On the Future of Regional Geography

This essay is the revised and expanded manuscript of a paper given in January 1999 on the occasion of the ceremonies to mark the centenary of the Institute of Geo¬ graphy in Würzburg. The task of this paper was to re¬ flect upon the future of regional geography. In view of the peripheral position regional geography occupies in the German-speaking countries such a task is not an insignificant challenge. In how far can regional geogra¬ phy be looked upon as an up-to-date academic activity today, after having been given up as the paradigmatic comerstone of the discipline in the course of the mod¬ ernisation in the 60's and 70's and after having played a peripheral role in the discipline ever since? Eugen Wirth (1998) recently submitted his proposal, by suggesting the theory of action as a possible starting point for scientific regional research. This paper goes about addressing the problem in a dif¬ ferent fashion, by first identifying present socio-spatial developments which might serve as starting points for a modern, competitive regional geography. The next step is to try and spell out the conditions which regional ge¬ ography needs to meet in order to be regarded as an upto-date research task. These prerequisites are taken from the modern conceptions of science. Finally, on the basis of these considerations, possible research issues of a reconstituted regional geography are discussed. Some of these reflections are informed by or build on a recent paper by Susan Hanson (1999) who discusses


Introduction
This essay is the revised and expanded manuscript of a paper given in January 1999 on the occasion of the ceremonies to mark the centenary of the Institute of Geo¬ graphy in Würzburg.The task of this paper was to re¬ flect upon the future of regional geography.In view of the peripheral position regional geography occupies in the German-speaking countries such a task is not an insignificant challenge.In how far can regional geogra¬ phy be looked upon as an up-to-date academic activity today, after having been given up as the paradigmatic comerstone of the discipline in the course of the mod¬ ernisation in the 60's and 70's and after having played a peripheral role in the discipline ever since?Eugen Wirth (1998) recently submitted his proposal, by sug- gesting the theory of action as a possible starting point for scientific regional research.This paper goes about addressing the problem in a dif¬ ferent fashion, by first identifying present socio-spatial developments which might serve as starting points for a modern, competitive regional geography.The next step is to try and spell out the conditions which regional ge¬ ography needs to meet in order to be regarded as an upto-date research task.These prerequisites are taken from the modern conceptions of science.Finally, on the basis of these considerations, possible research issues of a reconstituted regional geography are discussed.Some of these reflections are informed by or build on a recent paper by Susan Hanson (1999) who discusses the rift that took place in human geography during the «quantitative revolution» and which now seems to be on the wane.Hanson highlights signs of a reconnection between the two large Strands in human geography which deal with nature-society, the specific («idiographic») on the one hand and with society-space, generalizable knowledge (quantification and abstraction) etc. on the other.One of the most stimulating observa- tions Hanson (1999: 137) arrives at is her analysis of the reasons behind that reconnection: It is the structuralist notion ofthe fact that key concepts in human geogra¬ phy, like nature, society and space, are all to some de¬ gree socially constructed.This recognition has «eroded the boundary between nature-society and societyspace» and therefore provides a valuable starting-point for the key concern of this paper: to show that regional geography can be considered a feasible academic endeavour.
2 Historical background If one attempts to look into the future as is the case in this paper with regard to regional geography, then it is advisable to first take a look back into history.Such an approach offers two possible advantages.It may reduce the danger of repeatedly inventing the wheel and it can help to prevent hasty proclamations about future prospects of the discipline.For this reason this contribution does not venture to present a blueprint for the future of regional geography.Rather, it attempts to outline some possibilities for regional research, informed by modern conceptions of science and inspired by present sociospatial developments.
