APHG Unit Four

Political Organization of Space

Political Geography Political Geography is the study of the

political organization of the planet Since the beginning of history, humans have

divided the planet into political units, or territories Territoriality: effort to control pieces of the

Earth’s surface for political and social reasons

Political Culture: the collection of political beliefs, values, practices, and institutions that the government is based on

A politically organized territory

Administered by a sovereign government

Recognized by a significant portion of the international community. (Ex: Kosovo, the Southern United States)

A state must also contain:

a permanent resident population

an organized economy

Characteristics of a State

Morphology

Territorial Morphology is a term that describes the shapes, sizes, and relative locations of states

Shapes of States

.    Compact – The most efficient form.

A state whose territory is nearly circular. Because all places could be reached from the center in a minimal amount of time making it the most efficient for roads, railway lines, other infrastructure.

Examples: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and

Uganda

Prorupt - A state that is nearly compact but possess one or two narrow extensions of territory, which isolates a portion of the state.

The proruption can be a physical (penninsula) elongation of land or may have economic or strategic significance – access to resources, sea, establishment of a buffer zone, etc…

Examples: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Shape of States

Elongated – A state whose territory is long and narrow. The least efficient shape administratively. It may sacrifice national cohesion to promote eco strength.

Example: Chile, Italy, and Gambia

Shape of States

Shape of States

Fragmented – Entirely made up of islands or territory, separated by another state, or is a state with an offshore island.

- contains isolated parts, separate and discontinuous.

Examples: Indonesia, United States, former

East and West Pakistan

  Perforated - A state that completely surrounds a territory that it does not rule.

That area is called an “enclave” and it may be independent or part of another state.

An area outside of the state’s borders that belongs to the state is called an “exclave”. (Ex: Alaska)

Example: Italy or South Africa

Shape of States

Size of States

Microstates: a country with a land size of a few square miles Examples: Vatican City, Monaco

Russia is the largest country in the world, followed by Canada, China, the United States, and Brazil

Relative Location of States

Landlocked State: countries lacking an ocean coastline, and surrounded by other states

Sometimes a landlocked country will try to access a foreign port, or become prorupted Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked

state

The Nation-State

State: a territorially organized piece of land, or country

Institution: stable, long-lasting organizations that help to turn political ideas into policies

Nation: a group of people that is bound together by a common political identity

The Nation-State

A nation-state is a state whose territorial extent coincides with a group of people, or nation Examples: Denmark, Iceland, The United States

Binational/Multinational State: a state with more than one nation Ex: The former USSR

Stateless Nation: a group of people without a country Ex: Palestine, the Kurds

Organization of States

Core Area: the heartland of an area; identified by levels of population concentration and transportation networks

Multicore State: a state with more than one core area Example: Nigeria

The Capital City

In most states, the capital is not only the center of government, but also the economic and cultural center

Primate City: the largest city in a nation and one where the second largest city is significantly smaller

Forward Capital: the capital city serves as a model for national objectives Ex: Japan and Brazil

Colonialism and Imperialism

Colonies: Dependent areas given fixed and recorded boundaries where none existed before

Imperialism: empire building

The Berlin Conference: 1884-85

Representatives from 14 countries, mainly from Europe, met in Berlin to agree on how to divide Africa.

At the time of the meeting, about 80% of Africa was still under African control.

They ignored traditional cultural and linguistic boundaries already present in Africa, and drew their own borders.

Results: Hostile groups put together United groups split apart Traditional migration routes cut off

By the early 1900’s, only Liberia and Ethiopia had retained their sovereignty.

The Belgian Congo

Ruled by King Leopold II, Belgium controlled a large region of land in what is today the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Why? The region was

wealthy in rubber.

The Belgian Congo

Refusal to do so often resulted in mutilations, beatings, and death.

It was common for natives refusing to work to have their hands cut off, as a stern warnings to others as to what would happen should they refuse to work.

“It is blood-curdling to see them (the soldiers) returning with the hands of the slain, and to find the hands of young children amongst the bigger ones evidencing their bravery…The rubber from this district has cost hundreds of lives, and the scenes I have witnessed, while unable to help the oppressed, have been almost enough to make me wish I were dead.”

Belgian official

COLONIALISM AND ITS CULTURAL IMPACT ON

AFRICA

AFRICA

Legacies of Imperialism in Africa

Religion

Language

Other European ideas and technology, medicine,ethics, etc. were introduced.

Post Colonial Difficulties

Redrawing Africa

Find a partner. If there are an odd number of student, there may be ONE group of three.

Grab a World Geography book, instructions, map, and long white paper.

Get creative.

Spatial Organization of States

Turn in “Redrawing Africa”.

Now.

