restrictions. Results were provided at appropriate operational scales to inform different wildfire management strategies. Exposure profiles and risk assessment at fine scales for individual housing structures and timber stand forest values attempt to promote homeowners' involvement and demand forest managers' good practices aiming at mitigating losses from fires ignited on the same site (treatment units) and the neighboring lands. Management efforts within Planning Areas articulated as collaborative planning projects among various socioeconomic agents include landscape fuel treatments on strategic locations reducing overall wildfire likelihood and fire intensity, landscape planning to exclude hazardous areas for the urban development, community preparedness reducing social vulnerability, and municipality ordinances to reduce housing vulnerability. Treatment joint-production represents an opportunity in multi-functional Mediterranean forest ecosystems to arrange complex solutions. Regional scale policy-making prioritizes at municipality level the different management strategies such as ignition prevention programs, suppression resource pre-positioning, assignation of subsidies for fuel treatments, and law enforcement for managing fuels in wildland-urban interface communities at highest risk. The different papers were developed in various Mediterranean areas to highlight the applicability of the framework elsewhere.
La Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible, adoptada por todos los Estados Miembros de las Naciones Unidas en 2015, proporciona un modelo compartido para la paz y prosperidad para las personas y el planeta, ahora y en el futuro. Para ello, se han desarrollo 17 Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible, como llamada urgente a la acción de todos los países desarrollados y en desarrollo, para aunar fuerzas en una estrategia global. Estos Objetivos están enfocados en temas como el agua, la energía, el clima, los océanos, la urbanización, el transporte, la ciencia y la tecnología. Para que la consecución de estos Objetivos sea una realidad, es necesaria la adopción de un fuerte compromiso por parte de todas las partes interesadas para implementar los objetivos globales. Para alcanzar este desarrollo sostenible, la Unión Europea ha desarrollado políticas que abogan por una transición hacia la "bioeconomía", esto es, una economía destinada a reducir la dependencia de los recursos fósiles, limitar las emisiones de gases invernadero y el impacto medioambiental, salvaguardar la seguridad alimentaria, garantizar un crecimiento económico sostenible, y cerrar el círculo de uso de recursos. La aplicación de los principios de la economía circular a la bioeconomía podría representar una valiosa contribución a la optimización del rendimiento de la misma, con el fin de conseguir la circularidad de los residuos biológicos y subproductos generados por los diferentes sectores productivos. Uno de los sectores que más residuos biológicos genera es la actividad agrícola. Según la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación, en el año 2017, la producción de alimentos a nivel mundial fue de alrededor de 6.100 millones de toneladas. Si tenemos en cuenta que la producción de una tonelada de alimentos puede llegar a producir entre 0,45 – 1,2 toneladas de residuos biológicos, se estima que se producen anualmente entre 2.745 y 7.320 millones de toneladas de residuos biológicos susceptibles de ser valorizados. Generalmente, estos residuos son utilizados como alimentación para la actividad ganadera, enterrados en la tierra de cultivo como enmienda agrícola o quemados para la producción de energía. Sin embargo, ninguno de estos usos aporta un gran valor añadido al sector agroalimentario, ni son suficientes para gestionar el volumen generado. La valorización de estos residuos biológicos, también conocidos por su composición como materiales lignocelulósicos, puede producirse mediante procesos de biorrefinería. La biorrefinería consiste en la separación de los diferentes componentes que conforman los materiales lignocelulósicos, y su aprovechamiento por separado con el fin de obtener productos de alto valor añadido. Uno de los productos que pueden obtenerse derivados de los materiales lignocelulósicos es la nanocelulosa. La nanocelulosa es el producto de la desintegración de las fibras celulósicas hasta un tamaño de entre 3 – 100 nm de diámetro y 1 – 4 micrómetros de longitud. Uno de los tipos de nanocelulosa más estudiados son las nanofibras de celulosa. Para producirlas es necesario someter a las fibras celulósicas a un tratamiento de desintegración mecánica para provocar la delaminación de la fibra, aislando así las fibras nanométricas. Este proceso requiere de un elevado consumo energético para asegurar la eficacia del proceso de nanofibrilación. Con el fin de disminuirlo y aumentar la eficiencia del proceso, se han desarrollado diferentes pretratamientos a los que someter la fibra de celulosa antes de su nanofibrilación. La producción de nanofibras de celulosa, o lignonanofibras de celulosa en el caso de contener lignina en su composición, depende de múltiples factores como la composición química de la materia prima de partida, el proceso de obtención de pastas celulósicas, y la combinación de pretratamiento – tratamiento. Dos de los sectores que más demandan este producto son el sector papelero (papel y cartón) y el del envasado alimentario. En el primero debido al efecto refuerzo que produce la interacción nanofibrafibra sobre los productos finales de papel y cartón, así como su uso como alternativa al refinado mecánico convencional en los procesos de reciclado, con el objetivo de alargar la vida útil de estos productos. En el segundo porque las nanofibras de celulosa se postulan como gran candidato para la sustitución estructural de polímeros plásticos, además de mejorar sus propiedades mecánicas y barrera. Ambos sectores concentran más del 83% de la demanda de este producto en el sector industrial. En la presente Tesis Doctoral se aborda el estudio de la idoneidad de diferentes residuos agro-industriales, como la paja de cereal (trigo, cebada, avena y maíz) y las hojas de platanera, como materia prima para la producción de lignonanofibras de celulosa y su aplicación en suspensiones papeleras y envases alimentarios. Para ello se realizó un estudio preliminar de la producción, mediante tratamientos mecánicos, de lignonanofibras de celulosa a partir de pasta celulósica obtenida mediante un proceso "a la sosa" empleando paja de trigo como materia prima. Los resultados obtenidos presentaron valores similares a los obtenidos con el uso de pastas celulósicas de producción industrial a partir de materias primas madereras. También se analizó el efecto refuerzo de las mencionadas lignonanofibras sobre suspensiones papeleras, así como la influencia del contenido en finos sobre la eficacia del refuerzo producido. Posteriormente se compararon los efectos que diferentes procesos de pasteado, "a la sosa", Kraft y organosolv, ejercían sobre las características físicas y químicas de las lignonanofibras. Se evaluó, a su vez, el efecto de dos pretratamientos diferentes (oxidación catalítica utilizando 2,2,6,6-tetrametilpiperidina-1-oxilo "TEMPO" y refinado mecánico) sobre las características de las lignonanofibras producidas. Tras la optimización del proceso de pasteado, se realizó un estudio comparativo de la idoneidad de diferentes pajas de cereales (trigo, avena, maíz y cebada) como materia prima para la producción de lignonanofibras. Se analizó la influencia de las características de la materia prima sobre el efecto de tres pretratamientos diferentes (oxidación catalítica TEMPO, hidrólisis enzimática y refinado mecánico). Además, se desarrolló un método analítico basado en la técnica de fraccionamiento en flujo mediante campo de flujo asimétrico (AF4), para la determinación del tamaño nanométrico de las lignonanofibras, comparándola con otras técnicas convencionales utilizadas. A continuación, se estudió la aplicación de lignonanofibras de celulosa, de paja de trigo y platanera como materia prima, en suspensiones papeleras, analizando múltiples factores que pueden influir en la efectividad de la aplicación de estas lignonanofibras como agente de refuerzo. Por un lado, se estudió el efecto de los tres pretratamientos en la efectividad de las lignonanofibras como agente reforzante, así como el coste asociado. Y por el otro, se estudió la idoneidad de la hoja de platanera como materia prima para la producción de lignonanofibras, así como su empleo en el proceso de reciclado del cartón. En este último caso se estudió también el efecto de la basura aniónica presente en las aguas de proceso sobre la efectividad del uso de lignonanofibras en el proceso de reciclaje. Debido a la influencia negativa de esta carga, se desarrolló un proceso de neutralización del agua de proceso obteniendo valores similares a los obtenidos con el uso de agua corriente. Además, se realizó un estudio económico de la aplicación de lignonanofibras como tecnología en el reciclado del cartón en comparación con el proceso de refinado mecánico convencional. Posteriormente se compararon tres tratamientos de nanofibrilación diferentes; homogeneizador a alta presión, molino de fricción y extrusora de doble tornillo, con el fin de reducir el consumo energético en la producción de lignonanofibras y hacer esta tecnología competitiva frente al refinado mecánico utilizado actualmente en la industria papelera. Por último, se exploró la aplicación de estas lignonanofibras en envases alimentarios. Para ello se analizó el efecto que el contenido residual de lignina contenido en las lignonanofibras ejerce sobre las propiedades finales de films producidos a partir de alcohol polivinílico. Se estudió a su vez el efecto que la oxidación catalítica TEMPO puede ejercer sobre las ventajas que presenta la aplicación de lignonanofibras, en comparación al uso de nanofibras, sobre las propiedades mecánicas, barrera y antioxidantes de los films producidos. ; Members of the United Nations in 2015, provide a shared model for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and in the future. For this purpose, 17 Sustainable Development Goals have been developed as an urgent wakeup call by all developed and developing countries to join forces in a global strategy. These Goals are focused on issues such as water, energy, climate, oceans, housing development, transport, science, and technology. For the fulfillment of these goals come true, it is necessary a strong commitment by all stakeholders to implement the global goals. The European Union has developed policies that advocate a transition to the "bioeconomy" to achieve this sustainable development. The main objective of the "bioeconomy include, reducing dependence on fossil resources, limiting greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact, safeguarding food security, ensuring sustainable economic growth, and closing the circle of resource use. The application of the principles of the circular economy to the bioeconomy could represent a valuable contribution to the optimization of its performance in order to achieve the circularity of biological waste and by-products generated by different productive sectors. The agricultural activity is one of the sectors that generates more biological waste. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, in 2017, global food production was around 6.1 billion tons. If we consider that the production of one ton of food can produce between 0.45 - 1.2 tons of biological waste, it is estimated that between 2,745 and 7,320 million tons of biological waste that are produced every year can be recovered. Generally, these residues are used as food for livestock activity, buried in farmland as an agricultural amendment or burned for energy production. However, none of these uses brings great added value to the agrifood sector, nor they are enough to manage the volume generated. The recovery of this biological waste, also known for its composition as lignocellulosic materials, can be produced by means of biorefinery processes. Biorefining consists of separating the different components that compose the lignocellulosic materials and using them in a separate way to obtain high added value products One of the products obtained from lignocellulosic materials is nanocellulose. It is the product of the disintegration of cellulosic fibers up to a size of between 3 - 100 nm in diameter and 1 - 4 micrometers in length. One of the most studied types of nanocellulose are the cellulose nanofibers. These nanometric fibers can be isolated by means of a mechanical disintegration treatment applied to the cellulosic fibers, production their delamination. This process requires a high energy consumption to ensure the effectiveness of the nanofibrillation process. In order to reduce it and increase the efficiency of the process, different pre-treatments have been developed. The production of cellulose nanofibers, or lignocellulose nanofibers, when containing lignin in its composition, depends on multiple factors such as the chemical composition of the starting raw material, the process of obtaining cellulose pulp, and the combination of pretreatment - treatment. Two of the sectors that most demand this product are those related to paper along with cardboard and food packaging. The first one is due to the reinforcing effect produced by the nanofiber-fiber interaction on the final paper and cardboard products, as well as its use as an alternative to conventional mechanical refining in recycling processes, with the aim of extending the useful life of these products. In the second case, cellulose nanofibers are a great candidate for the structural replacement of plastic polymers also improving their mechanical properties and barrier properties. Both sectors concentrate more than 83% of the demand for this product in the industrial sector. This Doctoral Thesis deals with the study of the suitability of different agroindustrial residues, such as cereal straw (wheat, barley, oats and corn) and banana leaves, as raw material to produce lignocellulose nanofibers and their application in paper suspensions and food containers. For this purpose, a preliminary study was carried out on the production, by means of mechanical treatments, of lignocellulose nanofibers from cellulose pulp obtained from a "soda" process using wheat straw as raw material. The results obtained presented values similar to those obtained with the use of cellulose pulp of industrial production from wood raw materials. The reinforcement effect of the mentioned lignonanofibers on paper suspensions was also analyzed, as well as the influence of the fine content on the efficiency of the produced reinforcement. Subsequently, the effects that distinguish pasteurizing processes, "soda", Kraft and organosolv, exerted on the physical and chemical characteristics of the lignonanofibers were compared. The effect of two different pretreatments (TEMPO catalytic oxidation and mechanical refining) on the characteristics of the lignonanofibers produced was also evaluated. After the optimization of the pasteurization process, a comparative study of the suitability of different cereal straws (wheat, oats, corn and barley) as raw material to produce lignonanofibers was carried out. The influence of raw material characteristics on the effect of three different pretreatments (catalytic oxidation TEMPO, enzymatic hydrolysis and mechanical refining) was analyzed. In addition, an analytical method based on the asymmetric flow field fractionation technique (AF4) was developed to determine the nanometric size of the lignonanofibers, by comparing it with other conventional techniques employed previously Next, the application of lignocellulose nanofibers, wheat straw and banana as raw material in paper suspensions was studied, by analyzing multiple factors that may influence the effectiveness of the application of these lignonanofibers as a reforcing agent. On one hand, the effect of the three pretreatments on the effectiveness of lignonanofibers as a reinforcing agent was studied, as well as the associated cost. On the other hand, the suitability of banana leaf as raw material to produce lignonanofibers was studied and its use in the cardboard recycling process. In the latter case, the effect of the anionic waste present in the process waters on the effectiveness of the use of lignonanofibers in the recycling process was also studied. Because of the negative influence of this charge, a process of neutralization of the processed water was developed, obtaining values similar to those obtained with the use of tap water. In addition, an economic study was made concerning the application of lignonanofibers as a technology treatment in the recycling of cardboard in comparison with the conventional mechanical refining process. Subsequently, three different nanofibrillation treatments were compared: high pressure homogenizer, friction mill and double screw extruder, in order to reduce energy consumption in the production of lignonanofibers and make this technology competitive with the mechanical refining currently employed in the paper industry. Finally, the application of these lignonofibers in food packaging was explored. For this purpose, the effect that the waste of lignin contained in lignonanofibers exerts on the final properties of films produced from polyvinyl alcohol was analyzed. It was also studied the effect of the catalytic oxidation TEMPO on the advantages that the application of lignonanofibers presents, in relation to the use of nanofibers, on the mechanical properties, barrier and antioxidants of the films produced.