According to Hermann Lautensach (1933), by the early 30s regional geography had developed to become the «core» of the discipline.Amongst others, Hettner (1927: 122ff) had by then successfully codified regional geography so that it occupied a central position within geography.This was so mainly because it was assumed that regional geography had an overarching, integrating role to play in the discipline (Plewe 1952).This view was widely accepted amongst geographers at the time and it was challenged only in the 60s and 70s when the spread of an analytical-pragmatic and nomothetic para¬ digm reached the Community of geographers.In Ger¬ many, where the critical appraisal of the Status of re¬ gional geography commenced later than in the English speaking countries, the Geographical Conference of 1969 which took place in Kiel became a major water¬ shed for the discipline.A group of young geographers, many of whom were students, challenged the received wisdom of the establishment.In essence, they accused the advocates of regional geography of unscientific working practices because to them the latter only gath¬ ered facts and emphasised the «individuality» of spatial units, the regions.The critics whose discourse on the philosophy of science was informed by logical positivism (cf.Harvey 1969) and critical rationalism pointed out that regional geography was lacking a theoretical foundation on which an explanation of empirical facts could be grounded.Part ofthe criticism was directed at what the critics regarded to be a pre-modem frame of mind of regional geographers -who saw the world as a well-ordered mosaic which the regional geographer's «art» had to put together-, at the implicit geo-determin- ism and at the exclusion of social practices from aca¬ demic work.
By the late 60s early 70s a new discourse had asserted itself in geography which was to point the way ahead for the next decades.As a consequence, from then on regional geography only played a minor role until the recent past.This minor role, however, mainly expressed itself in the low esteem that regional geography enjoyed in the eyes of those geographers whose frame of mind was shaped by an understanding of academic work deeply rooted in logical positivism and critical rationalism.This State of affairs was sharply contrasted by the fact that at the same time many regional studies were being published.Thus, it is patently impossible to infer from the (then) dominant paradigmatic understanding of the discipline the Performance and the relevance of regional geography in the wider society -and vice versa.
The peripheral position of regional geography in academia during the 70's did not change, despite the at¬ tempts of individuals to put it on a (new) epistemologi¬ cal foundation.Wirth (1978) in his endeavour to resur- rect regional geography, for example, takes up certain key elements of critical rationalism as developed by Popper.According to Wirth regional geography should be treated as a historical science which deduces Singu¬ lar events from general laws (which in the case of re¬ gional geography can be taken from the systematic fields of geography) and special antecedent conditions (which result from the unique Situation under investigation).This approach will not only render a description but also provide the academic with an explanation of empirical phenomena.This view challenged other aca- demics, notably G. Bahrenberg (1979).The dispute that evolved between the two antagonists did not, how¬ ever, have a widespread impact.The fact that a broad discussion on the significance of regional geography did not take place at the time may have its roots in the repercussions of the «quantitative and theoretical revolution» of the 60's and 70's as well as in the growing inner diversity ofthe discipline as a whole.This Situation gradually changed in the 80's.In Germa¬ ny, for instance, Popp (1983), Heinritz (1987), Pohl (1986) and others offered a hermeneutical understand¬ ing of regional geography.In the English-speaking countries, in the Netherlands and in France regional ge¬ ography experienced a certain renaissance as a social scientific «new regional geography» (cf.Gilbert   1988, Holmen 1995, Wood 1996).The Situation in the German-speaking countries in the recent past and at present is characterised by the absence of a theoretical, conceptional debate which can be observed in a number of other countries, most notably in England and the United States, in France and in the Netherlands (cf, for instance, Bassand & Guindani 1983, Claval   1981, 1998 a, 1998 b, Raffestin 1982, Hanson 1999,  Villeneuve 1986, Johnston, Hauer & Hoekveld  1990 a, b, Johnston 1990, Entrikin 1994, Sayer   1989, Pudup 1988, Swyngedouw 1989, Nir 1990;   Harloe, Pickvance & Urry 1990,Cooke 1989).This State of affairs appears to be paradoxical because there is, on the one hand, a constant flow of regional studies which seem to have a stable market, yet, on the other, a reflection of the epistemological and societal foundations of regional geography is left to others.This Situa¬ tion can be explained by several factors.First of all, there are evident Symptoms of fatigue which are caused by the debates taking place within the discipline in the wake ofthe «scientific revolution» ofthe 60's and 70's.Secondly, these debates caused a «migration» to other fields of interest within the discipline.And lastly, it seems that after the epistemological fundamental criticism which was levelled at regional geography there is now a widespread essential helplessness as to which (epistemological) perspective can help to «modernise» regional geography.