Systems of States

Unitary System: one that concentrates all policymaking powers in one central geographic place (European States)

Confederal System: spreads the power among many sub-units and has a weak federal government (Switzerland)

Federal System: divides power between strong central government and sub-units (US, Canada, Australia)

Boundaries

A state is separated from its neighbor by boundaries, or invisible lines that mark the extent of a state’s territory and the control the leaders have

Historically, frontiers separated states Frontier: a geographic zone where no

state exercises power Ex: Antarctica and the Rub al-Khali

Types of Boundaries

Physical Boundary: Rivers, lakes, and oceans are the most common; also include mountains and deserts Law of the Sea: coastal boundaries

extend 12 nautical miles from the coast

Types of Boundaries

Cultural Boundaries: boundary set by ethnic differences such as language and religion Ex: India and Pakistan

Geometric Boundaries: straight, imaginary lines that generally have a reason behind them

Functions of Boundaries

Boundaries serve as symbols of sovereignty, or the ability of the state to carry out actions or policies within its borders

Sovereignty promotes nationalism, or a sense of unity with fellow citizens and loyalty to the state

Internal Boundaries: boundaries within a state Ex: The United States, Canada, China

Boundary Disputes

Almost half of the world’s states have been involved in boundary disputes

Positional Dispute: occurs when states argue about where the boundary actually is Ex: Argentina and Chile

Boundary Disputes

Territorial Disputes: arise over ownership of a region, usually around mutual border

Usually one state claims the other should belong to them due to ethnic and language commonalities Ex: German invasion of Poland

Boundary Disputes

Resource Dispute: dispute involving natural resources that lie in border areas Ex: Iraq and Kuwait

Functional Dispute: arise when neighboring states cannot agree on policies that arise in a border area Ex: US and Mexico border

Electoral Geography Electoral Process: the methods used in a

country for selecting its leaders Electoral Geography: the study of how the

spatial configuration of electoral districts and voting patterns reflect and influence social life

Gerrymandering: the attempt to redraw boundaries to improve chances of winning election

Minority/Majority Districting: rearranging districts to allow a minority representative to be elected Ex: North Carolina

Supranational Organizations

Cooperating groups of nations that operate on either a regional or international level for all major decisions and rules

Challenges to the Modern State

Centripetal Forces: bring people together Includes Nationalism, Institutions,

Television, and Transportation Centrifugal Forces: destabilizes the

government and encourages the country to fall apart Includes Multinationalism, Religious

Conflicts, and Separatist Movements

Devolution

Devolution is the tendency to decentralize decision-making to regional governments

Devolution-Ethnic Forces

Ethnic forces that can cause devolution usually occur because of multinationalism; an ethnic group sees itself as a separate unity from the state Examples: Canada and Ireland

Devolution-Economic Forces

Economic forces can devolve a state if the economic activities of the state vary by region; one region of the state does better economically than the rest of the state Examples: Italy and Spain

Devolution-Spatial Forces

Spatial forces cause devolution if a part of the state is separated from the rest of the state due to physical or other barriers Examples: East and West Pakistan and

Puerto Rico

World Domination Theories

Geopolitics

The study of the spatial and territorial dimensions of power relationships within the political-territorial order

Geopolitics

Friedrich Ratzel (1844-1904): developed the study of geopolitics; compared the state to an organism with a predictable rise and fall of power

Without “nourishment” (expansion), the state will die

Forgotten theory, until adopted by Nazi Germany to explain their expansion by force

Geopolitics

Halford Mackinder (1861-1947) was concerned with the power relationship around Britain’s empire; believed Britain’s empire revolved around the sea, but eventually a land-based power would rule the world;

Heartland Theory: the “pivot area” of the world (Eurasia), hold the resources to dominate the world; 1904 Used by Russia after WW II

Heartland Theory

Whoever rules East Europe commands the Heartland

Whoever rules the Heartland commands the World Island

Whoever rules the World Island commands the World

Geopolitics

Rimland Theory: challenges the Heartland Theory; says the Eurasian Rim holds the power to dominate the world; rim includes land that encircles the Heartland and includes China, Korea, Japan, SE Asia, India, the Arabian Peninsula, and Europe Developed by Nicholas Spykman

Supranational Organizations

Supranational Organizations

The United Nations (UN) 191 Member States Membership is voluntary UN Peacekeeping Forces Security Council (US, Britain, France,

China, and Russia) World Bank and International Court of

Justice Anyone for Model UN next year?

Supranational Organizations

North American Treaty Organization (NATO) 28 Member Nations including the US,

Canada, and Turkey Developed as a political association The combined spending of NATO on

defense is 70% of the world’s defense spending

Supranational Organizations

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) 12 Member Countries including

Venezuela, Ecuador, and Nigeria Purpose is to control the worldwide

supply of oil Powerful political force as well

Supranational Organizations

North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Agreement between the United States,

Canada, and Mexico Trade bloc designed to promote

economic prosperity

Supranational Organizations European Union (EU)

27 Member States Economic and Political agreements Three Pillars of the EU:

Trade and other economic matters; including a single currency and European Central Bank

Justice and home affairs; asylum, border crossing, immigration, and international justice

Common foreign and security policy; joint positions and actions, common defense policy

Forces of Change

Democratization Movement toward Market Economies Revival of Ethnic or Cultural Politics

Democratization

The movement of a country’s government towards a democracy First Wave: developed gradually over time Second Wave: occurred after the Allied

victory in WW II Third Wave: began in the 1970’s and is

continuing today; characterized by defeat of dictator or totalitarian rule in South America, Eastern Europe, and Africa; Samuel Huntington

Movement Towards Markets

Many countries are moving from socialism towards capitalism Command Economy: supply determined by the

state Market Economy: demand determined by

consumer Mixed Economy: Government has a say in what

is produced, but competition still exists Ex: Germany

Privatization: the transfer of state-owned property to private ownership

Revival of Ethnic of Cultural Politics

Fragmentation: divisions based on ethnic or cultural identities

Nationalism: identities based on nationhood

Politicization of Religion: the domination of religion in World Politics Samuel Huntington claims our next

worldwide conflict will be based on clashes of civilizations