Viime vuosikymmenten aikana nationalismi on nostanut päätään Euroopassa. Tämä on ollut erityisen voimakasta Kataloniassa ja Skotlannissa, mutta myös Belgiassa perinteisen kansallisvaltion on nähty heikentyvän huomattavasti. Vuosien mittaan hollanninkielinen Flanderi on vaatinut yhä enemmän toimivaltaa ja oikeuksia päättää omista asioistaan. Vähitellen neljän valtioreformin myötä Belgia kehittyi asteittain kohti liittovaltiota, joka perustettiin lopulta vuonna 1993. Sen jälkeen Flanderin itsenäisyyttä kannattavien poliittisten puolueiden suosio on kasvanut entisestään. Tässä tutkimuksessa käsitellään flaamilaista nationalismia sekä Flanderin tärkeimpien poliittisten puolueiden kantoja entistä laajempaan autonomiaan vuosina 1971-2010. Keskityn tutkimuksessani autonomian kasvun lisäksi myös federalismin kehitykseen Belgiassa viime vuosikymmeninä. Tutkimukseni pääpaino on Flanderissa, mutta tarkastelen samalla myös koko Belgian tulevaisuutta. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää, millainen asenne Flanderin isoimmilla poliittisilla puolueilla oli Flanderin autonomian laajentamiseen poliittisissa puolueohjelmissa 1970-luvulta vuoteen 2010. Tarkastelen myös flaamilaista nationalismia ja analysoin, miten Flanderin poliittiset puolueet ovat käsitelleet puolueohjelmissaan nationalismiin keskeisesti liittyviä asioita, kuten hollannin kieltä, kulttuuria ja identiteettiä. Luon niin ikään katsauksen puolueiden Eurooppa- politiikkaan keskittyen erityisesti niiden suhtautumiseen EU:n aluepolitiikkaan. Kiinnitän huomiota erityisesti siihen, esittävätkö puolueohjelmat Flanderin itsenäisenä ja riippumattomana toimijana eurooppalaisissa ja kansainvälisissä yhteyksissä, vai nähdäänkö Flanderi pikemminkin osana Belgiaa? Tutkimuksessa keskitytään kolmeen merkittävään virstanpylvääseen Belgian poliittisessa historiassa: vuosiin 1970, 1993 ja 2010. Ensimmäinen käännekohta – vuoden 1970 valtioreformi – määritteli kulttuuriyhteisöt vastaamaan flaamien vaatimuksia kulttuurisesta autonomiasta. Toinen käännekohta, toukokuussa 1993 säädetty perustuslaki, on merkittävä tapahtuma Belgian poliittisessa historiassa, koska se määritteli Belgian muodollisesti liittovaltioksi. Viimeinen käännekohta on vuoden 2010 ennenaikaiset liittovaltion vaalit. Tällöin voittajaksi nousi flaaminationalistinen puolue, N-VA, joka on tuonut useaan otteeseen selkeästi esille, että sen tavoitteena on saavuttaa Flanderin itsenäisyys. Analysoin poliittisia puolueohjelmia vuosilta 1971/1972, 1991, 1995 sekä 2010 kvalitatiivisen metodin avulla. Käyttämällä käsitteellistä sisällönanalyysia pääasiallisena tutkimusmenetelmänä keskityn analysointiprosessissani tiettyihin tutkimukseni kontekstiin liittyviin käsitteisiin, kuten federalismiin, nationalismiin ja identiteettiin. Puolueohjelmien lisäksi käytän toissijaisena aineistona Belgian parlamentissa käytyjä keskusteluja vuosilta 1969, 1988 ja 2013. Analysoin keskusteluja niin ikään käsitteellisen sisällönanalyysin kautta. Parlamenttikeskustelut valottavat sitä räjähdysherkkää poliittista ilmapiiriä, joka Belgiassa on viime vuosikymmenten aikana vallinnut. Ne tarjoavat samalla myös lisätukea ja mielenkiintoista taustatietoa Belgian poliittisesta tilanteesta tutkimukseni kannalta tärkeinä ajankohtina. Lisäksi keskityn erityisesti teoreettiseen ja historialliseen kirjallisuuteen, kiinnittäen huomiota etenkin Daniel Elazarin teoriaan federalistisista poliittisista järjestelmistä ja Benedict Andersonin teoriaan kansakunnasta 'kuviteltuna poliittisena yhteisönä'. Tutkimukseni päätulokset osoittavat, että Flanderin poliittisten puolueiden esittämät asenteet autonomian laajentamisesta eroavat selvästi toisistaan. Sosialistipuolueet korostivat yhtenäistä Belgiaa selvästi enemmän kuin muut puolueet. Alueelliset, flaaminationalistiset puolueet kannattivat jopa Flanderin itsenäisyyttä useana vuonna, kun taas kristillisdemokraatit ja liberaalit tukivat konfederaatiomallia vuonna 2010, mutta toisaalta vastustivat voimakkaasti Flanderin itsenäisyyttä. Nationalismiin liittyvät kysymykset, kuten hollannin kielen ja kulttuurin korostaminen, kulkivat jokseenkin käsi kädessä autonomian laajentamista, erityisesti Flanderin itsenäisyyttä, koskevien asenteiden kanssa. Näistä neljästä puolueesta alueelliset flaaminationalistiset puolueet, jotka keskittyivät Flanderin autonomian kasvattamiseen, painottivat eniten myös hollannin kieltä ja kulttuuria, edustaen täten vahvinta flaamilaista identiteettiä. Sosialistipuolue ei sen sijaan juurikaan kiinnittänyt huomiota hollannin kieleen ja kulttuuriin, paitsi 1990-luvulla, ja sillä olikin heikoin flaamilainen identiteetti. Kristillisdemokraatit ja liberaalit asettuivat näiden väliin tuomalla esiin vahvaa flaamilaista identiteettiä mutta myös selkeää belgialaista identiteettiä. Analysoidut parlamenttikeskustelut tukivat puolueohjelmien analyysissä saatuja tuloksia. Samanlaista kehitystä voidaan havaita myös puolueiden suhtautumisessa EU:n aluepolitiikkaan. Aluepolitiikka sai eniten huomiota puolueohjelmissa 1990-luvulla, ja Flanderia pidettiin jopa itsenäisenä toimijana EU:ssa. Alueellisten, Flanderin kansallismielisten puolueiden lisäksi myös perinteiset puolueet keskittyivät aluepoliittisiin asioihin 1990-luvulla. Vuoteen 2010 mennessä aluepolitiikan painotus oli laskenut muiden puolueiden keskuudessa, paitsi Flanderin kansallismielisen puolueen, N-VA:n puolueohjelmassa. N-VA jopa ehdotti vuoden 2010 vaaliohjelmassaan, että Flanderin olisi haettava EU:n jäsenyyttä. Flaamien vaatimukset entistä syvemmästä autonomiasta johtivat ensimmäiseen valtioreformiin vuonna 1970. Sen jälkeen Belgia siirtyi vähitellen kohti liittovaltiota. Belgian liittovaltio on ainutlaatuinen ja äärimmäisen monimutkainen, eikä sillä ole juurikaan yhtäläisyyksiä perinteisten liittovaltioiden kanssa. Belgian valtiorakenne sisältää myös joitakin konfederalistisia elementtejä. Voisi ajatella, että liittovaltion muodostamisen jälkeen kaikki olisivat olleet tyytyväisiä, mutta toisin kävi. Uusia valtioreformeja on toteutettu vuoden 1993 jälkeenkin – viimeisin vuonna 2011. Näyttää siltä, että uusia on vielä tulossa, sillä monet Flanderin puolueista kannattavat Belgian kehittymistä kohti konfederaatiota. Belgia on edelleen murroksessa. Tämä pinta-alaltaan pieni EU:n keskus on ollut poliittisten kriisien keskellä useammin kuin kerran viime vuosikymmenten aikana. Aina on kuitenkin onnistuttu löytämään "belgialainen kompromissi" (compromis à la Belge) . Näyttääkin siltä, että Belgiassa on yritetty löytää tasapaino siitä lähtien, kun maasta tuli itsenäinen vuonna 1830. Federalismi on ollut yksi tärkeä askel kohti vakaampaa yhteiskuntaa. Se on auttanut Belgiaa lisäämään alueiden toimivaltaa vähitellen ilman suurempaa kuohuntaa, ja siirtymään samalla rauhanomaisesti kohti konfederaatiota. Flanderin itsenäisyyteen pyrkivät poliittiset puolueet ovat kuitenkin hyvin suosittuja, mikä asettaa haasteita yhtenäiselle Belgialle. Maa, jossa konsensus ja kaikkia tyydyttävän ratkaisun löytäminen on ollut tärkeä väline päätöksenteossa, saattaa joutua kohtaamaan vakavia aikoja, jos Flanderin kansallismielisten puolueiden tuki kasvaa edelleen. Todellinen kysymys kuuluukin, ovatko flaamit valmiita uudelleen "belgialaiseen kompromissiin", vai onko flaamien aika ottaa Flanderi lopullisesti itselleen – Vlaanderen aan de vlamingen? ; Over the past several decades Europe has seen the rise of nationalism. This evolution has been especially visible in Catalonia and Scotland, but also Belgium has witnessed significant erosion of the traditional nation-state. Over the years, Flemish-speaking Flanders has demanded more rights, competences, and autonomy. As a consequence, Belgium turned from a unitary state to a federal state in 1993. Since then, the popularity of political parties that support the independence of Flanders has further increased. This study deals with Flemish nationalism and positions of the main Flemish political parties towards extending autonomy from 1970s to 2010. I concentrate on the expansion of autonomy and the development of federalism in Belgium over these decades. My main focus is on Flanders, but I also look at the future of the whole Belgium. The primary goal of this study is to identify what kind of attitudes the main Flemish political parties had towards extending the autonomy of Flanders in their political party programmes from the 1970s to 2010. Accordingly, I look at the issues, which are closely linked to Flemish nationalism, such as Dutch language, culture and identity. Finally, I discuss how much political party programmes put attention on regional policies in the European fora. Moreover, I will ask do they see Flanders as an independent player or together with Belgium when acting in the European or international arena? In terms of time, this study focuses on three significant periods in Belgium's political history: 1970, 1993 and 2010. The first turning point, the state reform of 1970, defined cultural communities to accommodate the demands of Flemish people for cultural autonomy. Afterwards, Belgium took the path towards federation. The second turning point, the Constitution of May 1993, is a milestone in the political history of Belgium because it formally characterised Belgium as a federal state. Finally, the last turning point is the premature federal elections of 2010. This period was chosen because the winner, the N-VA, clearly declared that its goal was to achieve the independence for Flanders. I tackle the research questions by using qualitative approach. I will analyse my primary source material, the political party programmes of the main Flemish political parties, from the years 1971/1972, 1991, 1995 and 2010. By using conceptual content analysis as my main method, I concentrate in my analysing process on certain concepts related to the context of my study, such as federalism, nationalism and identity. In addition to party programmes, representing traditional Catholic, Socialist and Liberal pillars as well as more and more popular regional and Flemish nationalist political parties, I present Parliament discussions enlightening the political situation in 1969, 1988 and 2013. Moreover, I utilise theoretical and historical research literature, such as Daniel Elazar's theory of federal political systems and Benedict Anderson's theory of nationalism and 'imagined communities'. The main findings of this study reveal that there definitely are clear differences between Flemish political party programmes' attitudes towards extending autonomy. Socialist parties emphasised a united Belgium more than other parties, even though also Socialist parties have supported decentralisation and federalism. The regionalist and Flemish nationalist parties were even in favour of the independence of Flanders while the Christian Democratic and Liberal parties aligned in the middle, supporting confederal model in 2010, but resisting strongly the independence of Flanders. Nationalist matters, like emphasising Dutch language and culture, went somewhat hand in hand with the attitudes towards extending autonomy, more precisely whether party saw Flanders' future as an independent country or as a part of Belgium. Of these four parties, the regionalist and Flemish nationalist parties underscored the most the Dutch language and culture. These parties also manifested the strongest Flemish identity. Socialist parties did not set much focus on nationalist matters, like Dutch language and culture, except for a while in 1990s, and presented the weakest Flemish identity. Christian Democratic and Liberal parties positioned themselves in the middle with a significant Flemish identity, but also with a relevant Belgian identity. Overall, the discussions and debates analysed supported all the findings found in the political party programmes. A similar development can also be seen in parties' EU policies. By the 1990s, regionalisation received increasingly attention in the party programmes, and Flanders was seen as an independent actor in the EU arena. In addition to the regionalist party, also the traditional parties focused on regionalist matters in the 1990s. By 2010, the attention on regionalist matters was decreasing, except in the party programme of the Flemish nationalist party, N-VA. It even suggested that Flanders should pursue membership in the EU. The demand of Flemish people led to the first state reform in 1970. Afterwards, Belgium headed for federation – in a Belgian way. The Belgian federation is unique and extremely complex, with almost no similarities to classic federations displaying also some characteristics of confederalism. One might think that becoming a federation finally would be the end of all institutional changes, but Belgium continues to undergo change. Belgium has been in the middle of political crises more than once during recent decades. However, the solution 'compromis à la Belge' has been found every time. New state reforms have been made since 1993, the last one in 2011, and I envisage that new ones are yet to come. It seems that Belgium has tried to find a balance ever since it declared independence, and federalism has been just one step towards this equilibrium. For the most part, however, all this has happened step by step, without greater turbulence. Federalism has enabled Belgium to move towards more extending autonomy, confederalism, in a peaceful way. Nevertheless, the political parties that aspire to the independence of Flanders are very popular, which definitely poses challenges to a united Belgium. The country, where consociationalism has been an important tool in the policy-making, may face some serious times if the support of Flemish nationalist parties continues to grow. More or less, the real question is whether Flemish people are ready for another compromis à la Belge , or is it time to have Flanders for themselves – Vlaanderen aan de vlamingen?