3 Future perspectives of Regional Geography Despite the demise of regional geography in the past and the current speechlessness of most academics (apart from a few exceptions, cf.Wirth 1998) there are signs that in the future there may be a countercurrent.The crucial question that needs to be addressed in the con¬ text of a redefined regional geography is whether it can be set up as a research task which manages to go beyond the deplored unscientific working practices of the past when it was the compilation of material or the more or less intuitive and unsystematic explanation that occupied geographers' minds and not so much a theoretically informed reasoning typical of modern conceptions of science.Before dealing with this latter line of argument in greater detail, however, the next issue to be looked into are some social trends which suggest that regional geography can indeed be regarded as a research task that has a future.Without claiming to be comprehensive, the following trends can be discerned (cf. Blotevogel 1996 and Wood 1996): 1. On the one hand there are processes of spatial restruc¬ turing, i.e. processes of regionalization, taking place on different spatial scales and in different social Sub¬ systems (economy, politics).For instance, we recognise an interplay of unifying global and differentiating regional trends within which social change is currently taking shape.Inherent to some of these processes is a great dynamism which is likely to cause further changes in the spatial Organisation of society.
In the sphere of politics, for instance, it is expected that the intensifying process of European integration (and the realisation of the principle of subsidiarity within the EU) will eclipse the importance of the na¬ tional level on the one hand and enhance the Status of the supra-national and the regional level on the other.An indicator of this trend is the establishment of the committee of the regions in the EU but also the at¬ tempt of the EU to gain a direct role in the develop¬ ment of the regions by devising the conditions for aid programmes accordingly.
With regard to planning policy the complexity of structural change exercises excessive demands on central (state) agencies.This is why these agencies (in their own interest) tend to decentralise decisions, responsibilities and the Solution of problems.At the same time, the complexity of the problems and the need to process an ever growing amount of informa¬ tion exceeds the capacities of local authorities so that there is a growing willingness «from below» for Co¬ operation between local authorities, i.e. on a regional level (cf.Priebs 1998). 2. In this context it is important to point out that the «regionalization of ways of life» is also spreading because more and more people (have to) live and work «regionally», i.e. across the boundaries of local authorities and previous spatial units of planning.This can either be the result of forced mobility (due to deficits of local labour markets) or of changed indi¬ vidual preferences (with regard to consumption, lei¬ sure and educational activities, for instance).
3. On the other hand we can observe an enhancement of the regional level in the context of socio-cultural de¬ velopments which expresses itself in the revival of regional socio-cultural activities, such as «Heimat» or (local) history societies. 4. Closely connected with these trends is a tendency to¬ wards a deliberate as well as an accidental production and reproduetion of «regional identities».The main purpose ofthat exercise, which can be observed in the sphere of planning policies in Germany as well as in the Separatist discourse in the Basque region or in Corsica, is to wield greater political power over social processes. 5.With regard to ecological debates the discussion cen¬ tring on the consequences of global-scale pollution suggests an increased importance ofthe regional lev¬ el.In view ofthe world-wide circulation of raw mate- rials and commodities with its ecologically harmful outcomes there is a growing call for making ecologi¬ cally detrimental effects spatially attributable by, for instance.establishing regional economic cycles.This is one of the reasons why facilities such as waste disposal sites for far-away agglomerations have come under increased criticism.
These tendencies of socio-spatial development need to be looked into more closely by means of a critical aca¬ demic reflection.This is all the more important as it is not entirely clear whether the discussed phenomena are «real» or whether they are just fashionable trends of the current debate in the spatial sciences and in regional political discourse which will not stand the lest of em¬ pirical inquiry.Thus, the mentioned forms of spatial strueturing and restructuring.their social and construc¬ tivist meanings need to be contemplated by academicswho see themselves as critical commentators of social trendsand discussed in the political public.This is the most important and persuasive argument for and justification of an up-to-date regional geography.The important issue here is not so much which specific philosophy of science the individual academic might call his or her own.Regardless of whether one considers oneself a neo-positivist.a critical theorist or a supporter of hermeneutics: this form of regional research needs to be a methodically controlled generation of knowledge (Blotevogel 1996).Of course, different understand- ings of what science is (or should be) about rest upon different epistemological and methodological assump- tions, for instance on contrasting concepts of knowl¬ edge or causality.Quite clearly.there is not the one way of scientific enlightenment.Hanson (1999: 136) highlights this when she observes that now there is «a great¬ er willingness to acknowledge complexity and to engage multiple approaches to understand that complexity.
