EP56: Geopolitics of time zones

Summary:

In this episode, we discuss the complexities and controversies surrounding time zones and daylight saving time. We explore how time zones have been used for political and economic purposes, citing examples like China's adoption of a single time zone for national unity and Russia's imposition of Moscow time on annexed Ukrainian regions. We also examine the potential economic and energy impacts of daylight saving time, with some arguing that it may not be as beneficial as previously thought. Finally, we highlight the international complexities that arise from differing time zones, particularly in the context of business, travel, and communication.

Questions to consider as you read/listen:

1. What are the historical, political, and economic factors that have influenced the adoption and rejection of daylight saving time in different countries?

2. How have time zones been manipulated as tools of political control and national identity by governments around the world?

3. To what extent do time zones, including daylight saving time, impact international trade, travel, and communication, and how can these challenges be reduced?

Long format:

 Geopolitics of time zones

Timezones. They exist. But there is some controversy involved in their existence especially when it comes to local options like day light savings time. There is an alternative which is to switch to universal time or Zulu time. Zulu time is the military name of Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). 

Zulu time provides a uniform time reference across the globe, eliminating confusion that can arise from time zone differences. This is particularly crucial for international communication and coordination. In aviation and military contexts, Zulu time is used to ensure that all parties have a consistent understanding of timing. Flight schedules, military operations, and navigation rely on precise timing to avoid misunderstandings. Events that involve participants from multiple time zones, such as conferences, sports events, and broadcasts, use Zulu time to synchronize activities and schedules.

Is the US the only country that does daylight savings?

No, the United States is not the only country that observes daylight saving time (DST). In fact within the US not every state participates in DST. In the United States, every state except Hawaii and Arizona observes DST. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 allows states to choose whether to observe DST, but it must be statewide.

Fewer than 40 percent of countries in the world currently apply daylight savings time switches, although more than 140 countries had implemented them at some point.

Here is a chart that shows what countries who changes their clocks. 

 

DST and economic impact

The principal reason for introducing (and extending) daylight saving time (DST) was, and still is, projected energy savings, particularly for electric lighting. However many energy experts and economists dispute its savings in modern times with more efficient lighting. While some historians point to railroad time tables being an original reason some modern historical research seems to refute this. 

Daylight saving time (DST) is considered inefficient by some because it can disrupt sleep, increase energy costs, and make international travel, trade and communications more difficult. Some studies show that DST can increase energy costs. For example, a study in Indiana found that DST increased residential electricity consumption by 1% overall, and up to 4% in the late summer and early fall. 

Different countries change their time on different days, and some poorer countries don't change their time at all, which can make international business and travel more difficult. Airlines estimate that DST costs them $147 million per year. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 63% of Americans favor eliminating seasonal time changes. A study from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that only 25% of Americans like the current system of shifting between DST and standard time. 

One study has found that time zone differences are found to reduce bilateral trade between the US and Canada by 11% on average, which amounts to about one-sixth of the international border effect between the US and Canada. 

As one author summed it up:

Benjamin Franklin conceived of it. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle endorsed it. Winston Churchill campaigned for it. Kaiser Wilhelm first employed it. Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt went to war with it, and more recently the United States fought an energy crisis with it.

Does China have only one time zone?

Yes. China has one time zone. It is officially called China Standard Time (CST). It is 8 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+08:00).

Well…. the most complete answer is the People's Republic of China spans geographically across five different time zones when measured from the Greenwich Mean time or the Universal Coordinated time as the case may be. However, the country observes one time across all the extent of the territory of China.

Why only one zone? Controlling time became part of an official narrative about a China united under the party's rule. Officially, they claim one time zone would allow a national work schedule (important during the times of communal work units), for news to be broadcast at the same time throughout and for communication. 

But China isn’t the only one using time and time zones to control. In January 2024, Russian authorities announced that annexed regions of Ukraine were to switch from Ukrainian time to Moscow time.

During Sri Lanka’s 25-year civil war between the central government and the Tamil Tigers, the government adjusted the country’s time by setting clocks back half an hour. However, in 1996, the Tamil Tigers rejected and did not implement this change in the regions they controlled, creating a situation where Sri Lanka effectively operated in two different time zones at the same time.

Other time anomalies and time rebels exist. When India gained independence from Britain in 1947, it eliminated the separate time zones for Mumbai and Kolkata, unifying the country under a single official time zone.

Nepal, meanwhile, set its time zone to align with the peak of the sacred Gaurishankar Mountain, east of Kathmandu, resulting in a unique quarter-hour time zone, unlike most other nations that base their timekeeping on hourly increments or, less commonly, half-hour increments.

In 2015, North Korea’s government announced a shift in its time zone by setting clocks back by half an hour.

Sources 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/11/04/the-strange-weird-geopolitics-of-time/

https://www.europastar.com/the-watch-files/a-world-watch-tour/1004089853-the-geopolitics-of-world-time.html

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/tesg.12114

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2023/8/9/conflict-over-the-clock-china-among-countries-where-time-is-political

https://www.statista.com/chart/24473/countries-changing-clock-daylight-savings/#:~:text=Outside%20of%20Europe%20and%20the,Zealand%20and%20parts%20of%20Australia

https://costcontrolassociates.com/blog/the-cost-of-daylight-savings-time/

https://www.csg.org/2024/03/11/is-daylight-saving-time-worth-saving/

https://qz.com/636313/why-america-will-never-get-rid-of-day-light-saving#:~:text=justification%20for%20DST.-,There%20is%20no%20economic%20justification%20for%20DST.,$147%20million%20dollars%20a%20year