Relevance of the research problem. Sport is a value of every nation, which includes the system of physical, spiritual and cultural education, sports achievements, scientific knowledge, international communication (Karoblis, 2005). High level sport is inseparable from competitive activities, the pursuit of sports results (Hargreaves & MacDonald, 2000; Karoblis, 2005). The special training of athletes in the chosen sports is a part of general education of personality, which has a close connection with social, educational, political, economic issues of humanity development (Johnson et al., 2007). The athlete training process is a multi-year educational process of a specific structure and organizational form, which develops physical characteristics of an athlete, determines his activity, behavior, independence and responsibility, promotes to achieve excellent results. However, optimization of athlete training technology, construction of training system and its filling with full content still have the greatest impact on the improvement of sports results (Bompa & Buzzichelli, 2018; Karoblis, 2005; Платонов, 2004). Management of high-performance athlete training is related to prognostication, individual model characteristics of sport fitness, general and special load ratio, search for new effective directions of workout methodology, modeling of competition activity indicators, workout process planning, competition program conclusion, sport training adjustment (Karoblis, Raslanas, Steponavičius, 2002). Track-and-field athletics is integral sports that combine cyclic and acyclic exercise competitions: running, throws, vertical and horizontal jumps (Armonavičius, 1995). Short distance running is one of the most prestigious track-and-field athletics competitions. An exceptional short distance motor feature is the maximum intense activity of the whole body, especially the nervous and muscular systems, lasting from 0.1 to 40–50 s (Stanislovaitis et al., 2008). The ever-improving sports results reveal new human mental and physical abilities, vast resources of the body that could not even be dreamed of before. The organization of exercise, methodology, their scope and intensity, their combination with the means of recovery according to the main laws of phenotypic adaptation form the basis for the training of high-performance athletes (Платонов, 2004; Stonkus, 2000; Issurin, 2008; Krylovas, Kosareva, Dadelienė, & Dadelo, 2020). The particularity of the sport is based on competition. The results recorded in sport receive global recognition and become a true human achievement standard. In the world, they are constantly progressing, promoting the development of the sport community, therefore the greatest human intellectual and material resources are directed to the training of high-performance athletes (Skernevičius, 2015; Krylovas, Kosareva, Dadelienė, & Dadelo, 2020). However, the results of a research conducted by scientists showed that over the past nearly 20 years, elite athletes, including Olympic, world champions and prizewinners, have achieved personal best results in key competitions of the season by only in 50 percent cases (Yakimovich & Ovchinnikov, 2016). This shows that the opinion that contemporary coaches are high-performance and knowledgeable in the training of elite athletes and immaculately control and manage the process of sport training of athletes is not sufficiently substantiated. It has been established that the development of high-performance sprinters depends on many factors, the most important of which is the directionality of the training process, its management, taking into account the individual characteristics of the athlete's body adaptation to workout and competition loads (Stanislovaitis, 2008; Бондаренко, 1999; Нбанекова, Филин, 1995). The training of sprinters and their competitive activities have been extensively studied not only by foreign (Smith, 2005; Doscher, 2009; Kale & Bayrak, 2009; Prins, Murata, Derenne, Morgan, & Solomon, 2010; Dickin, Reyes, & Dolny, 2009; Nelson, Landin, Young, & Schexnayder, 2008; Eikenberry, Mcauliffe, Welsh, Zerpa, Mcpherson, & Newhouse, 2008; Oзoлин, 1986), but also by Lithuanian sport scientists (Stanislovaitis, 2008, 2006, 2005; Grūnovas, 2006; Butkus, 2006, 1995; Skurvydas, 1999, 2003; Bradauskienė, 2006). Although the world record of female sprinters in a 100 m distance is quite high (10.49 s), the search for new training methods and their application in the process of female sprinter workouts continues. Scientists are not only analyzing and evaluating existing workout methodological tools, but also looking for new methods for an advanced sprinter training process. Thus, in search of new methods to increase running speed, through more research and the application of the latest training technologies, methods can be discovered to help athletes to become faster and to develop a running speed, which has never been achieved before. Recently, in a 100 m running, as in many track-and-field athletics competitions, the results of athletes are progressing rapidly. That progress depends heavily on the selection of talented athletes, scientifically and practically sound and effective workout methodologies, the selection and application of remedial measures, the material compensation of athletes, which greatly increases motivation of athletes, and etc. Therefore, in order to achieve good results and prizes in high rank competition in contemporary sport, it is necessary to know the peculiarities of the application of training methodology, to properly select the most important starts of the annual training cycle, taking into account all conditions at the place and time of competition. An athlete and a coach must not only follow the innovations of training methodology, science and medicine, but also look back, be able to analyze his own results and the results of athletes, who have shown significant results theretofore, the peculiarities of workout tools and methods applied by them, the reasons for successful and unsuccessful starts, and then all this to apply to the management of his own training process. Discovering, revealing and learning about new technologies through the theory and didactics of sport workout is the most important function of sport science (Mester, 2003), and it is important for a coach to be able to use scientific results and recommendations, be insightful and be able to successfully model the training of elite athletes (Karoblis, Raslanas, Poteliūnienė, Steponavičius, Petkus, & Žilinskienė, 2011). The purposeful training of female sprinters and the search for effective technologies in order to increase the maximum running speed become a scientific problem. The presented scientific problem is relevant for the following reasons: ● It is important to analyze the change in results in terms of age and to determine the age, at which the highest results are achieved; ● It is important to research and theoretically substantiate, which components determine the sports result in short distance running; ● To research the effectiveness of training measures in order to increase maximum running speed; ● The contribution of running at maximum speed to the sports result in a 100 m run has not been sufficiently researched; ● It is important to establish criteria that affect the progress of athletes' mastery and the change of sport performance. Hypothesis. It is likely that sports results of female sprinters are not improving due to the integrated and concentrated training models applied separately. A universal speed training model is more effective. Object of the research is the process of female sprinter training. Aim is to identify the peculiarities of optimizing the training of high-performance female sprinters. Objectives of the research: 1. On the basis of the data of the theoretical analysis of scientific sources, to reveal the change of the results of high-performance female sprinters in terms of age. 2. To perform a comparative analysis of the preparation of high-performance female spriners for the Athens, Beijing, London and Rio Olympic Games. 3. To review the technologies of sports training of female sprinters and to examine the factors influencing their results. 4. To determine the effectiveness of a universal method for training the speed of high-performance female sprinters. 5. To reveal/identify the opinion of high-performance female sprinters about the factors determining their training system. Theoretical and practical significance Researching the structure and content of sports training for female sprinters of different ages and sports mastery, analyzing the change of sports results in terms of age, evaluating workout methods, running speed components, the provisions for effective running speed increase were identified: ● Running speed is determined by the speed of muscle contraction, the length of leg support, the frequency of steps, and the sports result in a 100-meter run depends mainly on the maximum running speed. ● In order to improve the results of the maximum running speed of female sprinters, it is important to apply a universal, combined method in the workout process, running with weight and stretching with an elastic band. These provisions are relevant to the theory and practice of female sprinter training. The results of the study can be used in the development of training programs for sports schools and high-performance female sprinters. CONCLUSIONS 1. The age for achieving the best personal result in the women's 100 m running competition is 24.69 ± 3.27 year. The best Lithuanian sprinter L. Grinčikaitė-Samuolė achieved her best result in this running competition at the age of 25 – 11.19 s. At the beginning of their athletic career, American sprinters had the highest running scores and dominated until the age of 17, however later is observed leadership of the Caribbean Region female sprinters up to the age of 35. The results of European sprinters were average in almost all age groups. 2. Analysis of the four Olympic Games revealed a significant improvement in the results of the 100 m running and starting reaction speed (p < 0.05). In order to get to in the 100 m running final, athletes should run an average of 10.96 ± 0.03 s, and to become the prizewinners of the competition – 10.86 ± 0.08 s. Sprinters become the prizewinners of the 100 m run at the age of 25.42 ± 3.18 year. 3. Lithuanian female sprinters lose to the best sprinters of Europe and the world in the competition requiring the maximum running speed – 40 m in acceleration (11.99 %). The best Lithuanian sprinter L. Grinčikaitė-Samuolė reduces this difference to 4.05 % in the 100 m running distance, the gap between Europe's and the world's best female sprinters is gradually declining due to improved European sprinters' maximum running speed results. 4. The resisted/assisted running method is the most effective way to increase the running speed and starting acceleration, as this speed training method significantly improves the values of step length and support duration than running normally. 5. High-performance female sprinters lack attention to an important component of training – psychological training – in the process of their sports training. It was found out that their sports training and improvement of results are more influenced by external (monetary prizes, premiums) than internal motives (desire to improve results, honor to represent their country). A coach's personality also has impact. The coach is valued not only as a specialist, but distinguishing his personal qualities, such as sincerity, friendliness, motivation, promotion is considered an integral part of the training process.