There is now a greater acceptance of the notion that people create knowledge rather than discovering objec¬ tive truths [...] and that taking advantage of what is useful in each of a number of approaches can yield greater understanding than does adhering only to one.»At the same time, however, there also cannot be an «anything goes», that is a regional geography without theory.Be¬ cause whatever the differences between the aforementioned schools of thought may be, they do have at least three things in common which distinguish them from traditional regional geography: the explicit reference to theory, the reeiprocal relationship between theory and empirical evidence and the resultant development of theory.It is this which characterises competitive re¬ search.Of course, it needs to be stressed in this context that collecting, processing and disseminating spatial data will always be an indispensable task for a regional geographer.This, however, is not research but a preliminary stage of research.
The definition of competitive research which was sug¬ gested above is incomplete as it does not reflect the so¬ cial contexts in which research agendas are being drawn up or in which research results are being applied.It would be a self-deception to believe that regional geog¬ raphy can do without an explicit reference to or incorporation of normative issues.Research agendas and ac¬ ademic interests are no natural phenomena nor are they in any way given by «landscapes» or «regions» or what¬ ever.It is the society that determines research agendas and that applies research results.This is why the aca¬ demic disciplines which are an intrinsic part of society need to reflect the origin and the legitimaey of research topics and the use of research results.This line of argument is a necessary but not yet a sufficient condition for a regional geography which regards itself to be competitive research.What is lacking is a definition ofthe actual questions to be raised and prob¬ lems to be tackled by regional geographers.A systematic discussion of this issue has not taken place yet, espe- cially in the German-speaking countries.The following section of this paper will try to address this question by tentatively developing some lines of inquiry which seem worthy of being pursued.This will be done with reference to the above mentioned current social trends.Starting with the Observation that there are at present significant trends of spatial restructuring taking place in different social sub-systems (politics, economy) which are frequently referred to by the terms «globalisation» or «regionalization» (or, alternatively, by «global unification» and «regional diversity») and which are said to have far-reaching consequences, regional geography needs to analyse the shape, causes and the effects of such processes of restructuring in the different social sub-systems.In the English and the French-speaking countries (cf.Gilbert 1988, for a recent overview of the Situation in France cf.Claval 1998.2) proponents of a political-economy approach (as part of a «new» or «reconstituted regional geography»), for instance, investigate the dialectical relationship between specific regional developments and the overall political and eco¬ nomic structure of society, set against the background of global processes of economic restructuring.The ba¬ sic premise on which this edifice of ideas rests is the assumption that structural change does not take place in a vacuum, but in a specific socio-spatial, historically rooted context («layer of history») which plays an im¬ portant role as to the ways in which (global) change is taking shape on the ground.Conversely, so the argu¬ ment goes, the developments on the ground have an input into the System.Thus, both levels are closely con¬ nected to one another and form a complementary set of issues to be addressed when looking at structural change.Another important point to make is that accord¬ ing to this school of thought «regions» are an integral part of society.This is why the latter will not simply «vanish» as societies modernise but will continue to exist because spatial differences are regarded to be an essential element of society (in the sense of social rela¬ tions as spatially and temporally contingent phenome¬ na).It would, therefore, be an interesting and deserving research project to test this hypolhesis empirically.
