Unit IV: Political Organization of Space

Political Geography

• The study of the organization and distribution of political phenomena

Territory

• The effort to control territory is a central motivate of humans

• The territory of the world is almost completely divided into national units– Antarctica debated

Territoriality

• Territoriality is a key component of modern political culture

• Territorial Integrity –a government has the right to keep the borders and territory of a state in tact and free from attack.

State

1.an independent political unit occupying a defined territory

2. permanently populated territory

3. full sovereignty (independence to control internal affairs)

4. must be recognized by other states

World States

• 195 states (only 50 in the 1940s)

• 192 recognized by the United Nations

• Over 250 different nations

Issues defining states

• Political differences can cause some territories to not be recognized as independent.Examples:– Korea (2 states)– China and Taiwan-2 states?– Western Sahara

(currently part of Morocco)

Nation

• A group of people with a common culture occupying a particular territory, bound together by a strong sense of unity arising from shared beliefs and customs • Nations are “imagined communities” -Benedict

Anderson -imagined = you will never meet all the people in your nation

-community = you see yourself as part of it

The nations we perceive as “natural” and “always existing” are relatively recent phenomena.

In 1648, Europe was divided into dozens of small territories.

The Nation-State

• A state whose territorial extent coincides with that occupied by a distinct nation or people

• An entity whose members feel a natural connection by sharing language, religion, or some other cultural trait

• Iceland, Portugal, Poland, Japan

Stateless Nation

• Nations that do not possess a national territory even with a larger multinational state– Palestine, Kurds

Multinational State

The Former Yugoslavia

•A state with more than one nation.

Multistate Nation

Transylvania – homeland for both Romanians and Hungarians.

•A nation with more than one state

• Largest Size– Russia 17.1 million square kilometers

– Others: China,

Canada,

United States,

and Australia

Spatial Characteristics of States

Spatial Characteristics of States

• Smallest Size– City-state: sovereign state

compromised entirely of a city and it’s countryside• Singapore, Monaco, San Marino

– Microstates: very small land areas• Smallest: Monaco

-1.5 square kilometers• Singapore, Andorra, and Bahrain

Spatial Characteristics of States

• 5 basic shapes– Compact

– Prorupt

– Elongated

– Fragmented

– Perforated

Shape – Compact

Compact

• Most efficient form is a circle with a capital in the center

• Compact size

• Uruguay, Zimbabwe, Poland

A

C

B

E

D

Shape - Prorupt

• Nearly compact but posses one or more narrow extensions of territory

• Proruptions can be natural or artificial

• An isolate a portion of a state

A

C

B

E

D

Shape - Elongated

• Long and Narrow

• Distance from the capital is greater

• A large amount of diversity of climate, resources, and people

• National cohesion difficult

• Norway, Vietnam, Chile

A

C

B

E

D

Shape - Fragmented

• Countries composed entirely of islands (Philippines, Indonesia)

• Partly on Islands (Malaysia)

• Mainland – but separated

• Weakness centralized control

A

C

B

E

D

Shape - Perforated

• State that completely surrounds another one

• Example: South Africa– Surrounds Lesotho

– Completely dependent on South Africa for imports and exports

A

C

B

E

D

Relative Location

• Size and shape are affected by a state’s absolute and relative location

• Canada & Russia are large, yet their absolute northern location reduces the agricultural productivity of the land

• Iceland has a compact shape but its location near the artic makes much of its land barren

Relative Location

• Landlocked countries are at a major developmental disadvantage – Many in Africa due to remnants of colonialism– Must arrange to use another country’s sea port

• Coast lines can be a major advantage

-Singapore (224 sq miles) is located at a crossroads of shipping and trade

The Modern State Idea

• The idea of a state that is tied to a particular territory with defined boundaries came out of Europe and diffused outward from there.– A change from society defining territory to

territory defining society.– Modern States evolved in the late 1600s.