Relevance of the research problem. Sport is a value of every nation, which includes the system of physical, spiritual and cultural education, sports achievements, scientific knowledge, international communication (Karoblis, 2005). High level sport is inseparable from competitive activities, the pursuit of sports results (Hargreaves & MacDonald, 2000; Karoblis, 2005). The special training of athletes in the chosen sports is a part of general education of personality, which has a close connection with social, educational, political, economic issues of humanity development (Johnson et al., 2007). The athlete training process is a multi-year educational process of a specific structure and organizational form, which develops physical characteristics of an athlete, determines his activity, behavior, independence and responsibility, promotes to achieve excellent results. However, optimization of athlete training technology, construction of training system and its filling with full content still have the greatest impact on the improvement of sports results (Bompa & Buzzichelli, 2018; Karoblis, 2005; Платонов, 2004). Management of high-performance athlete training is related to prognostication, individual model characteristics of sport fitness, general and special load ratio, search for new effective directions of workout methodology, modeling of competition activity indicators, workout process planning, competition program conclusion, sport training adjustment (Karoblis, Raslanas, Steponavičius, 2002). Track-and-field athletics is integral sports that combine cyclic and acyclic exercise competitions: running, throws, vertical and horizontal jumps (Armonavičius, 1995). Short distance running is one of the most prestigious track-and-field athletics competitions. An exceptional short distance motor feature is the maximum intense activity of the whole body, especially the nervous and muscular systems, lasting from 0.1 to 40–50 s (Stanislovaitis et al., 2008). The ever-improving sports results reveal new human mental and physical abilities, vast resources of the body that could not even be dreamed of before. The organization of exercise, methodology, their scope and intensity, their combination with the means of recovery according to the main laws of phenotypic adaptation form the basis for the training of high-performance athletes (Платонов, 2004; Stonkus, 2000; Issurin, 2008; Krylovas, Kosareva, Dadelienė, & Dadelo, 2020). The particularity of the sport is based on competition. The results recorded in sport receive global recognition and become a true human achievement standard. In the world, they are constantly progressing, promoting the development of the sport community, therefore the greatest human intellectual and material resources are directed to the training of high-performance athletes (Skernevičius, 2015; Krylovas, Kosareva, Dadelienė, & Dadelo, 2020). However, the results of a research conducted by scientists showed that over the past nearly 20 years, elite athletes, including Olympic, world champions and prizewinners, have achieved personal best results in key competitions of the season by only in 50 percent cases (Yakimovich & Ovchinnikov, 2016). This shows that the opinion that contemporary coaches are high-performance and knowledgeable in the training of elite athletes and immaculately control and manage the process of sport training of athletes is not sufficiently substantiated. It has been established that the development of high-performance sprinters depends on many factors, the most important of which is the directionality of the training process, its management, taking into account the individual characteristics of the athlete's body adaptation to workout and competition loads (Stanislovaitis, 2008; Бондаренко, 1999; Нбанекова, Филин, 1995). The training of sprinters and their competitive activities have been extensively studied not only by foreign (Smith, 2005; Doscher, 2009; Kale & Bayrak, 2009; Prins, Murata, Derenne, Morgan, & Solomon, 2010; Dickin, Reyes, & Dolny, 2009; Nelson, Landin, Young, & Schexnayder, 2008; Eikenberry, Mcauliffe, Welsh, Zerpa, Mcpherson, & Newhouse, 2008; Oзoлин, 1986), but also by Lithuanian sport scientists (Stanislovaitis, 2008, 2006, 2005; Grūnovas, 2006; Butkus, 2006, 1995; Skurvydas, 1999, 2003; Bradauskienė, 2006). Although the world record of female sprinters in a 100 m distance is quite high (10.49 s), the search for new training methods and their application in the process of female sprinter workouts continues. Scientists are not only analyzing and evaluating existing workout methodological tools, but also looking for new methods for an advanced sprinter training process. Thus, in search of new methods to increase running speed, through more research and the application of the latest training technologies, methods can be discovered to help athletes to become faster and to develop a running speed, which has never been achieved before. Recently, in a 100 m running, as in many track-and-field athletics competitions, the results of athletes are progressing rapidly. That progress depends heavily on the selection of talented athletes, scientifically and practically sound and effective workout methodologies, the selection and application of remedial measures, the material compensation of athletes, which greatly increases motivation of athletes, and etc. Therefore, in order to achieve good results and prizes in high rank competition in contemporary sport, it is necessary to know the peculiarities of the application of training methodology, to properly select the most important starts of the annual training cycle, taking into account all conditions at the place and time of competition. An athlete and a coach must not only follow the innovations of training methodology, science and medicine, but also look back, be able to analyze his own results and the results of athletes, who have shown significant results theretofore, the peculiarities of workout tools and methods applied by them, the reasons for successful and unsuccessful starts, and then all this to apply to the management of his own training process. Discovering, revealing and learning about new technologies through the theory and didactics of sport workout is the most important function of sport science (Mester, 2003), and it is important for a coach to be able to use scientific results and recommendations, be insightful and be able to successfully model the training of elite athletes (Karoblis, Raslanas, Poteliūnienė, Steponavičius, Petkus, & Žilinskienė, 2011). The purposeful training of female sprinters and the search for effective technologies in order to increase the maximum running speed become a scientific problem. The presented scientific problem is relevant for the following reasons: ● It is important to analyze the change in results in terms of age and to determine the age, at which the highest results are achieved; ● It is important to research and theoretically substantiate, which components determine the sports result in short distance running; ● To research the effectiveness of training measures in order to increase maximum running speed; ● The contribution of running at maximum speed to the sports result in a 100 m run has not been sufficiently researched; ● It is important to establish criteria that affect the progress of athletes' mastery and the change of sport performance. Hypothesis. It is likely that sports results of female sprinters are not improving due to the integrated and concentrated training models applied separately. A universal speed training model is more effective. Object of the research is the process of female sprinter training. Aim is to identify the peculiarities of optimizing the training of high-performance female sprinters. Objectives of the research: 1. On the basis of the data of the theoretical analysis of scientific sources, to reveal the change of the results of high-performance female sprinters in terms of age. 2. To perform a comparative analysis of the preparation of high-performance female spriners for the Athens, Beijing, London and Rio Olympic Games. 3. To review the technologies of sports training of female sprinters and to examine the factors influencing their results. 4. To determine the effectiveness of a universal method for training the speed of high-performance female sprinters. 5. To reveal/identify the opinion of high-performance female sprinters about the factors determining their training system. Theoretical and practical significance Researching the structure and content of sports training for female sprinters of different ages and sports mastery, analyzing the change of sports results in terms of age, evaluating workout methods, running speed components, the provisions for effective running speed increase were identified: ● Running speed is determined by the speed of muscle contraction, the length of leg support, the frequency of steps, and the sports result in a 100-meter run depends mainly on the maximum running speed. ● In order to improve the results of the maximum running speed of female sprinters, it is important to apply a universal, combined method in the workout process, running with weight and stretching with an elastic band. These provisions are relevant to the theory and practice of female sprinter training. The results of the study can be used in the development of training programs for sports schools and high-performance female sprinters. CONCLUSIONS 1. The age for achieving the best personal result in the women's 100 m running competition is 24.69 ± 3.27 year. The best Lithuanian sprinter L. Grinčikaitė-Samuolė achieved her best result in this running competition at the age of 25 – 11.19 s. At the beginning of their athletic career, American sprinters had the highest running scores and dominated until the age of 17, however later is observed leadership of the Caribbean Region female sprinters up to the age of 35. The results of European sprinters were average in almost all age groups. 2. Analysis of the four Olympic Games revealed a significant improvement in the results of the 100 m running and starting reaction speed (p < 0.05). In order to get to in the 100 m running final, athletes should run an average of 10.96 ± 0.03 s, and to become the prizewinners of the competition – 10.86 ± 0.08 s. Sprinters become the prizewinners of the 100 m run at the age of 25.42 ± 3.18 year. 3. Lithuanian female sprinters lose to the best sprinters of Europe and the world in the competition requiring the maximum running speed – 40 m in acceleration (11.99 %). The best Lithuanian sprinter L. Grinčikaitė-Samuolė reduces this difference to 4.05 % in the 100 m running distance, the gap between Europe's and the world's best female sprinters is gradually declining due to improved European sprinters' maximum running speed results. 4. The resisted/assisted running method is the most effective way to increase the running speed and starting acceleration, as this speed training method significantly improves the values of step length and support duration than running normally. 5. High-performance female sprinters lack attention to an important component of training – psychological training – in the process of their sports training. It was found out that their sports training and improvement of results are more influenced by external (monetary prizes, premiums) than internal motives (desire to improve results, honor to represent their country). A coach's personality also has impact. The coach is valued not only as a specialist, but distinguishing his personal qualities, such as sincerity, friendliness, motivation, promotion is considered an integral part of the training process.
