- The study of the organization and distribution of political phenomena in their areal expression.
- How and why states are organized into regional groupings, both formally (e.g. the European Union) and informally (e.g. the
- The relationship between states and former colonies, and how these are propagated over time through neo-colonialism
- The relationship between a government and its people
- The relationships between states including international trades and treaties
- The functions, demarcations and policing of boundaries
- How imagined geographies have political implications
- The influence of political power on geographical space
- The study of election results (election geography)
- State
- An independent political unit occupying a defined territory and having full sovereign control over its internal and foreign affairs.
- Does not include colonies or protectorates
- Doe not actually include Anocracies –
- Country
- Same as state
- Nation
- A community of people with a common culture and territory, bound together by a strong sense of unity arising from shared beliefs and customs.
- Nation-State
- European invention
- Where a nation corresponds to a state
- Bi-national or
- States which contain more than one nation
- Empires
- A single nation predominant in and dispersed across two or more states
- Greater
- Stateless Nation
- A people without a state
- Amerindian Tribes, the Kurds, Basques, Palestinians
- Societies where central authority is weak or nonexistent. Kinship bonds extended by personal allegiances to notable leaders are the principal relations. Likely to foster terrorism
- A middling category of states with incoherent or inconsistent authority patterns: partly liberal, partly authoritarian.
- Relatively vulnerable and volatile states that often lack effective institutions and/or the capacities to establish and maintain social order
- Slow development of nations out of Empires and Kingdoms
- Nation-States
- European Development
- People owe allegiance to the State instead of an individual
- A state is comprised of a nation
- Peace of
- Ended 30 Years’ War and the 80 Years’ War
- Treaty of Münster
- Treaty of Osnabrück
- Treaty of the
- Colonial States
- Generally Multinational States
- Borders drawn by Colonial Powers
- No concern given to extant nations already present
- Drawn to according to political and military realities in
- Africa and the Middle East (
- Colonial Legacies result in violence and economic uncertainty
- 14 European states divided African up without regard to native status
- Results of Superimposed Boundaries
- African peoples and cultures were divided
- Unified regions were broken apart
- Hostile societies forced together
- Minority Rule
- Hinterlands disrupted
- Migration routes closed
- Legacy of Political and Economic Fragmentation
- Transportation grid is organized to move resources from the interior to the coast
- Internal communication routes impeded
- Dual Economy
- States depend on just one or a very few crops or resources
- Vulnerable to world markets
- Antagonism between tribes within nations
- Globalization
- Transnational Corporations
- International and Supranational Institutions
- European Union
- World Trade Organization
- United Nations
- NAFTA
- Emergence of NGO’s
- Interests and actions cut across national boundaries
- International Migration
- Dilution of national identities
- Devolution
- Nationalist and separatist movements
- Size
- Mini-states – states with very small land areas and, generally, less than one million people
- Lichtenstein, Luxemburg, island states of the Pacific
- Shape
- Compact States
- Roughly circular states
- Prorupt States
- Compact but with one or more narrow extension of territory
- Elongated States
- Long and narrow states
- Diversity of climate and peoples
- Fragmented States
- States with territory separated from the rest, as on islands
- Issues of control and centralization
- Enclave
- Territory of one state is located within another state (form of fragmentation)
- Perforated State
- A state which surrounds an area which it does not rule
- Location
- Both Absolute and Relative
- Northern Latitudes or Tropical
- Landlocked States
- The original nucleus of the state, where the highest population density, largest cities, and most developed transportation networks exist
- State’s capital is located
- Unitary States
- States with highly centralized governments and strong national identities
- Most Western and
- Federal States
- Associations of more-or-less equal provinces with a strong central government
- Asymmetric Federalism (Regional)
- When a
- A capital positioned in actually or potentially contested territory
- To confirm a state’s determination to maintain its presence in the region of contention
- A “Growth Pole” Concept
- A city founded to encourage regional economic development of the hinterland
International Boundaries
- Lines that establish the limit of each state’s jurisdiction and authority
- Where the sovereignty of one state ends and another begins
- Surface rights
- Mineral rights
- Air space
- Territorial waters and international waters
- Ill-defined and fluctuating zones marking the edge of a state’s authority
- Modern state boundaries generally eliminate frontier zones
- Based on recognizable physiographic features
- Mountain chains
- Rivers
- Coastlines
- Most of the boundaries in
- A boundary without an obvious physical or geographic boundary
- Often a parallel of latitude or meridian of longitude
- Boundaries created by colonial powers in Africa and
- A boundary drawn before the landscape is populated and developed
- The western boundary between the
- 54-40 or fight…
- Drawn after the development of the populated cultural landscape
- Consequent (Ethnographic) Boundary
- Drawn to accommodate existing linguistic, ethnic, etc., differences
- Superimposed Boundary
- Forced upon existing cultural landscapes, a country, or a people by a conquering or colonizing power.
- Africa and the
- A former boundary line that no longer functions as such and is still marked by some landscape features on differences on the two sides
Landlocked States
- Depend upon neighboring states for access to trade routes
- Along the centerline or the edge of a body of water
- Along a watershed and ridge crest
- Meandering rivers which change channels
- Lakes
- Use of that water
- Irredentism
- When an ethnic group in one country is more closely related to that in another.
