State Boundaries Research Articles

An agent‐based model to optimize transboundary management for the walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) fishery in the Gulf of Alaska

AbstractBecause fish stocks often straddle state, national, and international boundaries, there is a need to coordinate fishery management across jurisdictions. This is particularly important when the abundance or spatial distribution of the stock varies through time. This is best achieved when management objectives and strategies align, and there is coordinated decision‐making and catch accounting among jurisdictions such that each fish stock is managed over its full geographic range. However, legal constraints or differing management objectives may not permit such coordinated decision making and policy development. This study introduces a framework for effectively simulating fleet dynamics, fishery quota allocation, and the implications of alternative management strategies while allowing for determination of economically optimal management approaches at the community level. As a case study, an agent‐based model (ABM) was developed to examine the interplay between transboundary management scenarios on the economic viability of a nascent Alaska state‐waters trawl fishery for walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) in the Gulf of Alaska, given a longstanding federally managed fishery. Under conditions characteristic of the recent past, the management strategy that produced the best overall improvements, relative to status quo, involved a scenario that allows for community‐based cooperatives in federal‐waters and an open access strategy in state‐waters. This case study allows us to demonstrate more generally how using an ABM allows for quantifying the impacts of and informing managers on anticipated, and novel, results of alternative management strategies for complex socioecological systems before implementation.Recommendations for Resource Managers Agent‐based modeling provides a method to realistically simulate fleet behavior within a fishery. The approach enables a quantitative analysis of the effects of alternative management scenarios under consideration by policymakers. “Best practices” for fishery management should include simulation analysis of management alternatives before selection of the preferred alternative for real‐world implementation.

A data processing approach with built-in spatial resolution reduction methods to construct energy system models

Introduction: Data processing is a crucial step in energy system modelling which prepares input data from various sources into a format needed to formulate a model. Multiple open-source web-hosted databases offer pre-processed input data within the European context. However, the number of documented open-source data processing workflows that allow for the construction of energy system models with specified spatial resolution reduction methods is still limited. Methods: This paper presents a novel data processing approach to construct sector-coupled energy system models for European countries while maximising the use of existing web-hosted pre-processed data. Three power and heat optimisation models of Germany were constructed using different spatial resolution reduction methods. Results: Significant variation in generation, transmission and storage capacity of electricity were observed between the optimisation results of the energy system models. The results of the model that used administrative state boundaries to define regions were found to be sensitive to the omission of solar rooftop photovoltaic availability. Conclusions: This paper uses the proposed data processing approach to demonstrate the importance of spatial context when building and analysing power and heat optimisation models.

LAW ENFORCEMENT OF ILLEGAL BUSINESS TRANSACTION ON THE BORDER AREA BETWEEN INDONESIA AND TIMOR LESTE IN A DILEMMA

This study is a type of empirical legal study conducted based on the discrepancy between the existing provisions and theories and the legal facts occurring among the society, that is, the transaction of goods carried out by crossing the border between two countries.Any hindering obstacles and barricades to the law enforcement over illegal businesses can be settled through social and cultural, economic, political, and security approaches. Alternative solutions that should be applied in dealing with such legal issues can be establishing buildings in the border area, which are specifically directed to help accelerate the handling of three fundamental problems faced in the scope of the development of the border area in question, one of which is delimitation and delineation aspects of the state's boundaries, the aspect of affirming national borders on watershed areas between Indonesia and Timor Leste, the aspect of development discrepancy in the form of fulfilling infrastructure needs in the economic field to foster opportunities for the border areas to participate and compete amid both global and regional markets.