As a contribution to the 'History of Language Learning and Teaching' as a subdiscipline of the historiography of linguistics, this thesis aims to fill a gap in research in the history of teaching German as a foreign language in Portugal by undertaking a first systematic academic study on the manuals of German as a foreign language (as such), published between 1863 and 1926 in Portugal or in Europe and intended for the teaching of the German language to a mainly Portuguese public (that is, predominantly to speakers of European Portuguese). As a result, a perspective mainly devoted to the history of ideas is related to the separately analyzed perspective of the history of institutions. Taking into account the corpus of 11 works in 12 volumes, of which 35 editions can be documented, the thesis examines whether the individual works of the corpus can be classified or not in the method of a grammatically oriented teaching of foreign languages, which was disseminated all over the world since the nineteenth century and today is known as the 'grammar Translation Method' (GTM). The year 1863 is considered as the starting point when the first textbook of German was published in Portugal. Grammatica pratica da lingua allemã of the grammarian and Alsatian language teacher Johann Philipp Anstett was approved by the Portuguese Conselho Superior de Instrução Pública, thus establishing the undeniable main reference to a Portuguese-speaking European target public. The final point is May 28, 1926, when the military coup led by General Gomes da Costa initiated the dictatorial fascist regime of the Portuguese Estado Novo that led to a general increase in interest in the language of Germany, where at the same time National Socialism became increasingly dominant in the political scene. Along with the introduction in chapter 1, this work consists of a total of seven chapters. The second chapter consists of an introductory presentation on the methodology, concluding with brief observations on the textual criticism, the illustrations and the tables used in the work. The third chapter is devoted to the theoretical framework of the thesis. After a terminological clarification on the relationship between the notion of 'method' and that of 'didactic concept', the most important didactic concepts for modern foreign languages that were part of the MGT are presented from a point of view of the history of ideas. After a presentation of the MGT from a synchronic point of view, a catalog of criteria is elaborated, which will allow a contextualization of the works of the corpus at the end of the conclusions. The chapter concludes with the discussion and presentation of some problematic areas of the representation of German grammar for a foreign language audience, highlighting those that seem to be most suitable for a diachronic and comparative examination based on the corpus of the thesis. Chapter 4 describes the beginnings of teaching German in the Portuguese education system. In addition to the evaluation of the relevant specialized literature, in particular the contents of historical legal texts not yet taken into account in previous research are presented and discussed. In chapter 5, firstly a proposal for a specific classification of historical metalinguistic manuals is offered an applied to the elements of the text corpus. Then, from 5.2 to 5.11, we undertake a detailed serial description of the corpus of the Portuguese manuals of German in chronological order. Finally, in Chapter 6, the manuals of our text corpus are examined from a point of view of linguistics and didactics of German as a foreign language, taking into account a selection of problematic areas for Portuguese target public that are no German native speakers. ; Como contribución a la 'Historia del Aprendizaje y Enseñanza de Lenguas' como subdisciplina de la historiografía lingüística, este trabajo pretende cubrir una laguna de la investigación en la historia de la enseñanza del alemán como lengua extranjera en Portugal al hacerse un primer trabajo académico sistemático sobre los manuales de alemán como lengua extranjera, publicados entre 1863 y 1926 en Portugal y en Europa y destinados a la enseñanza de la lengua alemana para un público principalmente portugués (es decir, predominantemente de habla portuguesa europea). Teniendo en cuenta el corpus de 11 obras en 12 volúmenes, de las que se pueden documentar 35 ediciones, la tesis examina si las obras individuales del corpus se pueden clasificar o no dentro del método conocido hoy como 'método de gramática y traducción' (MGT), focalizado en la enseñanza gramatical de las lenguas extranjeras y difundido en todo el mundo principalmente en el siglo XIX. Se considera como terminus a quo el año 1863, cuando se publicó el primer manual de alemán en Portugal: la Grammatica pratica da lingua allemã del gramático y profesor alsaciano de lengua Johann Philipp Anstett. Fue aprobada por el Conselho Superior de Instrução Pública de Portugal, por lo que resulta innegable que su orientación principal a un público objetivo de habla portuguesa europea. Sirve como terminus ad quem el 28 de mayo de 1926, fecha del golpe militar liderado por el general Gomes da Costa, que dio inicio al régimen fascista dictatorial del Estado Novo portugués. Este hecho trajo consigo el aumento general del interés por la lengua de Alemania, al mismo tiempo que en este país el nacionalsocialismo se hacía cada vez más dominante en la escena política. Para cumplir con los objetos establecidos, estructuramos el trabajo en un total de siete capítulos. Al primero, que se corresponde con la introducción, le sigue un segundo capítulo consistente en la presentación de la metodología, el cual concluye con unas breves observaciones sobre la crítica textual, las ilustraciones y las tablas utilizadas en el trabajo. El tercer capítulo está dedicado al marco teórico de la tesis. Después de una aclaración terminológica sobre la relación entre las nociones de 'método y 'concepto didáctico', se presentan los conceptos didácticos más importantes para las lenguas extranjeras modernas integrantes del MGT desde un punto de vista de la historia de las ideas lingüísticas. Después de una presentación del MGT desde un punto de vista sincrónico, se elabora un catálogo de criterios que permitirá determinar si los manuales de nuestro corpus se inscriben en este método o no y, con ello, evaluar los trabajos del corpus en las conclusiones. El capítulo concluye con la discusión y presentación de algunas áreas problemáticas de la representación de la gramática alemana para un público de lengua extranjera, destacándose aquellas que parecen ser más adecuadas para un examen diacrónico y comparativo sobre la base del corpus de la tesis. El capítulo 4 se centra en los comienzos de la enseñanza del alemán en el sistema educativo portugués desde una perspectiva de la historia de las instituciones. Además de la evaluación de la literatura especializada relevante, en particular, se realiza una presentación y discusión de los contenidos de textos legales históricos no tenidos en cuenta en investigaciones previas. En el capítulo 5, se elabora primero una propuesta para una clasificación específica de los manuales metalingüísticos históricos, siendo aplicada a las obras del corpus. A esto le sigue el estudio descriptivo detallado del corpus, incluyendo los manuales portugueses de alemán en orden cronológico. En el capítulo 6 se examinan los manuales de nuestro corpus desde el punto de vista de la didáctica del alemán como lengua extranjera, teniendo en cuenta una selección de áreas problemáticas para un público destinatario portugués de lengua alemana no materna. ; En canto contribución para a 'Historia da aprendizaxe e do ensino de linguas', subdisciplina relativamente nova da historiografía lingüística, este traballo pretende encher unha lagoa na investigación da historia do ensino do alemá como lingua estranxeira en Portugal, facendo un primeiro traballo académico sistemático sobre os manuais de alemá como lingua estranxeira, publicados entre 1863 e 1926, en Portugal e na Europa e destinados ao ensino da lingua alemá para un público maioritariamente portugués (ou séa, no que predomina a lingua portuguesa europea). Tendo en conta o corpus de 11 obras en 12 volumes, das cales 35 edicións poden ser documentadas, a tese pretende analizar e confirmar se as obras individuais do corpus poden ou non ser integradas no método de ensino gramaticalmente orientado de linguas estranxeiras, que se espallou polo mundo especialmente desde o século XIX e que é hoxe coñecido como 'método gramática-tradución' (MGT). O ano de 1863 é considerado como terminus a quo, con a publicación do primeiro manual de alemá en Portugal, a Grammatica pratica da lingua allemã de Johann Philipp Anstett. Tendo en conta que este manual foi aprobado polo Conselho Superior de Instrução Pública, é innegable que se destinaba a un público-obxectivo de lingua portuguesa europea. Como terminus ad quem, escolemos o dia 28 de maio de 1926, por razoes históricas e en conformidade con outras publicacións dedicadas a aspectos da historia do ensino do alemá como lingua estranxeira en Portugal. Foi neste dia que o golpe militar liderado polo xeneral Gomes da Costa pon fin à primeira República Portuguesa e deu inicio ao réxime fascista ditatorial do Estado Novo portugués. Esta reorientación política do país pode estar relacionada con un aumento xeral do interese pola lingua da Alemaña, onde, ao mesmo tempo, o nacional-socialismo se tornou cada vez mais dominante no escenario político. Así, para cumprir os obxectivos establecidos, estruturamos o traballo nun total de sete capítulos, correspondendo o capítulo 1 à introdución. O capítulo 2 consiste nunha presentación introdutoria sobre a metodoloxía e termina con breves observacións sobre a crítica textual, as ilustracións e as táboas utilizadas no traballo. O capítulo 3 é dedicado ao cadro teórico da tese. Despois un esclarecemento terminolóxico sobre a relación entre a noción de 'método' e o 'concepto didáctico', se presentan os conceptos didácticos mais importantes para as linguas estranxeiras modernas que fixeran parte do MGT só o punto de vista da historia das ideais lingüísticas. Segue unha presentación do MGT dende un punto de vista sincrónico, elaborándose un catálogo de criterios que permitirá determinar se os manuais do noso corpus inscríbense neste método ou non e, con iso, evaluar os traballos do corpus nas conclusións. O capítulo 3 termina con a discusión e presentación de algunhas áreas problemáticas da representación da gramática alemá para un público de lingua estranxeira, destacándose aquelas que parecen ser mais axeitadas para un exame diacrónico e comparativo con base no corpus da tese. O capítulo 4 céntrase nas orixes do ensino do alemá no sistema educativo portugués a partir de unha perspectiva da historia das institucións. Ademais da avaliación da literatura especializada relevante, en particular, é realizada unha presentación e discusión do contido de textos xurídicos históricos que non foran levados en consideración en investigacións anteriores. No capítulo 5, en primeiro lugar, desenvolvese unha proposta para unha clasificación específica de manuais metalingüísticos históricos, sendo aplicada as obras do corpus. Seguidamente, procedemos a unha descrición seriada e detallada do corpus dos manuais portugueses de alemá por orde cronolóxica. No capítulo 6 examínanse os manuais do noso corpus do ponto de vista da didática do alemão como lingua estranxeira, tendo en conta unha escolma de áreas problemáticas para un público-obxectivo portugués, non materno de lingua alemá.
John M. Hobson on Eurocentrism, Historical Sociology and the Curious Case of Postcolonialism
International Relations, it is widely recognized, is a Western discipline, albeit one that claims to speak for global conditions. What does that mean are these regional origins in and by themselves a stake in power politics? This Eurocentrism is often taken as a point of departure for denouncing mainstream approaches by self-proclaimed critical and postcolonialist approaches to IR. John Hobson stages a more radical attack on Eurocentrism, in which western critical theories, too, are complicit in the perpetuation of a dominantly western outlook. In this extensive Talk, Hobson, among others, expounds his understanding of Eurocentrism, discusses the imperative to historicize IR, and sketches the outline of possible venues of emancipation from our provincial predicament.
Print version of this Talk (pdf)
What is, according to you, the biggest challenge / principal debate in current International Relations? What is your position or answer to this challenge / in this debate?
