Suchergebnisse

Die Nutzung von terrestrischen Ökosystemen zur Befriedigung der Grundbedürfnisse der Menschheit hat tiefgreifende Auswirkungen auf das Erdsystem und führte zur Ausprägung von anthropogen dominierten Landsystemen. Diese sind von hoher Komplexität, da sie aus einer Vielzahl von unterschiedlichsten Einflussfaktoren angetriebenen Landnutzungsveränderungen hervorgegangen sind. Aktuelle Forderungen nach einer nachhaltigen zukünftigen Landnutzung erfordern ein fundiertes und integratives Verständnis dieser Komplexität. Das Hauptziel dieser Arbeit ist es, ein besseres Verständnis der raum-zeitlichen Muster und Determinanten des Landsystemwandels, insbesondere der Landnutzungsintensität, in Europa zwischen 1990 und 2010 zu erlangen. Europa ist ein interessantes Studiengebiet, da es jüngst starke Landnutzungsveränderungen erlebte und seine Heterogenität zu einer Vielfalt von Landsystemen und Landsystemveränderungen führte. Das Ziel der Arbeit wurde durch (i) die Kartierung von Intensitätsmustern und deren Veränderungen in Forst- und Agrarsystemen sowie der Ermittlung der dafür einflussreichsten räumlichen Determinanten und (ii) die Kartierung und Charakterisierung archetypischer Muster und Entwicklungsverläufe von Landsystemen untersucht. Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit zeigten einen deutlichen Ost-West-Unterschied in Landsystemmustern und -veränderungen in Europa, mit intensiv genutzten und intensivierenden Regionen vor allem in Westeuropa. Dennoch wurde Europa vor allem durch relativ stabile Landsystemmuster gekennzeichnet und (De-)Intensivierungstrends waren nur von untergeordneter Bedeutung. Intensitätsmuster und -veränderungen waren stark an Standortbedingungen gebunden, vor allem an edaphische, klimatische, und länderspezifische Besonderheiten. Diese Arbeit erweitert das Verständnis des Landsystemwandels in Europa und kann zur Entwicklung wissenschaftlicher und politikbezogener Maßnahmen sowie zur Erreichung einer nachhaltigeren Landnutzung in Europa beitragen. ; The utilisation of terrestrial ecosystems to satisfy the basic needs of humankind has profound impacts on the Earth System and led to the development of human-dominated land systems. These are substantially complex as they evolved from a multitude of land-change pathways driven by a variety of influential factors. Current calls for a more sustainable future land-use require a sound and integrative understanding of this complexity. The main goal of this thesis is to better understand the spatio-temporal patterns and the determinants of land-system change in Europe between 1990 and 2010, especially with regard to land-use intensity. Europe serves as an interesting study region as it recently experienced a period of marked land-use change, and since its large environmental, political, and socio-economic heterogeneity resulted in a diversity of land systems and land-change pathways. Land-system changes in Europe were examined by (i) mapping patterns and changes in forestry and agricultural intensity and identifying the most influential spatial determinants related to these changes, and (ii) mapping and characterising archetypical patterns and trajectories of land systems considering both land-use extent and intensity indicators. Results revealed a distinct east-west divide in Europe's land-system patterns and change trajectories, with intensively used and intensifying regions particularly located in Western Europe. However, Europe was mainly characterised by relatively stable land-systems patterns with (de-) intensification trends being only of minor importance. Land-use intensity levels and changes were strongly related to site conditions, especially with regard to soil and climate, as well as to country-specific characteristics. By fostering the understanding of land-system change, this thesis has the potential to contribute to scientific and policy-related actions that address current efforts to guide future land systems in Europe to a more sustainable use.

(First published in French as "La Geopolitique dans l'histoire," in Espaces temps 68-69-70, pp 187-201.) Geopolitical representations are not only located but also dated. As a geohistoric rationale for a political plan, geopolitics is as old as the political "discourse" on territory & power. But while geopolitics has been discernible since ancient times, this mode of action only became incontestable with the Westphalian state that, on its creation, bore the mark of three principles: the primacy of politics, unity of identity, & territory. During the following centuries, three different stances can be noted: the imperial model, the state model, & the universal model. In each case a historical situation (imperial competition, war, redistribution) leads to the setting up of an explanatory model of itself, & this dynamic is the basis for a representation that becomes the starting point for assessments of competition that will themselves be translated in a new way. A fourth family of models, "neo-geopolitics" has recently emerged. Supplemented with ethnopolitics, neo-geopolitics is making way for dubious entrepreneurs who have reinvested anti-imperialist & anticapitalist phraseology in a process of justifying "rebirths" & other fundamentalisms. Adapted from the source document.

R.W. Southern (1912 - 2001) is widely regarded as one of the greatest medieval historians. His first book, The Making of the Middle Ages (1953), translated into many languages and never out of print, is recognized as a classic. This volume contains the series of reflections on medieval historical writing that Southern produced during his tenure as President of the Royal Historical Society, supplemented by his occasional pieces on two related subjects: the nature of academic history and appreciations of other medievalists, both his teachers and his contemporaries. Their publication here in book format makes these writings by a master medievalist accessible to the wider audience they deserve. The material is introduced by R.J. Bartlett, himself a prominent medievalist, who sheds light on Southern's outlook and the importance of his work

"Nazis, fascists and völkisch conservatives in different European countries not only cooperated internationally in the fields of culture, science, economy, and persecution of Jews, but also developed ideas for a racist and ethno-nationalist Europe under Hitler. The present volume attempts to combine an analysis of Nazi Germany's transnational relations with an evaluation of the discourse that accompanied these relations"--