Revista Română de Geografie Politică Year XIII, no. 2, November 2011, pp. 109-276 ISSN 1454-2749, E-ISSN 2065-1619 http://rrgp.uoradea.ro, [email protected] REVISTA ROMÂNĂ DE GEOGRAFIE POLITICĂ Romanian Review on Political Geography Year XIII, no. 2, November 2011 Editor-in-Chief : Alexandru ILIEŞ, University of Oradea, Romania Associate Editors: Voicu BODOCAN, “Babeş-Bolyai ” University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania Milan BUFON, "Primorska” University of Koper, Slovenia Jan WENDT, University of Gdansk, Poland Scientific Committee : Silviu COSTACHIE, University of Bucharest, Romania Remus CREŢAN, West University of Timişoara, Romania Olivier DEHOORNE, University of the French Antilles and Guyana, France Anton GOSAR, “Primorska ” University of Koper, Slovenia Ioan HORGA, University of Oradea, Romania Ioan IANOŞ, University of Bucharest, Romania Corneliu IAŢU, “Al. I. Cuza ” University of Iaşi, Romania Vladimir KOLOSSOV, Russian Academy of Science, Russia Gheorghe MĂHĂRA, University of Oradea, Romania Ionel MUNTELE, “Al. I. Cuza ” University of Iaşi, Romania Silviu NEGUŢ, Academy of Economical Studies of Bucharest, Romania John O’LOUGHLIN, University of Colorado at Boulder, U.S.A. Ronan PADDISON, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom Grigor P. POP, University “ Babeş-Bolyai ”of Cluj-Napoca, Romania Lia POP, University of Oradea, Romania Nicolae POPA, West University of Timişoara, Romania Stéphane ROSIÈRE, University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, France Andre-Louis SANGUIN, University of Paris-Sorbonne, France Radu SĂGEATĂ, Romanian Academy, Institute of Geography, Romania István SÜLI-ZAKAR, University of Debrecen, Hungary Alexandru UNGUREANU – Romanian Academy Member, “Al. I. Cuza ” University of Iaşi, Romania Luca ZARRILLI, “G. D’Annunzio ” University, Chieti-Pescara, Italy Assistant Editor Vasile GRAMA, University of Oradea, Romania Tehnical Editor : Marius STUPARIU, University of Oradea, Romania Foreign Language Supervisor : Corina TĂTAR, University of Oradea, Romania Secretary On-line Version : Ştefan BAIAS, University of Oradea, Romania Grigore HERMAN, University of Oradea, Romania The content of the published material falls under the authors’ responsibility exclusively. The manuscripts and exchange reviews, as well as any correspondence will be sent on the address of the Editorial Office. Address of the Editorial Office: Universitatea din Oradea, Departamentul de Geografie, Turism şi Amenajarea Teritoriului Str. Universităţii, nr. 1, 410087 Oradea, România Tel./fax: 0040 259 408 475, e-mail: [email protected] , http://rrgp.uoradea.ro The review is issued under the aegis and with the support of the University of Oradea, The Territorial Studies and Analyses Centre and the IGU – Commission on Political Geography The Journal is issued with financial support of the research contracts (partially): PN II, ID_751/2007 and CAPACITĂŢI 112/2008 ISSN 1454-2749 ♦ E-ISSN 2065-1619 Revista Română de Geografie Politică Year XIII, no. 2, November 2011, pp. 109-276 ISSN 1454-2749, E-ISSN 2065-1619 http://rrgp.uoradea.ro, [email protected] C O N T E N T S STAKES IN CONTENTION AND MUTATIONS IN THE ORGANISATION OF THE URBAN AND PERIURBAN SPACE OF TIMIŞOARA Nicolae POPA (Art#132101-232) . 109 ACCESSING THE CONCEPTUAL “GOODNESS” OF GEOGRAPHIC MENTAL MAPS FOR FOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS Luis DA VINHA (Art#132102-228) . 133 EUROPEAN UNION: DESTINATION AND TRANZIT AREA FOR COCAINE TRAFFICKING Irina CAUNIC, Florin Bogdan SUCIU, Ionel MUNTELE (Art#132103-222) . 149 CLASHING GEOPOLITICAL VISIONS: IRAQ FROM THE FIRST WORLD WAR TO THE 1958 REVOLUTION Sören SCHOLVIN (Art#132104-227) . 157 LOCAL FITTING AND GLOBAL PREDICTION Paul-Răzvan ŞERBAN, Dragoş BAROIU (Art#132105-225) . 171 THE ROLE OF URBAN TRANSPORT IN THE POLITICS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND ITS HUNGARIAN ASPECTS Ágnes Kecskésné VŐLGYI (Art#132106-224) . 184 ELECTORAL BEHAVIOR OF EUROPEAN ELECTORS IN THE EUROPEAN ELECTIONS (1979-2009) Ionel BOAMFĂ (Art#132107-230) . 198 THE EVOLUTION OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT NETWORK IN MOLDAVIA – FROM GEOGRAPHICAL COHERENCE TO PERIPHERAL DEPENDENCE Ionel MUNTELE, Gabriel CIMPOEŞU-HAISUC (Art#132108-223) . 210 ROMANIA – A FUTURE REGIONAL ENERGY HUB Radu SĂGEATĂ (Art#132109-224) . 229 THE PERMEABILITY OF THE ROMANIAN BORDER AND THE INTERNATIONAL TOURIST MOVEMENT IN THE PERIOD 1994-2008 Alexandru ILIEŞ, Dorina Camelia ILIEŞ, Cezar MORAR, Marin ILIEŞ (Art#132110-233) . 237 ASPECTS OF A 'BRILLIANT ASSERTION IN THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE WORLD'. THE THIRD WORLD IN SOCIALIST ROMANIA'S FOREIGN POLICY Emanuel COPILAŞ (Art#132111-230) . 247 OPPORTUNITIES IN TERRITORIAL CROSS BORDER COOPERATION AT THE EU EXTERNAL BORDERS. CASE OF ROMANIA Vasile GRAMA (Art#132112-234) . 