With regard to differences in discourse tradition the overview provided by Claval (1998.2) -as van der Wüsten (1998) points out -shows that the French de¬ bate on globalisation displays a sensitivity to (per¬ ceived) Anglo-American hegemony, a fact which is ac- centuated by different words used for the English term globalisation: «globalisation, which is mainly used for environmental problems, and mondialisation, which is associated with the economic transfonnations of the contemporary world» (Claval 1998.2: 69).Although there seems to be a convergence of language usage lately, the French «have strongly defended the national heritage also in geography» (van der Wüsten 1998: 2).Notwithstanding these differences there has been a no- ticeable French influence on the ways in which the processes of globalisation are theorised in the Englishspeaking countries.For instance.there has been a strong input of the «regulationist school» which seeks a theo¬ retical Interpretation of processes of globalisation in the spheres of economics and politics (cf.Aglietta   1976).
In the context of the «globalisation» debate one of the main questions to be tackled -according to Ossenbrüggewill be in how far the future development of the space economy will indeed be characterised by the dialectical relationship between global unification and regional diversity (This line of thought does not refer to other printed sources but is based on discussions the author had with colleagues, notably with Jürgen Ossenbrügge, Rainer Danielzyk, Ilse Helbrecht and Jürgen Pohl who I wish to thank for their inspira- tion.).In this context it is important to stress that the term diversity denotes a fragmentation as well as the specific capacity for creativity and innovation which are both necessary for the reproduetion of global capitalism.If diversity is regarded to be a resource then the question will have to be addressed as to whether the in¬ tegration into the global context does not exhaust this asset so that the dialectical relationship between glo¬ balisation and regionalization does have a long-term seif negating tendency and therefore needs to be seen as a temporary model of development.For Hanson (1999: 139) dealing with processes of glo¬ balisation, or rather, with the tension that exists between the global and the local, provides an opportunity to re¬ think the issue as to what distinguishes «adequate» the¬ ory: «No longer abstract as it once was.theory can now be grounded more readily in the complexities of places and their connections with processes at a variety of scales.»Thus, the globalisation debate can help to mod¬ ernise the ways in which (regional) geographers theo- rise and thus make sense of their empirical observa- tions.
4.2 Regional (socio-)culture Another point of departure for regional geography re¬ fers to the increased importance of the regional level in the sphere of socio-cultural developments (which can be inferred from several observations, such as the revival of «Heimat» or (local) history societies.for instance).It may appear to be anachronistic to probe the relevance of regional culture(s) because one could -with regard to the examples mentioned -argue that regional culture and the «region» are merely reminiscences of an era when people were still spatially «embedded» (as opposed to the late modern experience according to Giddens 1991 or Werlen 1995), had a streng local and/or regional awareness as part of their daily lives and did not go beyond the confines of their local/regional universe in their thinking (at least at most levels of soci¬ ety).Thus, which relevance can regional culture have in an era of unprecedented mobility (at least for those who are fortunate enough to live in the rieh countries), of information networks which span the globe and which allow us to partieipate in far away events as eas- ily as we partake in the things happening around us? And, lastly, what is the significance of regional culture when it is lifestyle orientation which directs our ways of thinking and feeling much more than «regional iden¬ tity»?
And yet, one could argue that despite this argument the regional level does have an important socio-cultural meaning in our age.The more people experience the uniforming and limiting effects of global economic, so¬ cial, political and socio-cultural developments at the lo¬ cal and regional levels the more will these levels gain in importance as a counterbalance, maybe even as a counter-force which challenges the uniforming trends of glo¬ balisation.With regard to more recent socio-cultural developments one can interpret the rediscovery of the «regionally specific» as such a response.The fact that the control of social developments is increasingly shifted to higher levels (of scale) generates a response from below: regional awareness places itself on the (political) agenda.Or, as Claval (1998.1: 159)sees it, «The crisis in feelings of belonging to a nation thus makes regional identity fashionable again.»At the same time the changes that globalisation effects in the prevailing conditions of social control may hold in störe opportunities for the local and regional levels because the diminishing (eclipsing?) role of the nation State due to supra-state arrangements may lead to a rela¬ tive strengthening of other (spatial) levels, i.e. the re¬ gional and supra-national vis-a-vis the State levels.The «region», according to this understanding, can be seen in two rather different ways.On the one hand itean serve as a basis for justifying particularisms and local vendettas (Claval 1998.1: 160).This issue is usually associated with regionalist ideology and thus an expres¬ sion of the «regional» being taken advantage of by the political systetn (cf.Pieper 1987).It will be taken up further down.On the other hand the region can be seen as a source of meaning and significance in a world which is increasingly getting incomprehensible to a growing number of people, despite -or due to -the fact that many people «know» more ofthe world through the media and their own travel-encounters.These reflections on the socio-cultural relevance ofthe region seem to be another suitable starting-point for a revised re¬ gional geography.