- Hungary-Romania-Transylvania or
- Stateless Peoples
- Attempt to carve out a homeland from within one or more nations
- Kurds, Basques
- Internal Secessionist Movements
- Immigration, Migration, and customs regulations
- Resources which cross a border
- Oil fields, water
- Over land to protect a perceived resource
Nationalism
- Personal identification with a state and acceptance of national goals
- Adherence to laws
- Acceptance of ideology
- Participate in the process
- Consensus Nationalism
- Nationalism overcoming various group identities
- Iconography
- The symbols which unite a people
- Flags, songs, sports, etc…
- Both to identify with and to shape that identification
- Schools and education
- Armed Forces
- Religion or churches
- Public confidence in the effectiveness of the state
- Protection from perceived enemies
- Care of its people
- Acceptance of the Rule of Law
- Ability to integrate far-flung pieces of the state
- Roads
- Railways
- Phone and mail systems
- Restrictions on international movement
- Higher costs
- Customs, Visas, and Border Checks
Religion
- Multiple Faiths within a nation
- Church as opposed to state authority
- Where people give their loyalty to ethnic or “national” groups that are smaller than the State.
- Identification with a small region as opposed to the State
- Regional Autonomy/Devolution
- The process whereby regions and peoples within a state demand and gain political strength and autonomy at the expense of the central government.
Factors behind the rise of Separatist Movements
- Ethnic Cleansing
- Government Oppression
- National Identity and Territory
- Peripheral Location
- Social and Economic Inequalities
Terrorism (Fourth Generation Warfare)
- Calculated violence to publicize a cause, intimidate or coerce a civilian population, or affect the conduct of a government.
- Purpose to Create Fear
- To achieve political or other goals without winning a military victory
- Generally focus on “soft” or civilian targets
- Symbolic targets
- A weapon or a type of warfare or directed violence
- Confusion over who is a terrorist
- International Terrorism
- Acts which transcend state boundaries
- Domestic Terrorism
- Acts against their own country
- State Terrorism
- Acts committed by agents of a government
- As old as states –
- Subnational Terrorism
- Domestic Terrorism conducted by sub-national groups
- Addressing the causes of the terrorist
- Increasing international cooperation
- Increasing domestic security
- Military response
- Associations of three or more states created for mutual benefit where the states relinquish some national authority to the supranational organization.
- United Nations
- NAFTA
- European Union
- Only universal supranational organization
- Almost 200 members
- Main focus is to promote world peace
- Peacekeeping Forces
- Member nations do not surrender sovereignty
- Provide security for a nation
- Control of trade and commerce
- Customs Regulations
- Enforce quarantines
- Enforce claims of neutrality
- 12 nautical miles
- Exclusive sovereignty
- Exclusive fishing rights
- Contiguous Zone
- 24 nautical miles
- Limited sovereignty
- Enforce customs, immigration, and sanitation laws
- Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
- 200 nautical miles (350 within a continental shelf)
- Exclusive rights to explore, exploit, conserve, and manage resources on the seabed and waters
- High Seas
- Beyond the EEZ
- Outside any national jurisdiction (Freedom of the High Seas)
- Right to access, use, and explore to all
- Resources are considered part of the Common Heritage of Humanity
- Smaller groupings of states for economic, military, or political cooperation
- Formation of one coalition often stimulates formation of others
- Usually formed from contiguous states
- Internal Economies do not generally matter
- European Union
- Organization for European Cooperation (1948)
- European Coal and Steel Community (1952)
- Inner Six
- European Free Trade Association (EFTA) (1960)
- Outer Seven
- Largest and richest of the world’s economic blocs
- Single Currency
- North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) 1994
- Removing trade and movement restrictions between the states
- Common Market of the Southern Cone (MERCOSUR)
- Associate members
- Free trade agreement
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam
- ASEAN + Three
- East Asia
- Plus
- 21 members
- Free trade in the Pacific by 2020
- Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
- Control of oil production and distribution
- Price controls
- 11 member nations
- Control around 66% of the world’s oil reserves
- Strength through unity
- Depend upon common interests and perceptions
- Depend upon political goodwill among the members
- North America and
- Formed to protect Europe from the
- Uncertain new mission
- Focused on peacekeeping
- Based on a variety of different factors and concerns
- Common objectives
- Common history
- Tend to be more loose than other alliances
- Less loss of sovereignty than with other supranational organizations
- Formerly the
- 53 member states – all former British Colonies
- Based on cultural commonalities
- Focus on economic cooperation
- Human rights and democracy
- Organization of American States
- 35 states of the
- Earliest incarnations in the late 1800’s
- Fully functional after 1948
- Primarily focused on human rights and democracy
- Failed Political Alliances
- Federation of
- Federation of
- Federation of the
- Have most effect upon individuals
- Operate within well defined geographical areas
- Make behavior-governing decisions
- Redistricting/Reapportionment
- Redrawing of boundary lines to reflect the most up-to-date population shifts
- U.S. Census is most authoritative
- Every 10 years
- Basis for national congressional offices
- Basis for many state and local offices
- Most rely on state legislatures for redistricting
- Gerrymandering
- Drawing electoral districts so as to favor one political party over another
- Tullymandering – Irish, generally refers to a failed attempt to gerrymander
- Electoral Geography
- Study of voting districts and the spatial patterns of election results
- Political Fragmentation
- Due to size of State and decentralized power
- Reduction in efficiency
- Duplication of effort
- Competing and Conflicting ordinances and rules
- Conflict between local and regional needs and interests
- Pollution
- Voting
- Health Care
- Zoning
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