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Discusses history and theory of geopolitics, including role of reframing and new visions of political geography. Part of a special section with the overall title, "Geopolitics debate IV."

The Western view of the People's Republic of China & Japan is often based on a perception that they are both Confucian &, therefore, are more similar than is actually the case. Although both do share some fundamental characteristics of Asian culture, certain unique features of each, particularly at the level of social relationships & cultural landmarks, make them quite different. Analyzing what these features are allows us to understand what influence they have on personal choices & on the decisions of leaders on important issues in these countries. The Asian financial crisis of 1997-1999 can be taken as a useful acid test for evaluating the different decision-making capacities of the Chinese & Japanese leaders. Currency devaluation, exchange rate intervention, banking system restructuring, economic reforms, & responses to international pressure were the main areas in which government action took place. Interpreting the decisions made in these areas from a geographical-cultural perspective provides a solid basis for analyzing geopolitical dynamics & the "global" prospects of the two most important nations of the Far East. 1 Table. Adapted from the source document.

This paper intends to demonstrate the existence of a world order founded upon the inequality of states. It will also show that this order is the result of historical events & is tacitly accepted. A group of countries, almost all of which belong to the West, guide & control world stability in the name of what are deemed to be universal principles, despite the fact that the behavior of these major powers often seems to run counter to these same principles. The paper proposes the principle of equality as an ideal pragmatic point of reference for developing real peace processes that remain stable through time. The discussion of equality versus inequality draws on current geopolitical dynamics. In the conclusion is stressed the potential for geographic thought to not only play an active role in understanding international relations, but also in orienting these relations. 1 Table, 2 Figures. Adapted from the source document.

2 textes en anglais ; 4 textes en espagnol ; Cinquante-cinq chercheurs se saississent du paradigme de "centre" pour tenter d'expliciter la transition du monde. Ils usent pour cela de trois angles d'approche relevant d'hypothèses de pluricentralité, intercentralité, ultracentralité.