256 GERMAN SCHOOL OF GEOPOLITICS. EVOLUTION, IDEAS, PROSPECTS Silviu COSTACHIE (Art#132113-235) . 264 * * * * * * Revista Română de Geografie Politică Year XIII, no. 2, November 2011, pp. 109-276 ISSN 1454-2749, E-ISSN 2065-1619 http://rrgp.uoradea.ro, [email protected] __________________________________________________________________________________________ Review accredited by C.N.C.S.I.S. “ B+ ” Category (since 2007) http://vechi.cncsis.ro/cenaposs/2008/Arhiva/reviste_cat_B+_08.pdf __________________________________________________________________________________________ The Romanian Review on Political Geography is indexed in: __________________________________________________________________________________________ INDEX COPERNICUS IC Value: 3.00 (2008), 3.48 (2009) , 3.99 (2010) http://journals.indexcopernicus.com/karta.php?action=masterlist&id=3944 __________________________________________________________________________________________ DOAJ - DIRECTORY OF OPEN ACCES JOURNALS http://www.doaj.org/doaj?func=byTitle&p=5&hybrid=&query=R __________________________________________________________________________________________ ULRICHSWEB – GLOBAL SERIALS DIRECTORY http://www.ulrichsweb.com/ulrichsweb/ulrichsweb_news/uu/newTitles.asp?uuMonthlyFile=uu201003/new_title s.txt&Letter=G&navPage=9& __________________________________________________________________________________________ Revista Română de Geografie Politică Year XIII, no. 2, November 2011, pp. 109-132 ISSN 1454-2749 , E-ISSN 2065-1619 Article no. 132101-232 STAKES IN CONTENTION AND MUTATIONS IN THE ORGANISATION OF THE URBAN AND PERIURBAN SPACE OF TIMIŞOARA Nicolae POPA West University of Timişoara, Department of Geography, 4, Vasile Pârvan Blvd., 300223, Timişoara, Romania, e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: The concept of growth poles and one of its spatial effects, the urban sprawl, are realities that characterise today’s cities of Romania. Since 1990, the city of Timişoara has shown considerable ability both in production and in the appropriation of space both within its bounds and beyond. This has strengthened its urban quality and integrated it more securely in its local area and region. Although from a demographic point of view it has stagnated, Timişoara has succeeded in developing relationships with other European cities and has won itself a place among those urban centres in Romania that are best integrated in Central Europe’s network of communication and exchange. However, the urban renewal and suburban development of Timişoara, involving the re-forging of territorial links and the redefinition of the city’s regional roles, is not taking place without problems. Will Timişoara’s new national status (granted in 2008) of designated ‘growth pole’ be sufficient to solve these problems and kick-start the effective long- term development of the city and its zone of influence? Key words: urban renewal, urban sprawl, regional development, growth pole, Timişoara. * * * * * * INTRODUCTION The urban phenomenon is one of the geographical categories that have been most fiercely debated in the last fifty years, on account of its growing structural and spatial extension and the major impact towns and cities have on the balance of nature, on social and economic life and on the way geographical space is organised. The city is the space within which the human phenomenon manifests itself in the most complex and advanced ways. It is here that the greatest number of the values acquired by the human race throughout history are preserved, and here too that what we are accustomed to term the future of the world is gestated and constructed. It is therefore natural that geographical reflection, along with that of specialists in other fields (urban analysts, sociologists, economists, historians, architects, anthropologists etc.), should concern itself with territorial assessment http://rrgp.uoradea.ro/ 110 Nicolae POPA and should attempt to predict the large-scale spatial developments that the various components of the urban phenomenon are experiencing. The dynamic territorial ripple effect of the urban and the structural and functional changes this brings - changes which occur in different ways in different places - have led to the employment in the specialist literature of a series of concepts such as urbanisation, suburbanisation, periurbanisation, urban influence, rural urbanisation and urban sprawl ( étalement urbain ). These have been introduced to meet the need to better understand territorial variations in the expansion of towns and of the urban lifestyle. These ideas have been introduced in a gradual way by major players in the domains involved in reflecting on the phenomenon of the urban. Under the influence of the French and German schools of geographical thinking, questions of urban geography began to exercise the minds of Romanian geographers