In my view, there are two principal inter-related challenges that face IR. The first is the need to deal with the critique that the discipline is constructed on Eurocentric foundations. This matters both for critical and conventional IR. The latter insists that it works according to value-free positivistic/scientifistic principles. But if it is skewed by an underlying Western-centric bias, as I have contended in my work, then the positivist mantra turns out to constitute a smokescreen or veil behind which lies the dark Eurocentric face of conventional IR. And of course, if Eurocentrism in various forms infects much of critical IR, then it jeopardizes its critical credentials and risks falling back into problem-solving theory. For these reasons, then, I feel that the critique of Eurocentric IR and international political economy (IPE) poses nothing short of an intellectually existential challenge to these disciplines.
The second inter-related challenge is that if we accept that the discipline is essentially Eurocentric then we need to reconstruct IR's foundations on a non-Eurocentric basis and then advance an alternative non-Eurocentric research agenda and empirical analysis of the international system and the global political economy. This is a straightforward challenge vis-à-vis conventional IR/IPE theory but it is more problematic so far as critical IR/IPE is concerned (which is why my answer is somewhat extended). The more postmodern wing of the discipline would view with inherent skepticism any attempt to reconstruct some kind of (albeit alternative) grand narrative. And the postmodern postcolonialists would likely concur. It is at this point that the thorniest issue emerges in the context of postcolonial IR theory. For however hard this is to say, I feel that simply proclaiming the Eurocentric foundations of the discipline does not hole its constituent theories deep beneath the waterline; a claim that abrades with the view of most postcolonialists who view Eurocentrism as inherently illegitimate either because it renders it imperialist (which I view as problematic since there are significant strands of anti-imperialist Eurocentrism and scientific racism) or because they conflate Eurocentrism with the unacceptable politics of (scientific) racism (which I also find problematic notwithstanding the point that there are all manner of overlaps and synergies between these two generic Western-centric discourses, all of which is explained in my 2012 book, The Eurocentric Conception of World Politics). The key point—one which will undoubtedly get me into a lot of trouble with postcolonialists—is that I feel we need to recognize that in the end Eurocentric IR (and IPE) theory constitutes a stand-point approach, just like any other, and its merits or de-merits can ultimately only be evaluated against the empirical record, past and present (notwithstanding the points that I find Eurocentrism to be deeply biased and that what I find so deeply galling about it is its dismissive 'put-down' modus operandi of all things non-Western, wherein all non-Western achievements are dismissed outright, alongside the simultaneous (re)presentation of everything that the West does as progressive and/or pioneering).
So the second principal challenge facing the discipline—one which will no less get me into trouble with many postmodern/poststructuralist thinkers—is the need to reconstruct an alternative non-Eurocentric set of disciplinary foundations, which can then generate fresh empirical narratives of the international system and the global political economy. For my view is that only by offering an alternative research agenda and empirical analysis of the world economy can IR and IPE be set free from their extant Eurocentric straitjackets and the Sisyphean prison within which they remain confined, wherein IR and IPE scholars simply re-present or recycle tired old Eurocentric mantras and tropes in new clothing ad infinitum. For if nothing else, the absence of an alternative reconstruction and empirical analysis means that IR and IPE scholars are most likely simply to default to, or retreat back into, their Eurocentric comfort zone. Accordingly, then, the battle between Eurocentrism and non-Eurocentrism needs to be taken to the empirical field and away from the high and rarified intellectually mountainous terrain of metanarratival sparring contests.
How did you arrive at where you currently are in your thinking about International Relations?
Another way of asking this question would be: what influenced you to become a non-Eurocentric thinker? I get asked this question a lot, especially by non-white people. A good deal of this is related to my life-experience, much of which is sub-conscious of course and both too personal and too detailed to openly reflect upon here (sorry!) More objectively, the initial impetus came around 1999 when I came across a book on Max Weber by the well-respected Weberian scholar, Bryan Turner, in which he argued inter alia that Weber's sociology had Orientalist properties; none of which had occurred to me before. Following this up further I became convinced that Weber was indeed Eurocentric, as was Marx. More importantly, I came to see this as a huge problem that infected not just Marx and Weber but pretty much all of historical sociology (which was reinforced in my mind when I came to read James Blaut's books, The Colonizer's Model of the World (find it here), and Eight Eurocentric Historians). So I set out to develop an alternative non-Eurocentric approach to world history and historical sociology as a counter (which resulted in my 2004 book, The Eastern Origins of Western Civilisation).
Two further key IR texts that I became aware of were L.H.M. Ling's seminal 2002 book, Postcolonial International Relations and Naeem Inayatullah and David Blaney's equally brilliant 2004 book International Relations and the Problem of Difference, both of which led me to explore further the Eurocentric nature of IR and later IPE. But it would be remiss of me not to mention the influence of Albert Paolini; a wonderful colleague whom I had the pleasure to know at La Trobe University in Melbourne back in the early 1990s before his exceedingly unfortunate and premature death (and who, I must say, was way ahead of the game compared to me in terms of developing the critique of Eurocentrism in IR (see his book, Navigating Modernity (1997)). However, it would be unfair to the many others who have influenced me in countless ways to single out only these books and writers, though I hope you'll forgive me for not mentioning them so as to avoid providing yet another overly extended answer!
What would a student need to become a specialist in IR or understand the world in a global way?
This is an excellent but very challenging question and I want to try and make a succinct answer (though I shall build on it in some of the answers I will provide later on). The essential argument I make about 'thinking inter-culturally' is that while the more liberal side of the discipline thinks that its cosmopolitanism does just this, its Eurocentrism actually prevents it from fulfilling this. Because ultimately, cosmopolitanism wants to impose a Western standard of civilization upon the world, thereby advancing cultural monism rather than cultural pluralism. And this is merely the loudest expression of a spectre that haunts much of the discipline. But I guess that in the end, to achieve genuine cultural pluralism and to think inter-culturally requires us to take seriously how other non-Western peoples think of what their cultures comprise and what it means to them, and how their societies and states work along such lines. Dismissing them, as Eurocentrism always does, as inferior, backward and regressive denies this requirement outright. Interestingly, my great grandfather, J.A. Hobson flirted with this idea in his book, Imperialism: A Study (though this has largely escaped the notice of most people since few have read the more important second part of that book where all this is considered). But this is merely a first step, for as I will explain later on in the interview, ultimately thinking inter-culturally requires an analysis of the dialogical inter-connections and mutual co-constitutive relations between West and non-West which, in turn, presupposes not merely the presence of Western agency but also that of non-Western agency in the making of world politics and the global political economy.
All of which is clearly a massive challenge and I am certainly not advocating that the discipline of IR engage in deep ethnographical study and that it should morph into anthropology. And in any case I think that there are things we can do more generally to transcend Eurocentrism while learning more about the other side of the Eurocentric frontier without going to this extreme. I shall talk about such conceptual moves later on in this interview. One such theoretical move that I talk about later is the need to engage historical sociology (albeit from a non-Eurocentric perspective) or, more precisely global historical sociology. Again, though, I'm not advocating that the discipline should morph into historical sociology. And I'm aware that one of the biggest obstacles to IR making inroads into historical sociology is the sheer size of the task that this requires. It has always come naturally to me because that is where I came from before I joined the IR academic community. But there is quite a bit of historical sociology of IR out there now so I do think it possible for new PhD students to enter this fold. All of this said, though, I'm unsure if I have answered your question adequately.
The west is often seen as the source of globalization and innovation, which have historically radiated outwards in a process without seeming endpoint. What is wrong with this picture, and, perhaps more interestingly, why does it remain so pervasive?
In essence I believe this familiar picture—one which is embraced by conventional and many critical IR/IPE and globalization theorists—is wrong because this linear Western narrative brackets out all the many inputs that the non-West has made (which returns me to the point made a moment ago concerning the dialogical relations that have long existed between West and non-West). In my aforementioned 2004 book I argued that the West did not rise to modernity as a result of its own exceptional rational institutions and culture but was significantly enabled by many non-Western achievements and inventions which were borrowed and sometimes appropriated by the West. In short, without the Rest there might be no modern West. Moreover, while the West has been the principal actor in globalization since 1945, the globalization that preceded it (i.e., between 1492 and c.1830) was non-Western-led (as was the process of Afro-Eurasian regionalization that occurred between c.600 and 1492 out of which post-1492 globalization emerged). And even after 1945 I believe that non-Western actors have played various roles in shaping both globalization and the West, all of which are elided in the standard Eurocentric linear Western narrative of globalization.
But why has this image remained so persistent? This is potentially a massive question though it is a very important one for sure. Conventional theorists are most likely to disagree outright with my alternative picture in part because they are entirely comfortable with the notion that the 'West is best' and that the West single-handedly created capitalism, the sovereign inter-state system and the global economy. Critical theorists are rather more problematic to summarize here. But one that springs to mind is the type of argument that Immanuel Wallerstein (Theory Talk #13) made in a1997 article, in which he insisted that it be an imperative to hold the West accountable for everything that goes on in the world economy so that we can prosecute its crimes against the world. Arguments that bring non-Western agency in, as I seek to do, he dismisses as deflecting focus away from the West and thereby diluting the nature of the crimes that the West has imparted and therefore serves merely to weaken the case for the critical prosecution. I fundamentally disagree with him for reasons that I shan't go into here (but will touch upon below). But in my view it is (or should be) a key debate-in-the-making not least because I suspect that many other critical theorists might agree with him and, more importantly, because it brings fundamentally into question of what Eurocentrism is and of what the antidote to it comprises. Either way, though, critical theorists, at least in my view, often buy into the Western linear narrative, albeit not by celebrating the West but by critiquing it. All of which means that both conventional and many critical IR scholars effectively maintain the hegemony of Eurocentrism in the discipline though for diametrically opposed reasons; and which, at the risk of sounding paranoid, suggests a deeply subliminal conspiracy against the introduction of non-Eurocentrism.
Nevertheless one final but rather obvious point remains. For the biggest reason why Eurocentrism persists is because it makes Westerners feel good about themselves. And at the risk of sounding like sour grapes (notwithstanding very decent sales for my non-Eurocentric books), I have been struck by the fact that there seems to be an insatiable appetite—particularly among the Western public readership—for high profile Eurocentric books that celebrate and glorify Western civilization; though, to be brutally frank, many of these rarely add anything new to that which has been said countless times in the last 50 years, if not 200—notwithstanding Ricardo Duchesne's recent avowedly Eurocentric book The Uniqueness of Western Civilization as constituting a rare exception in this regard. All of which means that writing non-Eurocentric books is unlikely to get your name onto the bestseller list (though granted, the same is true for many of the Eurocentric books that have been written!)
International theory and political theory originates mainly from Europe, but makes universal claims about the nature of politics. How does international theory betray its situated roots and how do these roots matter for how we should think about theory?
I'm not sure that I can answer this question in the space allowed but I'll try and get to the broad-brush take-home point. I guess that when thinking about modern IR theory we can find those theorists who in effect advocate a normative Western imperialist posture even if they claim to be doing otherwise. Robert Gilpin's work on hegemonic stability theory is perhaps the clearest example in this respect. Anglo-Saxon hegemony, he claims, is non-imperialist because it always seeks to help the rest of the world, not exploit it. But the exercise of hegemony, it turns out, returns us to the old 19th century trope of the civilizing mission where Western practices and principles are transferred and imposed on non-Western societies in order to culturally convert them along Western lines. And this in turn issues from the assumption that the British and American interests are not selfish but are universal. This mantra is there too in Robert Keohane's (Theory Talk #9) book, After Hegemony, where cultural conversion of non-Western societies to a neoliberal standard of civilization by the international financial institutions through structural adjustment is approved of; an argument that is developed much more expansively in his later work on humanitarian intervention. And this trope forms the basis of cosmopolitan humanitarian interventionist theory more generally, where state reconstruction, which is imposed once military intervention has finished, is all about re-creating Western political and economic institutions across the world. I don't doubt for a moment the sincerity of the arguments that these authors make. But they can make them only because they believe that the Western interest is truly the universal. In such ways, then, IR betrays its roots.