4.3 Regional development and socio-culture The discussed developments in the sphere of politics, the economy and (regional) socio-culture could, and to my mind, should also be seen in context (The following considerations are based on a paper by Danielzyk & Wood, submitted to European Planning Studies and at present refereed.).For instance, there has been a grow¬ ing recognition of the importance of cultural aspects explaining regional development within regional re¬ search in German-speaking countries over the recent past (cf.Haussermann & Siebel 1993).This trend re- flects the realisation that «hard (locational) factors»such as economic structures, labour costs, property prices etc. -alone cannot explain the Performance of regions.As a consequence, cultural aspects, such as «identities», «mentalities», «milieus», political eultures and the like have been increasingly incorporated into theorising the «success» or «failure» of individual re¬ gions (for an overview cf.Krätke 1995).On a deeper level this trend can be seen as a reformulation of the essential question on the relationship between culture and economic development, which Max Weber (1973,  orig.1905) addressed when he traced the origins of capitalism back to the ascetic ethics of certain movements within Protestantism.However, as yet there are neither many studies which empirically test the presumed relationship between cul¬ tural and economic developments on the regional level nor is there a well developed, consistent theoretical ap¬ proach dealing with that relationship.Thus, there is much scope for future research in this field. 4.4 Production and reproduetion of «regional identities» With regard to the above mentioned production and re¬ produetion of «regional identities» by the elites of the economic and the political System as well as the cultural industrieswhich can be a deliberate or an accidental actregional geography needs to address the issues, aims and consequences involved in such a utilisation of the «regional».Primary objeets of study would be the spatially codified artefacts of social practice, i.e. the specific culturally encoded «regional identities».These «regional identities» need to be deconstrueted in order to disclose the specific view of the world they propose and hence, the intentions ofthose who propagate them.There are various reasons for looking into these mani¬ festations of social practice.To begin with, doing so may enhance our understanding of the ways in which social processes shape the socio-culture.Secondly, the deconstruetion of the strategy to produce and reproduce «regional identities» -and thereby exercise power over the lifeworld -demonstrates that (any) socially codified meaning is not an intransmutable given.It challenges the views it deconstruets and can thereby help to open up avenues for criticism and social change.
In order to illustrate this train of thought a fairly recent example taken from a German weekly newspaper, «Die Zeit», shall now be discussed.A few years ago the prime minister of Saxony, Kurt Biedenkopf («King Kurt» as he is called in Saxony) in a newspaper inter¬ view emphasised that the people of Saxony had to prepare themselves for a prolonged period during which the income discrepancies between the «old» and the «new» German states («Länder») would persist.He suggested that his fellow Citizens should therefore try and deem values other than materialistic ones worthy of their consideration, such as the «regional identity» of the Saxons.Regional identity was declared a Substitute for an equal share in the material prosperity of an affluent society.Doing so meant that fundamental questions were raised which affect the principle of equality laid down in the German Constitution as much as the pivotal orientation in spatial planning after the Second World War, i.e. the creation of equal living conditions in all parts of the country. 4.5 The (ecological) problems of late modern societiesfrom a human ecology point of view So far this paper mainly addressed issues of a more or less social scientific orientation.This may be surprising as the main reason for the success of regional geogra¬ phy as the «core» of the discipline was ils integration of physical and human geography in the past.Will a social scientific understanding of regional geography there¬ fore lead to a loss of the disciplinary unityl It is of course legitimate to raise this issue but it is futile to hope and define regional geography as an up-to-date science by asserting the unity ofthe discipline.Because as a normative view it may help to generate a feeling of belonging amongst geographers, but it does not answer the question as to how regional geography can be de¬ fined as a competitive science which holds its ground against the neighbouring disciplines.It seems that an answer to that question -which also holds out promising Joint research issues for physical and human geogra¬ phycan best be derived from the ecology debate or from the human ecology paradigm (cf.Weichhart  1994, Zierhofer 1997).
