Political Culture & Evolution of the State: Political Geography

•Brief History of ‘state’ and ‘sovereignty’

•Terminology

• Characteristics of states

•Composition of states

•Functions of boundaries

• Political culture- every bit a component of a people as language or religion

• People adhere to political ideas as they would other cultural components

• Political systems are either secular, non-secular or based entirely on religion-−Theocracies- political laws and leaders

under divine guidance

Introduction

Key Points of Focus• Roughly 200 States on globe

• The modern State system is product of Euro roots-Sovereignty and Nation-state

• Concepts of Nations and States differ-historically

• State territory varies in size/shape

• State territories defined by international boundaries

• What makes states react the way they do to each other?

Can Europe create powerful/economic union despite Nationalistic concerns?

Russia struggles for identity and new place in world

The Balkans

War, genocide and refugees during 1990s

Israel/Palestine- Is Peace Possible?

Chechnya-Russia

Independence for this small Russian province?

Can China create political and social institutions that allow for

continued growth?

U.S. in Iraq and Afghanistan: What is the best means to deploy U.S. influence?

Geography and Political Organization

Territoriality• How can it be explained?

−Effort by some to control pieces of earth surface for political means

−Instinct in humans, like animals

• Or, different circumstances arise that need to be analyzed separate from each other

• How are different territoriality strategies pursued and when

State and Nation: Terminology• State and country are interchangeable

• State: Latin meaning Status

• Some countries have internal divisions called states- like provinces (Canada) or territories (Australia)

• A nation may be larger than a state

• Nation has historic, ethnic, linguistic and religious connotations

• Many states are states, but not nations (in traditional sense of word)

Traditional Pillars of a Nation

Common history; not as a country but as a people

Same ethnic background

Common language

Common rule of law/gov’tal institutions

Are there Nation-states?• Virtually all states are characterized

by internal diversity

• Even in culturally heterogeneous states vast majority of people share strong sense of ‘nationalism’ or national spirit

• National spirit is contemporary way of viewing the concept of ‘nation’

Stateless Nations• Many countries are states, but not

nations

• Not one Nation-State exists in 2010- even France is not a Nation-State

• People w/out a state are Stateless-Nations−Palestinians, Native American tribes, Kurds−The mere fact Stateless-Nations exist is not

vital, the problems that occur because some are stateless is problematic

−The problems that exist is why the study of Stateless-Nations is important

Kurds are example of stateless-nation

Multi-Nation State• Republic of Cyprus

• The Euro Model−On Euro Continent the strength of rulers produced nat’l

cohesiveness−Economic revival sparked in 13/14th century & Dark Ages

passed−Treaties signed at the end of the Thirty Years’ War laid

foundation for state and sovereignty−Western Europe’s strong monarchies began to represent

something greater than authority−Renaissance led to greater prosperity, knowledge and

wealth−City-based merchants became more influential; cities grew

in importance; land as measure of affluence lost relevance

Rise of the Modern State

The Nation; the State; Sovereignty• Sovereignty: power rested in the hands of

the people; the nation

• Emerged after Thirty Years’ War

• Each nation should have its own sovereign territory

• Europe controlled much of world:− Defined, determined ground rules for emerging

internat’l state system− End of Colonial period led many emerging states

to model statehood after the Euro model

Spatial Characteristics of a state

• Physical and cultural properties:− States differ in as many ways as they are similar− Vast differences in size and population− State is a complex system & spirit of state is fragile− Boundaries often throw together people of various

cultures and ethnicities; false sense of belonging− To succeed, a state must foster sense of legitimacy− In order to be considered a state:

• Clearly defined territory• Substantial population• Authoritative/gov’t institutions• Recognized by other powers- Example: Northern

Turkish Republic of Cyprus (only recognized by Turkey); is it really a sovereign state if only recognized by Turkey?

Territory• State must have territory to exist

• Territorial Morphology- size, shape, and relative location vary from state to state

• Territorial characteristics can and do pose opportunities and challenges

• Large states have greater chance of having wide range of environments and resources

• United States’ abundance of natural resources have enabled it to be the power it is in late 20th century and early 21st

• Former Soviet Union had abundance of resources, but too many obstacles to adequately take advantage of them

State Shapes and Forms

Territorial Morphology

Name that Shape!!

Relative Location

• Can have more effect than size and shape of country

• Resource-rich location

• Relation to global mainstream of activity

• Enclave and Exclaves

• Landlocked- face locational challenges(9 of 20 poorest nations landlocked) * according to Global Facilitation Partnership for Trans and Trade

• Political instability of coastal neighbors is problematic

State that must traverse, at least one other, for

access to the sea

Soil loss in Mongolia

Enclaves/Exclaves

Landlocked

•2008: 44 landlocked countries

•Country is cut from sea business: fishing & international trade

Establishment of Boundaries

Size, Shape & Location

Evolution of boundaries

Boundary types

States Differ

• Territorial size

• Shape

• Demography

• Regime

• Organizational Structures

• Resources

• Development

Relative Location

• Size & shape do not determine political, social, economic well-being

• One must consider a country’s location on globe

• Location can/will determine a country’s foreign policy

Evolution of Boundaries

• Three Stages

• Agreement is reached and exact location is established—Definition

• Cartographers place boundary on map—Delimination

• Borders marked by walls, fences, etc..—Demarcation−Not all boundaries are demarcated though

Functions of Boundaries• Walls used to keep

people from moving across boundaries

• Today- boundaries mark the limit of state jurisdiction

• Serve as state symbols of sovereignty and foster nationalism

Internal Boundaries

• Needed for administrative purposes

• Examples: United States, Canada, India

• Some countries have cultural divides that do not show up on ma− The Former

Yugoslavia is case-in-point

Boundary Disputes

• Typically exist from following four:− Definition− Location− Operation− Allocation

Land Boundaries

• A boundary is a Vertical Plane

• Cuts through subsoil and airspace

• Becomes problem when referring to resources—coal, oil, natural gas

The Former USSR

• 100 ethnicities and two predominate religions

• Armenia- Christian, Azerbaijan- Muslim

• Soviets squelched religion

• Set up boundaries that would allow control

• Enclaves/exclaves created to keep religions together

• Soviet control crumbled leaving war and conflict

Types of Boundaries

• Lines of latitude and longitude

• Rivers, Mountains, deserts

• Geometric Boundary—straight line boundaries

• Physical-Political or Natural-Political−Natural characteristics of land provide border−Rio Grande, Great Lakes, Pyrenees

Cultural-Political Boundaries

• Boundaries that are created to keep certain ethnicities and/or nationalities together

• USSR in Armenia and Azerbaijan

• Yugoslavia-Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Albania