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Political geography online

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Political Geography-the study of political activity in a spatial context. • Over 200 countries and territories in the world • Greatly Diverse – inequality of size, relative location, population, resources and potential – landlocked or have little coastline – surrounded by hostile nations
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Page 1: Political geography   online

• Political Geography-the study of political activity in a spatial context.

• Over 200 countries and territories in the world

• Greatly Diverse– inequality of size, relative location, population,

resources and potential– landlocked or have little coastline– surrounded by hostile nations

Page 2: Political geography   online

Rise in New States

• Over last 30 empires have collapsed– has added to

the number of independent states.

– Many newly independent nations have problems

Page 3: Political geography   online

Political CulturePolitical Culture• Some state systems separate church & state

while others are theocracies-governments led by religious leaders.

• Land ownership– communal ownership va individual ownership.

(Africa-imperialism, Indians of N. America).

• Challenges to political territory provides a strong motivation for warfare.

Page 4: Political geography   online

Theory of human territoriality

Page 5: Political geography   online

Assignment

• Find and example of Human Territoriality in action.

• Take a Photo

• Print the photo or send it to Ms Anderson in an e-mail along with a description of WHY this is human territoriality.

Page 6: Political geography   online

StateStateState – a politically organized territory with a permanent

population, a defined territory, and a government. To be a state, an entity must be recognized as such by other states.

How many states do you see?

Page 7: Political geography   online

The StateThe State• A state provides services for

its citizens.• It demands taxes• It demands adherence to the

laws.• It demands military service• Periods of adversity can

increase a sense of nationalism-but can backfire

• A state is possible only if a national attitude or emotional attachment to the state develops.

Page 8: Political geography   online

Geographic Characteristics of StatesGeographic Characteristics of States• States vary greatly in Size-some huge like Russia 6.6 m.

sq. miles, others large with 3 m. sq. miles like US, China, Brazil, Canada-some are microstates-Vatican, Monaco, Andorra, Grenada.

• Shape-some are compact while other are elongated or fragmented.

• Demography-some have huge populations like China’s 1.3 billion or tiny like Iceland with 250,000.

• Organization-monarchy, democratic, dictatorship, theocratic.

• Resources-natural and skilled population• Development-subsistence to tertiary• Power-both economic and military

Page 9: Political geography   online

NationsNations• Nation – a culturally

defined group of people with a shared past and a common future who relate to a territory and have political goals.

• People construct nations to make sense of themselves.

• Nations are “imagined communities”

Page 10: Political geography   online

Stateless NationsStateless Nations• Sovereignty-complete control

over a territory’s political & military affairs. Some nations do not have their own state-this can lead to conflict.

• Palestinians are the most well known example-a stateless nation in conflict with Israel over territory.

• Kurds-about 20 million people live in Kurdistan-which covers 6 states-since the 1991 Iraq War-Kurdish Security Zone has been virtually independent.

Page 11: Political geography   online

Defining the Nation-StateDefining the Nation-State

• A Nation should have– A single language– A common history– A similar ethnic

background– Unity from a common

political system.

• Cultural homogeneity not as important as “national spirit” or emotional commitment to the state.

• A Nation-State has:– Clearly delineated

territory– Substantial population– Well-organized

government– Shared political and

cultural history– Emotional ties to

institutions or political systems or an ideology.

Page 12: Political geography   online

Nation State Examples

Ethnic groups make up more than 95% of the population:

• Albania

• Bangladesh

• Egypt

• Estonia11]

• Hungary

• Iceland

• Japan

• Lebanon

• Lesotho.• Maldives• Malta• Mongolia• North Korea• Poland • Portugal • San Marino• Swaziland

Page 13: Political geography   online

Ethnicity, Geography, Politics and Tension…

• Case study of how Rwanda was impacted by these forces.

Page 14: Political geography   online

European Colonialism & the European Colonialism & the Diffusion of the Nation-State ModelDiffusion of the Nation-State Model

• Colonialism -a physical action in which one state takes over control of another, taking over the government and ruling the territory as its own.

Two Waves of European Colonialism:

1500 - 1825

1825 - 1975

Page 15: Political geography   online

Colonialism

“We must find new lands from which we can easily obtain raw materials and at the same time exploit the cheap slave labor that is available form the natives of the colonies. The colonies would also provide a dumping ground for the surplus goods produced in our factories.”– Cecil Rhodes, British colonialist, southern Africa

Page 16: Political geography   online

Take the case of Africa…

Page 17: Political geography   online

Devolution –Devolution –Movement of power from the central government to regional governments within the state.

What causes devolutionary movements?

Ethnocultural forcesEconomic forcesSpatial forces

Page 18: Political geography   online

The Forces of Devolution-Cultural ForcesThe Forces of Devolution-Cultural Forces• Yugoslavia

– Civil War in the 1990s

– Thrown together after WW I • 7 major, 17 minor ethnic groups, 3 religions & 2 alphabets

• North-Croats & Slovenes-Catholic

• South-Serbs are Orthodox, Muslim enclaves

• Rwanda– Belgian Colonialism

– Historic ethnic tension between tribes• Hutu & Tutsi – capitalized on by Belgian colonialists

– Post-Colonial Devolution• Power sharing in government fails

Page 19: Political geography   online

• Quebec and Parti Quebecois in Canada

• Sudan-Muslim north & Christian south

• Sri Lanka-Tamils, a Hindu minority fight for independence from the Sinhalese a Buddhist majority

The Forces of Devolution-Cultural ForcesThe Forces of Devolution-Cultural Forces

Page 20: Political geography   online

Genocide Genocide • Genos, greek for tribe or

family, -cide from Latin to kill.

• Last 100 years over 50 million people were murdered due to race, ethnicity, religion or political persuasion.– Mao Zedong-30 m.

Chinese

– Stalin-20 m. Soviets

– Nazis-11.4 m. Jews, Slavs, etc.

– Japan 10 m. Chinese, etc.


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