Ultimately, Western IR theory constructs a hierarchical conception of the world with the West standing atop and from there we receive an image of a procession or sliding scale of gradated sovereignties in the non-Western world. For much of IR theory that has neo-imperialist normative underpinnings, it is this construction which legitimizes Western intervention in the non-Western world, thereby reproducing the legal conception of the (imperialist) standard of civilization that underpinned late 19th century positive law. Nevertheless, there has been a significant strand of anti-imperialist Eurocentrism within international theory (and before it a strand of anti-imperialist scientific racism, as in the likes of Charles HenryPearson and LothropStoddard). But once again, as we find in Samuel Huntington's famous 1996 book, The Clash of Civilizations—which comprises a modern equivalent of Lothrop Stoddard's Eugenicist texts, The Rising Tideof Color (1920) and Clashing Tides of Color (1935)—the West is held up as the highest expression of civilization, with non-Western societies viewed as socially inferior such that the West's mandate is not to imperially intervene across the world but to renew its uniquely Western civilized culture in the face of regressive and rampant non-Western regions and countries (particularly Middle Eastern Islam and Confucian China). Hedley Bull's anti-imperialist English School argument provides a complementary variant here because, he argues, it is the refusal of non-Western states to become Western wherein the source of the (unacceptable) instability of the global international society ultimately stems. All of which, as you allude to in your question, rests on the conflation of the Western interest with the universal. It is for this reason, then, that the cardinal principle of critical non-Eurocentrism comprises the need to undertake deep (self) reflexivity and to remain constantly vigilant to Eurocentric slippages.
In turn, this returns me to the point I made before: that IR theory does not think inter-culturally because it denies the validity of non-Western cultures. Because it does so, then it ultimately denies the full sovereignty of non-Western states. For one of the trappings of sovereignty is what Gerry Simpson usefully refers to as 'existential equality', or 'cultural self-determination'. It seems clear to me that the majority of IR theory effectively denies the sovereignty of non-Western states because it rejects cultural pluralism and hence cultural self-determination as a function of its intolerant Eurocentric monism. The biggest ironies that emerge here, however, are two-fold; or what I call the twin self-delusions of IR. First, while conventional IR theory proclaims its positivist, value free credentials that sit comfortably with cultural pluralist tolerance, nevertheless as I argued in my answer to your first question, this positivist mantra turns out to constitute a smokescreen or veil behind which lies the face of intolerant Eurocentric cultural monism. And second, it means that while IR proclaims that its subject matter comprises the objective analysis of the international system which focuses on anarchy and the sovereign state, nevertheless it turns out that what it is really all about is narrating an analysis of Western hierarchy and the 'hyper-sovereignty' of Western states versus the 'conditional sovereignty/gradated sovereignty' of non-Western states.
Linking your work to Lizée's as a critique of extrapolating 'universals' on the basis of narrow (Western) experiences, Patrick Jackson (Theory Talk #44) wrote as follows: 'Perhaps the cure for the disease that Hobson and Lizée diagnose is a rethinking of what "theory" means beyond empirical generalizations, so that future international theorists can avoid the sins of the past.' What is your conception of what theory is or should be?
As noted already, I am all in favor of developing non-Eurocentric theory. To sketch this out in the most generic terms I begin with the proposition that Eurocentric IR/IPE theory is monological, producing a reductive narrative in which only the West talks and acts. It is essentially a 'winner/loser' paradigm that proclaims the non-West as the loser or is always on the receiving end of that which the West does, thereby ensuring that central analytical focus is accorded to the hyper-agency of the Western winner. And its conception of agency is based on having predominant power. We find this problem particularly within much of critical IR theory, where because the West is dominant so it qualifies as having (hyper) agency while the subordinate position of the non-West means that it has little or no agency. In turn, particularly within conventional IR and IPE we encounter a substantialist ontology, where the West is thought to occupy a distinct and autonomous domain. From there everything else follows. And even in parts of critical IR and IPE where relationalism holds greater sway we often find that the West still occupies the center of intellectual gravity in the world.
My preference is for a fully relationalist approach which replaces the monologism of Eurocentrism and its reification of the West with the aforementioned conception of dialogism that brings the non-West into the discussion while simultaneously focusing on the mutually constitutive relations between Western and non-Western actors. It also allows for the agency of the non-West alongside the West's agency (even though clearly after c.1830 the West has been the dominant actor). This in effect replaces Eurocentrism's either/or problematique with a both/and logic, enabling us to reveal a space in which non-Western agency plays important roles without losing focus of Western agency, even when it takes a dominant form as it did after c.1830. In this way then, to reply to Wallerstein's argument discussed earlier, one does not have to dilute the critique of the West when bringing non-Western agency in for both can be situated alongside each other. While I could of course say much more here, these conceptual moves are paramount to me and inform the basis of my empirical work on the international system and the global political economy.
All in all, IR theory needs to take a fully global conception of agency much more seriously; structuralist theory in its many guises is necessary but is ultimately insufficient since it diminishes or dismisses outright the prospect or existence of non-Western agency. Moreover, I seek to blend materialism and non-materialism, which means that neither constructivism nor poststructuralism can quite get us over the line. Even so, blending materialism and non-materialism is not an especially hard task to achieve though IR's preferred ontologically reductionist stance certainly makes this a counter-intuitive proposition.
You combine historical sociology with international relations. What promises does this interdisciplinary approach hold? Why do we need historical sociologies of IR?
Following on from my previous answer I argue that a relationalist non-Eurocentric historical sociology of IR is able to problematize the entities that IR takes for granted—states, anarchy (as well as societies and civilizations)—in order to reveal them, to quote from the marvelous introduction that Julian Go and George Lawson have written for their forthcoming edited volume Global Historical Sociology, as 'entities in motion'. Indeed such entities are never quite complete but change through time. Here it is worth quoting Go and Lawson further, where they argue that
'social forms are "entities-in-motion": they are produced, reproduced, and breakdown through the agency of historically situated actors. Such entities-in-motion, whether they are states, empires, or civilizations often appear to be static entities with certain pre-determined identities and interests. But the relational premise, and perhaps promise, of GHS is its attempt to denaturalize such entities by holding them up to historical scrutiny'.
It is precisely this global historical sociological problematique that underpins the approach that I develop in a forthcoming book, provisionally entitled Reorient International Political Economy where inter alia, I show how many of the major processes of the global economy are never complete but are constantly mutating as they are shaped by the multiple interactions of Western and non-Western actors. To take the origins of capitalism or globalization as an example, I show how these have taken not a Western linear trajectory but a highly discontinuous path as West and non-West have interacted in complex ways.
A good number of IR historical sociologists have focused specifically on particular historical issues—especially that of the rise of the sovereign state in Europe. Such analyses have in my view proven to be extremely valuable because they allow us to puncture some of the myths that surround 'Westphalia' that populate standard or conventional IR reportage (particularly that found in undergraduate text-books). But ultimately I feel that the greatest worth of the historical sociology of IR project lies in using history (understood in historical-sociological terms rather than according to traditional historians' precepts) as a means of problematizing our understanding of the present international system and global political economy. Thus, for me, historical sociology is ultimately important because it can disrupt our understanding and explanations of the present. And I believe that this kind of inter-disciplinarity can bear considerable fruit (notwithstanding the difficulty that this task poses for IR scholars).
You famously criticized IR's Eurocentrism and argued for the need for inter-cultural thinking. What is inter-cultural thinking and how can it benefit IR?
As I already discussed what inter-cultural thinking is a bit before, I shall consider how it might benefit IR and indeed the world in various ways. First, if the rise of the West into modernity owes much of this achievement to the help provided by non-Western ideas, institutions and technologies, then acknowledging this debt could go a long way to healing the wounds that the West has inflicted upon the non-West's sense of self-esteem. Moreover, the hubristic claim ushered in by Eurocentrism, that the West made it to the top all by itself and that the very societies which helped it get there are then immediately denounced as inferior and uncivilized, significantly furnishes the West with the imperialist mandate to intervene and remake non-Western societies in the image of the West. So in essence, the help that the once-more advanced non-Western societies that the West benefited from is rewarded by 150 years of imperial punishment! Of course, IR scholars do not really study the rise of the West, but it is implicit in so much of what they write about. So acknowledging this debt could challenge the West's self-appointed mandate to remake the world in its own image as well as problematize many of the historical assumptions that lie either explicitly or implicitly within IR.
Second, and flowing on from the previous point, thinking inter-culturally means recognizing the manifold roles that the non-West has played in shaping the rise of Western capitalism and the sovereign state system as well as the global economy, as I have just argued, but also appreciating their societies and cultures on their own terms rather than simply dismissing them as unfit for purpose in the modern world. Less Western Messianism and Western hubris, more global understanding and empathy, is ultimately what I'm calling for. But none of this is possible while Eurocentrism remains the go-to modus operandi of IR and IPE. And this is important for IR not least because significant parts of it have informed Western policy, most especially US foreign policy.
Third, a key benefit that inter-cultural thinking could bring to IR is that while the discipline presumes that it furnishes objective analyses of the international system, the upshot of my claim that the discipline is founded on Eurocentrism is that all the discipline is really doing is finding ways to reaffirm the importance of Western civilization in world politics, defending it and often celebrating it, rather than learning or discovering new things about the world and world politics. I believe that only a non-Eurocentric approach can deliver that which IR thinks it's doing already but isn't.
You've said that 'what makes an argument [institutionally] Eurocentric…lies with the nature of the categories that are deployed to understand development. And these ultimately comprise the perceived degree of 'rationality' that is embodied within the political, economic, ideological, and social institutions of a given society.' In order to think inter-culturally, does IR needs new conceptions of rationality, or standards other than rationality altogether?
What an extremely interesting and perceptive question which has really got me thinking! Again, it's something that I've been aware of in the recesses of my mind but have never really thought through. Certainly the essence of Eurocentrism lies in the reification of Western rationality (or what Max Weber called Zweckrationalität) and its simultaneous denial to non-Western societies. But what with all the revelations that have happened in Britain in the last decade, where a seemingly never ending series of fraudulent practices have been uncovered within British public life—whether it be MPs' expenses scandals, banking scandals, newspaper scandals and the like—then one really wonders about the extent to which the West operates according to the properties of Zweck-rationality that Weber proclaimed it to have. Corruption and fraud happen in the West but clearly they are much more hidden than in those instances where it occurs in non-Western countries (notwithstanding the revelations mentioned a moment ago). But if one were to open the lid of many large Western companies, for example, and delve inside one might well find all sorts of 'rationality-compromising' or 'rationality-denial' practices going on. To mention just two obvious examples: first, promotions are often tainted by personal linkages rather than always founded on merit; and second, managers often mark out and protect their own personal position/territory even when it (frequently) goes against the 'rational' interests of the said organization.
To return to your question, then, one could conclude that many Western institutions are far less rational than Eurocentrism proclaims, which in turn would challenge the foundations of Eurocentrism. Of course, corruption and fraud are not unique to the West, but it is the West that proclaims its unique 'rational standard of civilization'. Whether, therefore, we need to abandon the term (Zweck) rationality on the grounds that it is an impossibly conceived ideal type remains the question. Right now I don't have an answer though I'll be happy to mull over this in the coming years.
