City networks binding resource peripheries to economic and political cores: a Northeast Asian perspective

ABSTRACT Under conditions of contemporary globalization and regionalization, economic connectivity is an increasingly important feature of Northeast Asia (NEA). Geographies of these connections and the role of NEA cities in the global and regional economies are increasingly variegated. This paper explores resource industries as landscapes of NEA integration in regional and global economies by focusing on the city networks of energy and mining firms. Using social network analysis (SNA) of the corporate headquarters-subsidiary relations, this paper provides a comparative study of spatialities of the NEA energy and mining city networks at different geographical scales. By distinguishing global, regional, and national scales of urban connectivity, the analysis identifies NEA cities that are strategic in linking resource extraction regions with centers of economic and political power. Based on the multiscale connectivity and SNA metrics, we draw a typology of gateway functions and discuss the positionalities of cities in NEA resources networks. By advancing the empirical understanding of NEA regional and global integration through strategic cities, this study establishes a case for the reframing of NEA as a region that is neither nationally-scaled nor geographically contiguous.