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From insularity, archipelago to aquapelago: Research progress on island studies under the relational turn

  • YANG Wen-cai , 1 ,
  • LIU Xuan-yu 1 ,
  • LIU Yun-gang , 1, 2
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  • 1. School of Geography & the Center for Asian Geographical Studies, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
  • 2. Beidou Research Institute, South China Normal University, Foshan 528225, Guangdong, China

Received date: 2024-06-17

  Revised date: 2024-09-11

  Online published: 2025-04-16

Abstract

The island is defined as "a small piece of land surrounded by water". Recently, island cognition has experienced a change from emphasizing insularity to emphasizing relationality. Since the 1980s, the understanding of islands has undergone a shift from emphasizing insularity to emphasizing relationality, focusing more on the understanding of "mainland-island", "island-island", and "island-sea" relationships. The shift in island cognition challenges the dichotomy of island/mainland and land/sea, and interprets islands more in terms of the mutual construction of space, society, and the land-sea environment. In terms of research topics, "mainland-island relationship" mainly focuses on decolonial turn, island colonization, non-sovereign island governance, and island geopolitics. "Island-island relationship" mainly focuses on archipelagic turn, island transport geography, island migration and the impact of informatization on islands. "Island-sea relationship" focuses on aquapelagic turn, island culture and identity, island sustainable development under climate change, and island-marine tourism research. The interpretation of mainland-island relationship is the discussion of the unequal power relationship between continent-island, the interpretation of island-island relationship is the cognition of the dynamic correlation of islands, and the interpretation of island-sea relationship is the consideration of human-land-sea interaction. The island is an important support for the implementation of future national maritime strategies. By sorting and prospect, this paper hopes to enrich the current cognitive dimensions of island spatiality and provide an interpretation based on the relational perspective for the governance of marine territory.

Cite this article

YANG Wen-cai , LIU Xuan-yu , LIU Yun-gang . From insularity, archipelago to aquapelago: Research progress on island studies under the relational turn[J]. JOURNAL OF NATURAL RESOURCES, 2025 , 40(5) : 1244 -1260 . DOI: 10.31497/zrzyxb.20250507

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