The postcolonial migration state

The evolution of migration policymaking across the Global South is of growing interest to International Relations. Yet, the impact of colonial and imperial legacies on states’ migration management regimes outside Europe and North America remains under-theorised. How does postcolonial state formation shape policies of cross-border mobility management in the Global South? By bringing James F. Hollifield’s framework of the contemporary ‘migration state’ in conversation with critical scholarship on postcolonialism, we identify the existence of a ‘postcolonial paradox,’ namely two sets of tensions faced by newly independent states of the Global South: first, the need to construct a modern sovereign nation-state with a well-defined national identity contrasts with weak institutional capacity to do so; second, territorial realities of sovereignty conflict with the imperatives of nation-building seeking to establish exclusive citizenship norms towards populations residing both inside and outside the boundaries of the postcolonial state. We argue that the use of cross-border mobility control policies to reconcile such tensions transforms the ‘postcolonial state’ into the ‘postcolonial migration state,’ which shows distinct continuities with pre-independence practices. In fact, postcolonial migration states reproduce colonial-era tropes via the surveillance and control of segmented migration streams that redistribute labour for the global economy. We demonstrate this via a comparative study of post-independence migration management in India and Egypt, which also aims to merge a problematic regional divide between scholarship on the Middle East and South Asia. We urge further critical interventions on the international politics of migration that prioritise interregional perspectives from the broader Global South.

A State Dependent Thermo-Hyperelastic Model for Geomaterials

A hyperelastic model for the state dependent and thermo-mechanical coupled nonlinear elastic behavior of geomaterials is developed in this paper. In the model the stress-density state dependent elastic moduli and the elastic instability are predicted by the high order terms of elastic strain invariants in the elastic potential function. The effects of true cohesion on the elastic potential of bonded geomaterials such as bonded sands, natural structured clays and rocks are also taken into account. As a result, unified relations between the density, the degradable cohesion, the confining stress and the elastic moduli can be derived for different geomaterials. Meanwhile, such an approach theoretically results in a state boundary and thus a strength criterion for geomaterials from the stability of elasticity. Based on such a hyperelastic approach, the nonlinear thermo-elastic coupled behavior is further considered by defining an equivalent elastic volumetric strain and taking into account a volumetric elastic thermal expansion coefficient dependent on both the volume fraction and thermal property of bound water absorbed on mineral surfaces.

Socio-Economic Inequity and Decision-Making under Uncertainty: West African Migrants’ Journey across the Mediterranean to Europe

Understanding the nexus between poverty, inequality and decision-making under uncertainty in migrants’ journeys across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe remains a significant challenge, raising intense scholarly debate. Several suggestions have been offered on how to reduce migrants’ journeys across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in several guises, including the formulation and implementation of proper social, political and economic policies in Africa. Despite all odds and challenges, migrants from Africa cross state boundaries and stay in transit state(s) for limited periods, en route the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. Underpinned by different migration theories and conceptual frameworks, our study applied a qualitative methodology to examine why migrants decide, under uncertainty, to cross the Mediterranean Sea from their countries of origin to the ultimate destinations in Europe. While focusing on the life experiences of purposively selected migrants from West Africa, the research seeks to address the underlying factors of irregular migration. The result of this empirical study clearly illustrates that limited access to opportunities, poverty and unemployment amidst precarious development challenges and the youth population bulge, exacerbate Africa’s migration crisis. The study finally brings into focus empirical observations and provides suggestions for stakeholders’ engagement in addressing African migration challenges.

Spatial and Temporal Changes of Groundwater Storage in the Quaternary Aquifer, UAE

