Holden Chris
Reader in International Social Policy, Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of York, Heslington, YO10 5DD. Tel: 01904 321254.
Polit Geogr. 2017 Jul;59:72-81. doi: 10.1016/j.polgeo.2017.03.002. Epub 2017 Mar 15.
Illicit trade in tobacco products has been a significant problem globally for many years. It allows cigarettes to be sold far below their legal price and thus contributes to higher consumption, morbidity and mortality, and deprives state treasuries of a substantial amount of revenue. This article identifies special economic zones (SEZs), particularly free trade zones, as a key conduit for this illicit trade. The development of SEZs as weak points in the global governance architecture is explained with reference to the concept of 'graduated sovereignty', whereby the uniform management of territory by modern states has given way to a more spatially selective form of territorial governance, in which some slices of territory are more fully integrated into the world economy than others via various forms of differential regulation. Attempts to comprehensively (re)regulate SEZs, in the face of growing evidence of the dysfunctionalities that they can engender, have so far been unsuccessful. It is concluded that the neo-liberal global economy has facilitated a regulatory 'race to the bottom', a problem that can only ultimately be overcome by international negotiation and agreement.
多年来，烟草制品的非法贸易一直是全球的一个重大问题。它使得香烟得以远低于法定价格出售，从而导致更高的消费量、发病率和死亡率，还使各国国库损失了大量收入。本文将特殊经济区（SEZ），特别是自由贸易区，确定为这种非法贸易的一个关键渠道。文章参照“分级主权”概念解释了特殊经济区作为全球治理架构薄弱环节的发展情况，即现代国家对领土的统一管理已让位于一种空间上更具选择性的领土治理形式，其中一些领土片段通过各种形式的差别监管比其他片段更全面地融入世界经济。面对越来越多表明特殊经济区可能产生功能失调的证据，全面（重新）监管特殊经济区的尝试迄今均未成功。得出的结论是，新自由主义全球经济助长了监管上的“逐底竞争”，而这一问题最终只能通过国际谈判和协议来克服。