You've written that engaging with the East 'creates a genuinely global history' and articulate a 'dream wherein the peoples of the Earth can finally sit down at the table of global humanity and communicate as equal partners'. Do you consciously operate with an 'ontology' of 'peoples' and 'civilizations' as opposed to 'individuals'? How do you conceive of the relationship between global humanity and plural peoplehood? Is there an underlying philosophical or anthropological view that you are drawing on in these and similar passages?
Certainly I prefer to think of peoples and even of civilizations rather than individuals and states, though I'll confess right now that dealing theoretically with civilizations and articulating them as units of analysis is extraordinarily challenging. At the moment I leave this side of things to better people than me, such as Peter Katzenstein (Theory Talk #15) and his recentpioneering work on civilizations. The term 'global humanity' concerns me insofar as it is often a politically-loaded term, particularly within cosmopolitanism, where its underbelly comprises the desire to define a single civilizational identity (i.e., a Western one) for 'global humanity'. In essence, cosmopolitanism effectively advances the conception of a 'provincial (i.e., Western) humanity' that masquerades as the global. So I prefer the notion of plural peoplehood, so as to allow for difference. I wouldn't say that I am operating according to a particular philosophical view although it strikes me that such a notion is embodied in Johann Gottfried Herder's work which, on that dimension at least, I am attracted to. But to be honest, this is generally something that I have not explored though it is something that I've thought that I'd like to research for a future book (notwithstanding the point that I'll need to finish the book that I have started first!).
In your reply toErik Ringmar, you draw on psychoanalytic metaphors to discuss the benefits of overcoming Eurocentrism, writing that, 'Eurocentrism leads to the repression and sublimation of the Other in the Self. Thus, doing away with Eurocentrism can end the socio-psychological angst and alienation that necessarily occurs through such sublimation.' How do you envision what we now call the West (or Europe) after its socio-psychological transformation? What does a world after angst and alienation look like? Is it possible, and is that the goal you think IR theory should aim at?
Another massively challenging and fascinating question, let me have a go. Since you raised the issue of socio-psychological/psycho-analytical theory (though it is something that I am no expert on), it has always struck me that Eurocentrism itself is not simply a construct designed to advance Western power and Western capitalist interests in the world. This seems too mechanistic. For recall that it was a series of largely independent sojourners, travel-writers, novelists, journalists and others rather than capitalists who played such an important role in constructing Eurocentrism. Something more seems to be at play. One can think of the battles between 'Mods and Rockers' or Skinheads and heavy metal fans in Britain in the 1960s and 1970s, who detested each other simply because they held different identities and prized different cultural values. Most importantly, I feel, the constant need to denounce, put down and dismiss the Other as inferior seems reminiscent of those kinds of people we sometimes meet who, in constantly putting down others to falsely elevate themselves to a position of superiority, ultimately reveals merely their own insecurities. The same issues, of course, underpin racism and Eurocentrism. The West rose to prominence in my view as a late-developer and having got to the top it very quickly came to view its duty as one of punishing all others for being different – all done, of course, in the name of helping or civilizing the very 'global humanity' that had done so much to help the West rise to the top in the first place! And to want to culturally convert everyone in the world according to the Western standard of civilization seems to be symptomatic of a deeply insecure mindset. A secure person or society for that matter does not feel threatened by, but openly embraces, difference.
Can we move beyond this stand-off given that such a mentality has been hard-wired within Western culture for at least three centuries? And ten if you count the sometimes terse relations between Europe and Middle Eastern Islam that emerged after 1095! We need to move beyond an identity that is based only on putting others down. It's 'bad karma' and, like all bad karma, damages the Western self, not just the non-Western other. But to transcend this identity-formation process requires us to do away with logocentrism; clearly a very big task. Nevertheless, that is exactly what my writings are all about. And it is something that I think IR theory needs to strive to achieve. Because IR theory is to an extent performative then I live in the hope, at least, that such a mentality might, just might somehow seep into international public life, though if it were to happen I strongly suspect that I would not be around to see it. Still, your question—what would a world beyond Eurocentrism look like?—though very important is nevertheless perhaps too difficult to answer without seeming like a hopeless idealist… other than to say that it could be rather better than the current one.
You write that 'IPE should aim to be an über-discipline, drawing on a wide range of disciplines in order to craft a knowledge base that refuses to become lost in disciplinary over-specialization and the depressing academic narcissism of disciplinary methodological differentiation and exclusion.' Why do you prefer that IPE should be the überdiscipline, instead of IR (or something else altogether), with IPE as a subset?
My degree was in Political Economy, my Masters in Political Sociology and my PhD in Historical Sociology and (International) Political Economy. Despite the fact that the majority of my academic career to date has been in IR research, I have always returned at various points to my old haunting ground, IPE (as I have most recently). I have always found IR a little alienating for its reification of politics, divorced from political economy. I'm not a Marxist, but I share in the view that political economy, if not always directly underpinning developments and events in the international system is, however, never far away.
The quote that you took for this question came from the end of my 2-part article that came out in the 20th anniversary edition of Review of International Political Economy. This was partly responding to Benjamin Cohen's (Theory Talk #17) 2008 seminal book, International Political Economy: A Intellectual History. One of the challenges that I issued to my IPE readership, echoing Cohen, is the need for IPE to return to 'thinking big' (in large part as a reaction to the massive contraction of the discipline's boundaries that has been effected by third wave American IPE, which labors under the intellectual hegemony of Open Economy Politics). In that context, then, I argued that IPE needs to expand its boundaries outwards not only to allow big or macro-scale issues to return to the discipline's research agenda but also to incorporate insight from other disciplines. For in my view IPE has the potential to blend the insights of many other disciplines that can in turn transcend the sometimes myopic or tunnel-vision-based nature of their particular constituent specialisms.
One of the implications of 'thinking big' is that IPE should be able to cover much of that which IR does… and more. Like Susan Strange, who expressed her exasperation with IR for its exclusion of politico-economic matters, so I feel that the solution lies not with IR colonizing IPE (which is not likely for the foreseeable future!) but with IPE expanding its currently narrow remit. If it could achieve this it could become the 'über-discipline', or the 'master discipline', of the Social Sciences, notwithstanding the point that my postcolonial and feminist friends will no doubt upbraid me for using such terrible terms!
Final question. Beyond the East outside the West, Greece is now being remade as the 'East' within the West, with a range of measures applied to it that had hitherto been the preserve for the 'East' or Global South. How can your work help to make sense of the stakes?
Your question reminds me of a similar one that I was asked in an interview for Cumhurieyet Strateji Magazine concerning Turkey's ongoing efforts to join the EU, the essence of my answer comprising: 'be careful what you wish for'. One of the things that I have felt uneasy about is the way, as I see it (and I might not be quite right in saying this), that European Studies (as a sub-discipline) sometimes appears as rather self-affirming, thereby reflecting the core self-congratulatory modus operandi of the EU. I am not anti-European or in any way ashamed to be Western (as some of my critics might think). But I'm deeply uneasy about the EU project, specifically in terms of its desire to expand outwards, not to mention inwards as we are seeing in the case of Greece today. For this has the whiff of the old civilizing mission that had supposedly been put to rest back at the time of the origins of the European Economic Community. Although Greece is a member of the EU (notwithstanding its non-European roots), it seems clear that what is going on today is a process of intensified internal colonization under the hegemony of Germany, wherein Greece is subjected to the German standard of civilization. All of which brings into question the self-glorification of the self-proclaimed 'socially progressive' EU project. And to return to my discussion of Turkey I recognize that candidate countries have their reasons for wanting to join the EU. But I guess that what my work is ultimately about is restoring a sense of dignity to non-Western peoples, in the absence of which they will continue to self-deprecate and live in angst in the long cold shadow of the West. All of which brings me back to the answers I made to quite a few of the earlier questions. So I would like to close by saying how much I have enjoyed answering your extremely well-informed questions and to thank you most sincerely for inviting me to address them.
Professor Hobson gained his PhD from the LSE (1991), joined the University of Sheffield as Reader and is currently Professor of Politics and International Relations. Previously he taught at La Trobe University, Melbourne (1991–97) and the University of Sydney (1997–2004). His main research interest concerns the area of inter-civilizational relations and everyday political economy in the context of globalization, past and present. His work is principally involved in carrying forward the critique of Eurocentrism in World History/Historical Sociology, and International Relations.
Related links
Faculty Profile at the University of Sheffield Read Hobson's The Postcolonial Paradox of Eastern Agency (Perceptions 2014) here (pdf) Read Hobson's Is critical theory always for the white West and for Western imperialism? (Review of International Studies 2007) here (pdf)
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Botswana has been one of the most successful countries in the developing world over the last 40 years by many measures. Incomes have grown at a sustained pace, poverty has fallen, and the citizenry has become more educated. To be sure, poverty and income inequalities remain a problem, but rising standards of living have meant a better life for this generation of Batswana than any before it. The question facing the country leadership is whether this commendable performance can be sustained into the next generation. There are clouds on the horizon that cannot be ignored. Diamond earnings, the life blood of decades of prosperity, have flattened out. In per capita terms they are falling. Moreover, because revenues from diamonds going to the public sector have been falling for more than a decade, a growth model predicated upon an ever expanding state presence is not viable. Diamond earnings accruing to the state for subsequent redistribution have peaked. Employment and wages in the public sector have reached their natural limits as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP); recycling revenues from mining into the private sector, either directly or through the financial sector, has been inefficient with low social returns; and redistributive mechanisms to support social safety nets are also likely be approaching their limits. The country confronts the challenge of looking for new sources of growth outside of government.
This paper analyzes the relations between leadership, the policy making process, policies and institutions, and development results in Chile. It starts with a stylized model for the dynamics of development that derives a Kuznets type relation between growth and distribution of income, determined by the quality of leadership, the policy making process, institutions, and policies. This framework is applied to Chile, identifying the features of the policy making process and leadership that allowed for continuation of growth enhancing reform, with a stronger focus on equity goals, since the transition to democracy. As a result of three decades of reforms, Chile has recorded a quantum leap in economic growth, which is traced down to specific reforms. Yet Chile's equity experience is much more mixed: poverty has declined massively but income remains highly concentrated, a likely result of shortcomings in the quality of education and in labor markets. The paper reviews the major risks to the country's future development pace and points out the main reform challenges faced by policy makers.
Chile could well have space to increase its growth potential by 2 percentage points of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per year. To do this, it would need to pay more attention to new sources of growth in natural resources, manufacturing, and services. In an increasingly globalized world, first-mover advantages have become more numerous and larger. Chile risks losing out, as a few recent high-profile cases suggest. Chile's total factor productivity growth can be raised by driving within-firm technological change closer to the global best-practice frontier more rapidly, especially in manufacturing. This would encourage the diversification of exports and boost Chile's supply response to global demand changes. Chile confronts obstacles in its processes of innovation, human capital accumulation, and investment. To overcome them, deep institutional changes are needed to develop a national innovation system, stronger and more equitable educational achievement, more flexible labor markets, and focused public investments that crowd in private business. Such an inclusive growth strategy is likely to yield better social outcomes than a strategy that attempts to confront social inequities head-on through more equitable access to public services without paying adequate attention to the demand for labor and generation of income. Chile could also try a new policy towards innovation, but it would need to be bolder in terms of the institutional design to maximize the chances of success.