To study the temporal and spatial variations of the groundwater quantity and quality in response to intensive groundwater exploitation from the Quaternary aquifer in UAE, a water budget model with a cell size of one km2 was developed. The available historical records of groundwater levels and salinity have been used to develop the water table and salinity maps of UAE for the years 1969, 2005, 2010, and 2015. The available water resources and soil information system was used to facilitate validity, cogency, and consistency of the groundwater analysis. The spatial analysis module of GIS was used to define the aquifer setting, saturated thickness, aquifer base elevation, effective porosity, and groundwater salinity at each grid cell. The obtained results indicated that the volume of fresh groundwater resources in the Quaternary aquifer in UAE has decreased from 238 km3 in 1969 to around 10 km3 in 2015. A major part of these depleted fresh groundwater resources was replaced by brackish water, and, therefore, the total groundwater storage in this aquifer has only decreased from 977 in 1969 to 922 km3 in 2015, respectively. If the same groundwater exploitation continues, the freshwater storage in the surficial aquifer might be totally depleted in agricultural areas. Most probably, the brackish groundwater resources will be exploited. In such areas, more attention should be devoted to the management of brackish water resources to avoid the exacerbation of the saltwater intrusion problem. Despite the fact that the obtained results indicate the negative impacts of the improper water resources management in a small part of the arid area, the learned lessons are valid for other arid countries, in particular, using the proper steady state boundary conditions for the initial conditions in modeling the available future management alternatives.

Statism’s Catch-22: An Austro-Libertarian Analysis of 'Self-Determination of Peoples' under International Law

“Self-determination of peoples” is a relatively new international law principle which has gone through numerous changes in its history, making it an elusive concept. The principle has received interest the last 30 years, prompted at first by the Soviet breakup, more recently by growing nationalist movements, and most recently by states’ totalitarian measures enforced in the name of combating COVID-19. Important issues concerning the future of self-determination’s status in and impact on the international system remain. This paper outlines and analyzes the history of self-determination using a three-phase framework. In Phase One, the principle was a non-legally binding political principle. In Phase Two, the principle became legally binding but was limited to the decolonization context. In Phase Three, the principle becomes a universally accepted human right that some judges and jurists argue has become a peremptory norm of international law (jus cogens), which no state can violate under any circumstances. This historical inquiry reveals that the principle has always been asserted and argued against by states with the goal of maintaining or gaining power for themselves. This paper then summarizes the principle’s modern incarnation as a human right under international law, whereby “peoples” – i.e., the entire population of a state’s territory – have the right to both “external” and “internal” self-determination. “External” self-determination is the right of a people to have a state with independent international status. “Internal” self-determination means that the people in the state must be free to pursue their economic, social, and cultural development, while having adequate ability to participate in government. Self-determination and secession are often paired together, but current international law does not directly allow or disallow secession. This paper then delineates theoretical issues the modern incarnation of the self-determination principle poses for statism and the international system, including: how to define “peoples” under the principle; what the relationship of the principle to states’ sovereign territorial integrity should be; how to redraw state boundaries after a successful secession; whether radical self-determination leads to violent conflict; and what is the relationship of unfettered secession to liberal-democratic theory that much of the international system is based upon. Then, this paper applies Austro-libertarian theory to these issues, arguing that: the principle relies on an unfounded collectivist conception of rights; the international system slavishly adheres to the incoherent concept of states’ sovereign territorial integrity; the principle, when its inconsistencies are removed, must theoretically justify unfettered secession; and the conflation of democracy with both liberalism and government by consent keeps properly understood self-determination from being achievable in fact. This paper concludes that the modern self-determination principle’s theoretical deficiencies and inconsistencies present a catch-22 dilemma for the international system. Either self-determination must be extended to take supremacy over state territorial integrity, or it must be rejected explicitly and entirely. Either choice, or trying to split the difference between them, incentivizes delegitimization of statism and the international system.

Tidal surface states as fingerprints of non-Hermitian nodal knot metals

Non-Hermitian nodal knot metals (NKMs) contain intricate complex-valued energy bands which give rise to knotted exceptional loops and new topological surface states. We introduce a formalism that connects the algebraic, geometric, and topological aspects of these surface states with their parent knots. We also provide an optimized constructive ansatz for tight-binding models for non-Hermitian NKMs of arbitrary knot complexity and minimal hybridization range. Specifically, various representative non-Hermitian torus knots Hamiltonians are constructed in real-space, and their nodal topologies studied via winding numbers that avoid the explicit construction of generalized Brillouin zones. In particular, we identify the surface state boundaries as “tidal” intersections of the complex band structure in a marine landscape analogy. Beyond topological quantities based on Berry phases, we further find these tidal surface states to be intimately connected to the band vorticity and the layer structure of their dual Seifert surface, and as such provide a fingerprint for non-Hermitian NKMs.