Rise of the Modern State

1. The European modela) The Norman invasion of 1066 produced a whole new political

orderb) On the European continent, the strength of some rulers produced

national cohesiveness in more stable domainsc) Economic revival and so called Dark Ages were overd) Treaties signed at the end of the Thirty Years' War contained

fundamentals of statehood and nationhood - Peace at Westphalia

e) Western Europe’s strong monarchies began to represent something more than authority

Rise of the Modern State

Mercantilisma) promotion of commercialism and trade with other statesb) City-based merchants, not the nobility, gained wealthc) As money and influence were concentrated in the cities, land as a measure of affluence began to lose its relevance

European Colonialism and the Modern State

• Colonialism– a physical action in which one state takes over control

of another, taking over the government and ruling the territory as its own.

• Why?– Organized political states forming– Wealth from mercantilism to expand– Gained more wealth, territory, and power

through colonialism

Diffusion of the Nation-State Model

• European Colonization influenced– State model

• the European model became the international model

– Economic structure• colonies and colonizers became

interdependent in a capitalist world economy

Two Waves of European Colonialism:1500 - 1825 1825 - 1975

Dominant Colonial Influences, 1550-1950

This map shows the dominant influence, as some places were colonized by more than one power in this time period.

What happened to state size?

Two Waves of DecolonizationFirst wave – focused on decolonization of the Americas

Second wave – focused on decolonization of Africa and Asia

Construction of the World Economy

Capitalism – people, corporations, and states produce goods and services and exchange them in the world market, with the goal of achieving profit.

Commodification – the process of placing a price on a good and then buying, selling, and trading the good.

Colonialism – brought the world into the world economy, setting up an interdependent global economy.

The Capitalist World-Economy

The World-Economy

is more than the sum of its parts. It is composed of “dots” but we must also understand the “whole.”

Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges Pierre Seurat

Immanuel Wallerstein’s World-Systems Theory:

1. The world economy has one market and a global division of labor.

2. Although the world has multiple states, almost everything takes place within the context of the world economy.

3. The world economy has a three-tier structure.

Three Tier StructureCore Processes that incorporate higher

levels of education, higher salaries, and more technology

* Generate more wealth in the world economy

Semi-periphery Places where core and periphery

processes are both occurring. Places that are exploited by the core but then exploit the periphery.

* Serves as a buffer between core and periphery

Periphery Processes that incorporate lower levels

of education, lower salaries, and less technology

* Generate less wealth in the world economy

Core

• Most states have assumed their current shape following centuries of growth

• Examples: North America, Western Europe, Japan, Australia

Periphery

• The benefits of the core area thin the farther you move outward

• Any resource benefits of the periphery are typically shipped backed to the core

• Examples: Africa (except South Africa), SE Asia, Western South America

Semi-Periphery

• Exploited by the core, and exploit the periphery

• Examples: Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Eastern Europe, China, India

Boundaries

• Vertical lines that establish the limit of each state’s jurisdiction and authority • Claims and boundaries are 3 dimensional

– Subsoil Resource disputes– Airspace extends into airline traffic (satellites next?)

The Evolution of Boundaries

• Definition: the official establishment or documentation of a boundary– Treaty– Legal document – Example: 2000 Macedonia-Serbia and

Montenegro delimitation agreement

The Evolution of Boundaries

Delimitation: placing of the boundary on a map

The Evolution of Boundaries

Demarcation: marking of the boundary by some method on the ground

Boundary Types

• Natural (physical): based on recognizable physiographic features– Mountains, rivers, and lakes

– Can cause disputes

Boundary Types• Law of the Sea

– Territory • 12 Nautical miles

– Contiguous Zone• 12 Nautical miles

– Exclusive Economic Zone• 200 Nautical Miles

Boundary Types

• Geometric (Artificial): follows parallels of latitude and meridians of longitude – 49th parallel United States & Canada

– Africa, Asia, Americas

Boundary Types

• Cultural: separate groups by a common cultural trait – India and Pakistan

Boundary Origins

• Antecedent: border drawn before it was well populated – United States & Canada

• Subsequent: border drawn after the development of the cultural landscape – 2 types:

• Consequent• Superimposed

Boundary Origins

• Consequent (ethnographic): border drawn to accommodate existing religious, linguistic, or ethnic differences

– N. Ireland and Ireland

Boundary Origins

• Subsequent Superimposed Boundaries: forced on an existing cultural landscape, country, or people by a conquering colonial power – Unconcerned about preexisting cultural

patterns

– Great Britain = India/Pakistan

Boundary Origins

• Relict/relic Boundary: former boundary that no longer functions– Differences on each side of the border are

still evident

Boundary Origins

Definitional/Positional Boundary Disputes

• Focus on the legal language of the boundary agreement

• A boundary agreement may base a boundary on a landmark that has moved or no longer

visible • Argentina and Chile

Locational Boundary Disputes

• The delimitation and possible demarcation of the border is in dispute

Operational/Functional Disputes

• Neighboring states disagree over policies to be applied along a boundary

• Immigration

Allocation/Resource Disputes

• Neighboring states can argue about the distribution of resources

• United States v. Mexico

• Iraq v. Kuwait

Territorial Disputes

• A subsequent boundary divides and ethnically homogenous group

• Irredentism- advocating annexation of territories administered by another state on the grounds of common ethnicity or prior historical possession

• Germany, Somalia, Kashmir

Capitals

• Typically are centrally located to allow for equal access

• Many capitals have become distant to many areas due to growth: Washington D.C.

• Some capitals have been relocated to make the more accessible

Capitals

• Usually located in the core area and frequently the focus of it

• Capital cities are also frequently the largest or the Primate City

• Primate City: dominates the economic structure of the entire country

Forward-Thrust capital City

• Deliberately sited in a state’s interior

• Brazil relocated its capital from Rio de Janeiro to a new city called Brasilia

• Nigeria – Abula

• Kazakhstan – Astana

Brasilia

Brasilia

Brasilia

Nigeria - Abuja

Nigeria - Abuja

Kazakhstan – Astana

Kazakhstan – Astana

Geopolitics

• Considers the strategic value of land and sea area in the context of national economic and military power and ambitions– power relationships: past, present, and future

• Manifest Destiny, Monroe Doctrine, “Greater East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere”

Geopolitics – German School

Ratzel’s Organic Theorya) Held that a nation which is an aggregate

of organisms would itself function and behave as an organism

b) Nourishment of organism provided by acquisition of territories and people

c) Territory is essential to life.d) Nazi expansion policies based on some of

Ratzel’s ideas.

Sir Halford Mackinder Heartland Theorya)Believed a land-based power, not a sea power,

would ultimately rule the world

b)Pivot area extended from Eastern Europe to eastern Siberia

Geopolitics – British/American School

Mackinder – Heartland Theory

• The Heartland is impenetrable

• Resource rich

• Provided a base for world conquest

Mackinder – Heartland Theory

– “Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland”

– “Who rules the Heartland commands the World Island”

– “Who rules the World Island commands the World”

Geopolitics

Nicholas Spykman - Rimland Theory

• Critic of Mackinder

• Argued that the Eurasian rim, not its heart, held the key to global power

Spykman-Rimland

• Fragmented zone

• Divided rimland key to balance of world power

• Dense population, abundant resources, controlling access to both the sea and the interior

• “Who controls the Rimland controls Eurasia”

• “Who rules Eurasia controls the destiny of the world”

Spykman-Rimland

Recent Geopolitical Developments Bipolar World

• Post WWII – Heartland = U.S.S.R

NATO

CENTO

SEATO

• U.S. practiced Containment• Confining the U.S.S.R by means of

alliances with Rimland • Military intervention• Domino Theory

Geopolitics Today

• Current world events have rendered older geopolitical ideas obsolete

• End of the Cold War, Nuclear Technology, and Japan, China, W. Europe becoming world powers

• Unilateralism – United Sates dominance

• Will this last???

