قدرت‌های بندری: حکمروایی ژئوپلیتیکی چین و هند در جغرافیاهای زیرساختی و تخیلی اقیانوس هند

در این مقاله، رقابت چین و هند برای حکمروایی ژئوپلیتیکی در فضاهای سرزمینی اقیانوس هند را با استفاده از منطق ژئوپلی‌نومیک (جغرافیا، سیاست و اقتصاد) به‌عنوان لنزی از فرایندهای مادی و گفتمانی بررسی می‌کنیم و رویکردی ژئوساختاری ارائه می‌دهیم که پلی روش‌شناختی میان جغرافیاهای کلاسیک و انتقادی است. این رویکرد با تمرکز همزمان بر جهان فیزیکی/مادی (به‌عنوان زیرساخت) و کدهای تنظیمی/تصوری (به‌عنوان گفتمان) پیش می‌رود. در این تحلیل، بر کدهای ژئوپلی‌نومیک تمرکز می‌کنیم که موقعیت تصوری یک کشور در جهان را با بینشی از مفصل‌بندی مادی فضا ترکیب می‌کند تا نقشه‌بندی موقعیت و قدرت را با اقتصاد سیاسی سرزمینی همسو کند. در بحث تجربی ما، این یک فرایند مادی است، زیرا سیاست بندرپایه، یک ابزار سرزمینی برای اقدامات نظامی و اقتصادی در رقابت‌های قدرت و موقعیت در جهت شکل‌دهی و تنظیم کدهای ژئوپلی‌نومیک محسوب می‌شود. همچنین این یک فرایند گفتمانی است که تولید تصاویر را برای توجیه کدهای ژئوپلی‌نومیک در فرایندهای شمول و جذب بسیج می‌کند. این یک درک ژئوپلیتیکی و ژئوپلی‌نومیک از فضا به‌عنوان مقوله‌های خیالی و واقعی در ساخت رویکرد ژئوپلیتیک ساختارگرایانه ارائه می‌دهد. از طریق مطالعة موردی رقابت بندری بین چین و هند، به‌طور گسترده‌تری نشان می‌دهیم که شیوه‌های حکمرانی بندری پیام‌های نمادینی ایجاد می‌کنند، درحالی‌که از نظر فیزیکی فضا را تغییر می‌دهند. کد ژئوپلی‌نومیک چین ساخت و توسعة زنجیره‌ای از بنادر خارجی و کریدورهای بین‌المللی برای تغییرات در نظام حکمرانی جهانی است. کد ژئوپلی‌نومیک هند نیز مهار قدرت بندری چین در اقیانوس هند از طریق سرمایه‌گذاری‌های خارجی در بنادر و حمل‌ونقل دریایی است.

port powers: geopolitical governance of china and india in infrastructural and imaginary geographies of the indian ocean

introductionthe competition for dominance over maritime routes and land connectivity pits strategic national frameworks—or geopolinomic codes—against one another. this rivalry emphasizes the construction, development, governance, and hegemony of strategic port spaces worldwide. such competition justifies the expansion of transboundary infrastructure projects and the development of regional and global spheres of influence, often articulated through geopolitical narratives. these geopolinomic codes intertwine a nation's foreign policy orientations with the goal of regulating global economic connectivity networks, merging them with perceived notions of power and position. consequently, major powers treat these connectivity codes as fundamental to the global economy's functioning, using them to spatialize their imagined geopolitical mappings. within the new global power structure—a structure based on connectivity and port dominance, and perpetually influenced by hegemonic politics—the dynamic role of transport thus assumes a distinctly geopolinomic character. methodologythis research seeks to break away from the methodological dichotomies prevalent in geopolitical literature. consequently, we propose an approach based on geopolinomic codes, which we view as a process that is simultaneously material/territorial and discursive/representational. it is material because port strategy functions as a territorial tool for political, military, and economic actions in competitions for power and position. it is discursive because the distinct geopolinomic codes adopted by china and india in the global port power game—propagated through their political and social forces—generate discursive actions that shape geopolitical perceptions. china's port power is actively setting geopolinomic codes on a global scale, building, investing in, and developing seaports to achieve port hegemony. for india, the application of geopolinomics has a more regional dimension, becoming pervasive in its foreign investment strategy within the indian ocean. thus, the competing port governance practices of these two countries not only physically alter spaces but also produce symbolic messages, contrasting geographical metaphors and making their physical positions on ports tangibly evident.results and discussionorts are integral to geopolinomic logic due to their territorial potential in political, strategic, and economic power competitions, which can elevate a country to a port power at regional or global levels. as territorial nodes for commanding global trade networks at strategic points, ports function as essential geopolinomic assets that enhance national power, security, and economic development.the status of ports as geopolitical assets for a maritime nation can be understood through several key components: their potential to stimulate industrial development; their role as geographical gateways through which countries enter the arena of maritime and global power competition; their capacity to strengthen the maritime geopolitical capabilities of the coastal state; and their function as a primary conduit to the global economy. furthermore, this status is reinforced by the desire of regional and global powers to make long-term investments in port infrastructure, the role of ports in ensuring business security and meeting geo-energy needs, their position as intersections for transportation corridors, and their ability to justify geopolinomic codes to other actors through territorial imaginations and geopolitical representations.conclusiontoday, ports have evolved beyond their traditional role as conduits of trade to become critical infrastructure for economic power within the new global geopolitical system. consequently, the acquisition and control of ports has become a fundamental component of national power. a combined perspective on the global distribution of power reveals that the geopolitical and geopolinomic significance of ports can shift the cycle of world power at all scales in favor of a port hegemon. however, this hegemony can be challenged discursively when competing powers frame ports as threatening resources capable of altering the world order. among the various instruments of economic governance, investment in offshore ports is a crucial geopolinomic code for establishing hegemony in strategic coastal areas. china stands as the primary port hegemon, with foreign investments in more than 100 ports worldwide. on a regional scale, india has sought to challenge china's dominance by developing its own network of invested ports throughout the indian ocean, creating a significant geopolinomic counterweight.