Bordering and scaling Northeast Asia

ABSTRACT This article utilizes an interdisciplinary border studies perspective in order to explain the absence of regional integration in Northeast Asia. While in other parts of the world, such as Europe or Southeast Asia, the cessation of the Cold War and increasing cross-border linkages promoted the emergence of integrative institutions and imagined regional communities, this has not occurred in Northeast Asia. Although the region experienced a veritable explosion of cross-border activity in the aftermath of the Cold War, potentially beneficial effects of economic and migratory flows for inter-state relations have not led to comparable success constructing regional institutions. The central issue with which the article is concerned is to understand the role of borders in this marked absence of regional integration. The paper adopts a pluralistic perspective on Northeast Asia’s borders that considers them as institutions existing between states, processes of exchange and mobility over them, and as constituting the region as a borderland space characterized by functionally and spatially extensive contestation over state and regional boundaries. Border studies allow us to analyze the Northeast Asian region from the edges of both its constituent states and the region itself, and thus offers a multi-layered lens through which to examine this space. The historical and comparative analysis conducted here reveals the dynamics of regional development and constraints under which the region operates. The paper suggests that the contrast between the Northeast Asia’s sharp, securitized, internal borders, multiplying into novel spaces, and its undetermined outer ones accounts for the failure to integrate today.

Evaluation of hypoplastic model for soft clays by modelling of Nicoll highway case history

The paper presents evaluation of the newly proposed hypoplastic model for soft clays by modelling of the well-documented geotechnical failure of a deep excavation of Nicoll Highway, Singapore, in 2004. The marine clays present at the site are typical normally consolidated soft clays, exhibiting large deformability and stiffness and strength anisotropy. These features - anisotropy of asymptotic state boundary surface and the effect of normal consolidation on stress paths and stiffness anisotropy - have been included into the newly proposed hypoplastic model. In the paper, it is first demonstrated that the model predictions compare well with experimental data from element tests on Singapore clay and improve predictions over original hypoplastic model. Secondly, numerical simulations of Nicoll highway excavation focusing on specific cross-section within the collapse area are presented, showing good fit between inclinometer data and simulations up to the final stages immediately preceding the excavation collapse. The simulation results are compared for previous version of the hypoplastic model, along with Mohr-Coulomb model with effective and total stress parameters. Subsequently, the influence of the model parameters on simulation results is studied and it is shown that the parameters affecting extension strength are more significant than parameters affecting pre-failure non-linearity.

Note on generalized symmetries, gapless excitations, generalized symmetry protected topological states, and anomaly

We consider quantum many body systems with generalized symmetries, such as the higher form symmetries introduced recently, and the ‘tensor symmetry’. We consider a general form of lattice Hamiltonians which allow a certain level of nonlocality. Based on the assumption of dual generalized symmetries, we explicitly construct low energy excited states. We also derive the ’t Hooft anomaly for the general Hamiltonians after ‘gauging’ the dual generalized symmetries. A 3d system with dual anomalous 1-form symmetries can be viewed as the boundary of a 4d generalized symmetry protected topological (SPT) state with 1-form symmetries. We also present a prototype example of a 4d SPT state with mixed 1-form and 0-form symmetry topological response theory as well as its physical construction. The boundary of this SPT state can be a 3d anomalous QED state, or an anomalous 1-form symmetry-enriched topological order. Insights are gained by dimensional compatification/reduction. After dimensional compactification, the 3d system with N pairs of dual 1-form symmetries reduces to a 1d system with 2N pairs of dual U(1) global symmetries, which is the boundary of an ordinary 2d SPT state, while the 3d system with tensor symmetry reduces to a 1d Lifshitz theory, which is protected by the center of mass conservation of the system.