One of the most distinguishing features of the human ecology paradigm is its attempt to overcome the Occi¬ dental intellectual duality between nature/matter on the one hand and man/culture/society on the other.Human ecology postulates a deviation from the mechanistic view of the world and of man in the tradition of R.
Descartes and I. Newton and propagates a new syn- thesising view.It conceptual ises society and economy (the latter as a social sub-system) as integral parts of nature, and thus both have to recognise the limits set by the natural environment.The regulating principle which governs the interplay of the constituent elements of na¬ ture is «sustainability».Sustainability needs to be seen not only in its traditional sense as a limitation of the consumption of resources (which took its origin in forestry and regulated the amount of wood being cut down).Sustainability also needs to be understood in a more comprehensive long-lasting conservation of na¬ ture as a productive force (Busch-Lüty 1992).As a consequence of such a view the ways in which human beings treat their natural and social environments move centre stage.In a similarly fundamental way, the human ecology paradigm entails a reappraisal ofthe traditional Separation of the natural sciences on the one hand and the social sciences as well as the humanities on the other.It is because of that division that «nature» was lost out of sight in the social sciences and in the human¬ ities and that the natural sciences failed to recognise the social and the intellectual meaning of «nature» (Wehling 1995).This discussion links in with the debate on the develop¬ ment of geography as an academic discipline.In the past there has been a three-way split within geography: the ongoing Separation of human and physical geogra¬ phy and the «rift» in human geography between a na¬ ture-society and a society-space Strand (cf. Hanson 1999).This split in human geography marked the disintegration of the leading role that regional geography (the geography ofthe specific, idiographic) played prior to the «quantitative revolution» and the advent of spatial analysis as the hegemonic discourse at the time.One consequence ofthat split was the move away from place toward space which entailed the expatriation of nature in the discourse of spatial analysis.As Hanson (1999:  134) puts it, «The creation of space without nature is key because those leading the quantitative revolution believed that equating the geo in geography with the isotropic plane was essential to making geography a re- spectable scientific discipline, one able to develop geo¬ graphie generalizations.»Doing so, however, meant that for several decades those who set the tone regarded the exclusion of nature from (human) geography an inevitable step if the discipline was to discharge its unscientific image.It seems to nie that only by overcoming the fear of environmental determinism which, among others, was behind this development, will there be a realistic chance for geographers to help and come to grips with some of the core issues of our age and with the schisms in our discipline (cf.Hanson 1999).The concern for the relationship between nature/environment and man in human ecology has several reasons.One is the above-mentioned problematic split in our Oc¬ cidental thinking and the division between and within the academic disciplines that went along.The second, equally important reason is the realisation of the signif¬ icance of ecological and other man-made problems in late modern societies (Beck 1996).And lastly, it is the failure (crisis) of modern academic disciplines to offer post-modern societies an orientation that has stimulated the human ecology debate.
It is at this stage not at all clear whether a human ecolo¬ gy society-space paradigm will prove to be an adequate basis for regional research.On the other hand, the tradi¬ tional man-nature paradigm is clearly outdated and a more viable alternative needs to be put in its place.If regional geographers wish to do so by means of a hu¬ man ecology approach then they will need to resolve a number of open and problematic issues.To begin with, human ecology is confronted with the general problem of making value judgements in sci¬ ence.Who is to determine the Contents and the validity/ viability of a conception of science which is explicitly rooted in a normative foundation?Everybody for her¬ seif?The «bishops» of the discipline or the nonconformists who due to their Status may not have a strong impact however?How viable is an ecological ethical principle as a point of departure and reference for a sci¬ ence?Does a normative approach not lead to intolerance because it shows a tendency to confirm preconceived value judgements?