Current Geopolitics

2 Main Forms of Competition1. Economic rivalry: core countries

versus peripheral states 2. Conflicts between “Civilizations”

• Western, Confucian, Japanese, Islamic, Hindu, Slavic, Latin America, African

• Differences are antagonistic • Enduring differences in history, language,

culture, and religion

How do States Spatially Organize their Governments?

Key Question:

Internal Structure

1.The needs of a well-functioning state

a) Clearly bounded territory served by an adequate infrastructure

b) Effective administrative framework, a productive core area, and a prominent capital

2.All states confront divisive forces

Forms of Government

• Unitary – highly centralized government where the capital city serves as a focus of power.

• Federal – a government where the state is organized into territories, which have control over government policies and funds.

Unitary and Federal Systems

1.Early European nation-states were unitary states:

a)Governments were highly centralized and powerful

b)Capital cities represented authority that stretched to the limits of the state

Unitary and Federal Systems

2. The federal state arose in the New World

a) Newness of the culture, and emergence of regionalism due to the vast size of territories

b) Conditions did not lend themselves to unitary systems of government

c) Absence of an old primate city

d) Lack of a clear core area and the vastness of national territory

Nigeria’s Federal Government – Allows states within the state to determine whether to have Shari’a Laws

Shari’a Laws

Legal systems based on traditional Islamic laws

Minnesota’s concealed weapons law requires the posting of signs such as this on buildings that do not allow concealed weapons.

The U.S. Federal Government – Allows states within the state to determine “moral” laws such as death penalty, access to alcohol, and concealed weapons.

Forces of Fragmentation and Cohesion:

Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces

Centripetal Forces

• Promoting State Cohesion

• Nationalism

• Unifying Institutions

• Organization and Administration

• Transportation and Communication

• Supranationalism

Centrifugal Forces

• Challenges to State Authority

• Nationalism

• Devolution, Regionalism

• Peripheral Location

• Social and Economic Inequality

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

What causes devolutionary movements?

Ethnocultural forcesEconomic forcesSpatial forces

Ethnocultural Devolutionary Movements

Eastern Europedevolutionary forces since the fall of communism

Economic Devolutionary

Movements

Catalonia, SpainBarcelona is the center of banking and commerce in Spain and the region is much wealthier than the rest of Spain.

Spatial Devolutionary

Movements

Honolulu, Hawai’iA history apart from the United States, and a desire to live apart in order to keep traditions alive.

Electoral Geography

1.Electoral geographers

a) Study spatial configuration of electoral districts

b) Voting patterns

c) Influence of voting patterns on social and political affairs

Electoral Geography

Gerrymandering - redrawing of voting districts in such a way as to give one political party maximum political advantage

• Creating of majority-minority districts

Gerrymandering

• Stacked: drawing circuitous boundaries to enclose pockets of strength or weakness

• Excess vote: concentrates the votes of the opposition in a few districts which they can win easily, but leaves them few potential seats elsewhere

• Wasted vote: diffuses opposition’s vote

Supranational Organizations

A separate entity composed of three or more states that forge an association and form an administrative structure for mutual benefit in pursuit of shared goals.

* How many supranational organizations

exist in the world today?At least 60

United Nations

• Background: League of Nations – 1919, idea of Woodrow Wilson but…

• Basics: – Cooperate with internationally approved

standards– 191 members– Aid: refugees, poverty, troops, human rights

Global Scale – The United Nations

Regional Scale - Europe

• Benelux: Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemberg• Marshall Plan: US aid to Western European Courntries• Organization of European Economic Cooperation (OEEC)

to

European Economic Community (EEC)

to

European Community (EC)

to

European Union (EU)

Regional Scale - Europe

• European Union: domestic, military, and certain sovereign policies that govern all members – 12 European Community (EC) members

established the EU – 1992– Euro introduced in 2002– Problems facing the EU?

• Subsidies, Germany, Turkey

Germany, France, UK, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Denmark and Ireland

Regional Scale – The European Union

Supranationalism Elsewhere…

• NAFTA, ACS, APEC, CIS…

• Treaties to reduce tariffs and facilitate trade

• None like the European Union