East and West in Sápmi

This paper discusses archaeology with and without borders in Sápmi, and the importance of the state borders in historical archaeology in Sápmi. How have the changing borders affected the field of archaeology and the understanding of the past in the Sámi areas? In the paper, I focus on the border between “East” and “West” in Sápmi, and discuss aspects of the interconnections of archaeology and politics in historical archaeology in Sápmi. There is a need to consider the historical and archaeological developments in the Russian part of Sápmi, which have often been neglected in Scandinavian historicalarchaeological discussions on Sámi history and heritage. There is also a need to promote more co-operation between archaeologists in the Nordic countries and Russia across the present-day state boundaries. The study of borders in Sápmi can contribute to a deeper understanding of historical processes as well as contemporary heritage processes in Sápmi. There is great potential in future cross-boundary archaeology in Sápmi, as well as in historical-archaeological explorations of colonial processes and border construction in the North.

Legal Status of Enemy Combatants under International Humanitarian Law

The September 11 attacks conducted by Al-Qaeda had a substantial impact on the U.S security paraphernalia. It also greatly impacted the global security milieu as the transnational ideology of Islamic radicalism and Jihad challenged the security apparatus of the entire world. To counter this new challenge of radical Islamic militancy which operated beyond the boundaries of a single state, President Bush declared a Global War on Terror, and these actors were designated as the primary enemy of the United States, the West, and the liberal values of freedom, peace and democracy. Under the Bush Doctrine, these radical Islamic terrorists were proclaimed as ‘Enemy Combatants’ and were deprived off of their legal rights as prisoner of war as guaranteed by the International Humanitarian Law. The real challenge lies in determining the legal status of these proclaimed ‘Enemy Combatants’ and the humanitarian crisis that emerged due to the introduction of this concept. Therefore, this research paper attempts to analyze the legal status of Taliban as well as Al-Qaeda under the framework of International Humanitarian Law including the Geneva Convention, Additional Protocols of 1977, and the Vienna Convention as well as the Customary Law including Pashtun-Wali. This paper also endeavors to highlight the humanitarian crisis that emerged as a result of the introduction of the concept of ‘Enemy Combatants’.

Ohio bill would expand MH telehealth, service access

Observing the ongoing need for Ohioans to access psychological services, an Ohio lawmaker has introduced legislation to allow psychologists to help patients in and out of state, joining more than a dozen states in facilitating telehealth and temporary in‐person, face‐to‐face psychological services across state boundaries.

Forecasting influenza activity using machine-learned mobility map

Human mobility is a primary driver of infectious disease spread. However, existing data is limited in availability, coverage, granularity, and timeliness. Data-driven forecasts of disease dynamics are crucial for decision-making by health officials and private citizens alike. In this work, we focus on a machine-learned anonymized mobility map (hereon referred to as AMM) aggregated over hundreds of millions of smartphones and evaluate its utility in forecasting epidemics. We factor AMM into a metapopulation model to retrospectively forecast influenza in the USA and Australia. We show that the AMM model performs on-par with those based on commuter surveys, which are sparsely available and expensive. We also compare it with gravity and radiation based models of mobility, and find that the radiation model’s performance is quite similar to AMM and commuter flows. Additionally, we demonstrate our model’s ability to predict disease spread even across state boundaries. Our work contributes towards developing timely infectious disease forecasting at a global scale using human mobility datasets expanding their applications in the area of infectious disease epidemiology.

The Geographical Reach of International Humanitarian Law in Transnational Armed Conflict

Abstract Non-international armed conflict between States and organised armed groups is a reality of warfare. Since the emergence of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, this form of conflict has been regulated by international humanitarian law. However, a subset of this category known as ‘transnational armed conflict’ has seen aggressive proliferation over recent decades as groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria have taken advantage of the internet and other technologies to expand their reach beyond national frontiers and strike States around the world. This phenomenon has left the geographical extent of international humanitarian law – which has historically relied on State boundaries to determine its ambit – unclear. This article examines the main options for delimiting the geographical reach of the regime in transnational armed conflict. It considers approaches based on international boundaries; ‘hot battlefields’; ‘global application’ and ‘territorial control’ before ultimately concluding that a method based on ‘military presence’ would be the most suitable standard.