On an epistemological level there is the problem of combining very different views of the world as they are representative of the different perspectives of the indi¬ vidual sciences.Natural scientists tend to regard the world mainly as a material world that obeys natural laws.This view is very different to that of social scien¬ tists who expatriated «space» and the material world in general from the structure of their theories.Some crit¬ ics, like Gerhard Hard (1994), therefore, conclude that these different perspectives are incompatible and that any attempt to form an integrative environmental science will only end up in «folk science».My own view is that this conclusion although it cannot be denied may have a defeatist effect.I would contend that such a view underestimates the ability of scientists to reflect their own thinking (and the assumptions on which that thinking rests).There are several reasons why regional geography should get (more) involved in the human ecology debate.The most convincing is a normative one: bearing in mind the global man-made problems that the sciences have helped to create or ag- gravate, the role of the sciences or rather the self-perception of academics can no longer be the innocent modernist belief that scientific-technical Solutions will ameliorate the problems of mankind.What is needed instead is a critical approach which is reflexive in the sense of Critical Theory and which at the same time takes as its theme the central issues of the man-environment relationship.Such an orientation could help to open up the different forms of scientific discourse to each other as well as to the outside, and it could enhance the societal Standing ofthe disciplines involved, thereby improving the prospects ofthe latter for a continued ex¬ istence as academic subjects.

Conclusion
The central aim of this paper was to identify the possi¬ ble future role of regional geography.Despite the prevailing trend in the German-speaking countries and in view of the renewed interest in regional geography in several other countries there seems to be scope for re¬ gional geography to contribute to our understanding of the world.The overall social trends which were dis¬ cussed can be seen as an important starting point.open¬ ing up avenues for progress in the field.Progress, how¬ ever, can only be achieved if the practitioners of regional geography meet the Standards set by modern conceptions of science.Thus, regional geography which is not informed by theory runs the risk of drowning in an ocean of information or of making implicit theoretical and methodological choices (like many of those practising traditional regional geography did).On the other hand.regional geography cannot divorce itself from the empirical world.If it did, it would be likely to become a bloodless Piatonic Universe of Ideas, merely producing theories for their own sake.
If regional geography takes on board the challenge of giving up the value-free stance typical of the «old school» and gets involved in social debates instead, then it could contribute to the Solution of social problems and may thus improve its authority as a socially relevant academic subject.As Lee (1990:1170 put it, «... region¬ al geography is not merely of analytical significance but of paramount emancipatory importance.»There are a number of obstacles and pitfalls on the road to a «reconstituted» regional geography though.They result from the different understandings of central is¬ sues and concepts («nature», for instance), from incorporating normative issues into science and from having to decide whether or not the importance (renaissance) of key issues is just a fashionable discourse -keeping aca¬ demics engaged and the flow of research funds goingwhich will not stand empirical Validation.
At the same time these challenges can be seen as real opportunities for regional geography as well.Without wanting to gloss over the difficulties lying ahead, ad- dressing the identified issues and taking on the chal¬ lenges that go along with them is an inevitable choice regional geographers have to make if their discipline is to comply with the demands made by modern concep¬ tions of science.Making that choice will entail dispute, ambiguities etc. but hopefully also the chance of be¬ coming more socially visible and accepted.
Literature Cited Aglietta, M. (1976): Regulation et crises du capitalis- Summary: On the Future of Regional Geography This contribution discusses possible future prospects of regional geography.This is done against the background of current socio-spatial developments and of various theoretical and conceptional debates as they are taking place mainly in English-and French-speaking countries.By taking central elements of modern con¬ ceptions of science as a basis possible regional geo¬ graphie research issues will be identified which promise to be both aeademieally stimulating and socially rele¬ vant.A key concern is to show that regional geography can be regarded a viable research task living up to the Standards of modern conceptions of science, thereby casting off the dated yet still lingering image that re¬ gional geography is mere description or -worse still - environmental determinism.