Mutual Influence of Geometric Parameters and Mechanical Properties on Thermal Stresses in Composite Laminated Plates with Rectangular Holes

In this research, the mutual influence of the mechanical properties and geometric parameters on thermal stress distribution in symmetric composite plates with a quasi-rectangular hole subjected to uniform heat flux is examined analytically using the complex variable technique. The analytical solution is obtained based on the thermo-elastic theory and the Lekhnitskii’s method. Furthermore, by employing a suitable mapping function, the solution of symmetric laminates containing a circular hole is extended to the quasi-rectangular hole. The effect of important parameters including the stacking sequence of laminates, the angular position, the bluntness, and the aspect ratio of the hole and the flux angle in the stacking sequence of [45/−45]s for composite materials are examined in relation to the thermal stress distribution. The thermal insulated state and Neumann boundary conditions at the hole edge are taken into account. It is found out that the hole rotation angles and heat flux angle play key roles in obtaining the optimum thermal stress distribution around the hole. The present analytical method can well investigate the interaction of effective parameters on symmetric multilayer composites under heat flux.

Legal issues and prospects for delimitation of continental shelf in the Arctic

This article is dedicated to the relevant problem of delimitation of the Arctic territories. There are currently several different approaches towards this question, but the effective one is the mechanism proposed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The absence of consensus on delimitation of continental shelf is substantiated by the intersection of interests of the countries in the Arctic region and strategically crucial consequences of dividing the Arctic: this is the matter of national security, geopolitical supremacy, increase of economic potential, energy and environmental security. The goal of this research consists in the analysis of recent achievements and prospects for delimitation of continental shelf. The subject of this article is the problems of delimitation of the jurisdiction of countries in the Arctic region. Methodological framework is comprised of the chronological method and method of analysis. The conclusion is made that the definition of state boundaries in the Arctic is a long process; since the decisions of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf is of advisory nature, it may lead to the disputes between the countries over the rendered decisions. It should be noted that international law has the essential mechanisms and means for the peaceful delimitation of maritime boundaries in Arctic waters. The author believes that the final definition of boundaries in the Arctic would be achieved through the compromise between the polar countries, and thus signing bilateral agreements without relying on recommendations of the Commission. It is underlined that the conventional principle of delimitation of boundaries in the Arctic Ocean does not meet the national interests of the Arctic Five, and requires a different approach due to the peculiarities of the ocean. The scientific novelty lies in the analysis of existing principles, instruments and problems of delimitation of boundaries in the Arctic, as well as in conclusions formulated by the author. The solution to the outlined problems can become the preservation of the international seabed within the framework of the concept common heritage of mankind in the area of the Gakkel Ridge, and in the area of Lomonosov Ridge delineation by the sectoral principle.

Exploiting Justice in a Transformative Swedish Society

Introduction to a special issue on justice and how the concept might be exploited, with the meaning to take advantage of the concept, or, to use it for one’s own benefit. The specific context for this reflection is the Nordic, historically connected to a conceptual tradition of equality as a reference rather than justice. The Nordic feminist perspectives in legal scholarship have traditionally been successful in advocating and effectuating a feminist perspective of justice both within law and in society. However, thus far, Nordic feminist perspectives of law have at least partially been limited to questions of equality between men and women, as well as in relation to justice confined to the boundaries of the nation state. The articles in this special issue transgress these limitations in various ways. Legal scholarship is also expanded as the exploiting of justice includes other disciplines. Together this multi-disciplinary special issue targets some of today's urgent challenges in a context of increasing inequalities and, at the same time, call for hope and new possibilities to form a just society.