CHAPTER 8: POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY

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CHAPTER 8 POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY
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Key Ideas What is a State?

• - A state is an area organized into a political
  unit and ruled by an established government that
  has control over its internal and foreign affairs.

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Other Characteristics of a State

• 1. A state has a defined territory on earths
• surface.
• 2. A state has a permanent population.
• 3. A state has sovereignty, which means
• independence from control of its internal
• affairs by other states.

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Characteristics of a State

• 4. An entire area of a state is managed by a
• national government with laws, leaders,
• military apparatus, and an internal currency
• system.
• 5. A state is a good example of a uniform or
• formal region.
• 6. A state is synonymous with the term
• country.

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Problems of Defining States

• - In 2003 there where 191 states according to
  the United Nations.
• - However, there is some dispute over the actual
  number of sovereign states in the world today.
• - Why? Because some places test the definition
  of what constitutes a state.

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Problems of Defining States

• - Among places that test the definition of what
  constitutes a state are
• 1. Korea
• 2. China
• 3. Western Sahara ( Sahrawi Republic )

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Korea One State or Two?

• - The Korean Peninsula is divided into two
  countries along the 38th parallel.
• - The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (
  North Korea ) and The Republic of Korea ( South
  Korea )
• - Both countries are committed to uniting the
  country into one sovereign state.

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The Problem With Korea

• - The North is ideologically very different from
  the South. North Korea is authoritarian socialist
  while South Korea is a republic based upon
  democratic principles.

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China and Taiwan One State or Two?

• - According to Chinas government officials,
  Taiwan is not a separate sovereign state but is a
  part of China.
• - Until 1999 the government of Taiwan agreed.

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China and Taiwan

• - This confusing situation arose as a result of
  a civil war between the Nationalist and the
  Communist in China.
• - After losing, the Nationalist fled to the
  island of Taiwan. The Nationalist proclaimed that
  they were still the legitimate rulers of all
  mainland China.

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China and Taiwan

• - The Mainland Chinese refuse to recognize
  Taiwans claims.
• - In 1999 Taiwans president stated that in
  addition to its claims on mainland China, it
  would regard itself as an independent sovereign
  state.
• - This heightened tensions between The Mainland
  and Taiwan.

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China and Taiwan

• - Most other governments consider mainland China
  ( the Peoples Republic of China ) and the island
  of Taiwan ( the Republic of China ) as two
  separate and sovereign states.

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Western Sahara ( Sahrawi Republic )

• - The Sahrawri Arab Democratic Republic, also
  known as the Western Sahara, is considered to be
  an independent sovereign state by most African
  countries.
• - The western Sahara lies on the west coast of
  Africa between Morocco and Mauritania.

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Western Sahara ( Sahrawi Republic )

• - At one time, both Morocco and Mauritania laid
  claims to the area.
• - Mauritania has withdrawn its claims but
  Morocco has not.
• - Morocco has built a 3000 mile wall around the
  territory to keep rebels ( Polisario Front ) out.

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Western Sahara ( Sahrawi Republic )

• - Cease fire signed in 1991, but sporadic
  fighting continues.

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• Human Territoriality a countrys (or more local
  communitys) sense of property and attachment
  toward its territory, expressed by its
  determination to keep it inviolable and defended
• State politically organized territory,
  administered by a govt, recognized by the
  international community. Must contain 1) a
  permanent pop., 2) an organized economy, 3) a
  functioning internal circulation system (state
  country State internal division)
• Nation tightly knit group of people who feel a
  belonging to a cultural community, share a common
  history (stateless nations no national
  territory Kurds, Palestinians)

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• Evolution of the Nation-State
• Treaty of Westphalia (1648) sets legal
  precedent for national sovereignty
• Doctrine of nationalism, creates supreme loyalty
• Colonialism rose from an instable core (Europe)
  countries
• sought out colonies to support the mother country

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• Territorial Morphology
• Size not always an advantage
• U.S. yes (resources, relative location)
• former USSR no (vast size, many cultures
  languages)
• MicrostatesLiechtenstein, Andorra, San Marino
• Relative location - situation
• Resources exceptions Congo (resource-rich but
  unable to use for own benefit) Switzerland
  Japan (few resources, but in economic cores)
• Global Activity Singapore is b/w busy shipping
  routes Myanmar Sierra Leone, for example, are
  not

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• Shape
• Compact distance from geometric center is
  similar
• Elongated a.k.a. attenuated
• Fragmented two or more separate pieces

• Perforated territory completely surrounds that
  of another state
• Protruded a.k.a. prorupt have a protruded area
  that extends from a more compact core

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• Evolution of Boundaries
• Boundary a vertical plane that cuts through the
  subsoil airspace (even outer space)
• Definition legal document or treaty drawn up to
  specify actual points in the landscape
• Delimitation cartographers put the boundary on
  the map
• Demarcation boundary is actually marked on the
  ground w/ wall, fence, posts,
• Types of Boundaries
• Geometric straight-line, unrelated to physical
  or cultural landscape, lat long (US/Canada)
• Physical-political (natural-political) conform
  to physiologic features (Rio Grande US/Mexico
  Pyrenees Spain/France)
• Cultural-political mark breaks in the human
  landscape (Armenia/Azerbaijan)

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• Origin-Based Classification
• a.k.a. genetic boundary types
• Antecedent existed before the cultural
  landscape emerged
• Subsequent developed contemporaneously with the
  evolution of the cultural landscape
• Superimposed placed by powerful outsiders on a
  developed landscape, usually ignores pre-existing
  cultural-spatial patterns
• Relict has ceased to function, but its imprint
  can still be detected on the cultural landscape
• Frontier zone of separation, a territorial
  cushion that keeps rivals apart

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• Boundary Disputes
• Definitional focus on legal language (e.g.
  median line of a river water levels may vary)
• Locational definition is not in dispute, the
  interpretation is allows mapmakers to delimit
  boundaries in various ways
• Operational neighbors differ over the way the
  boundary should function (migration, smuggling)
• Allocational disputes over rights to natural
  resources (gas, oil, water)

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Major area of dispute w/ Iraq in 1990s
Relative Location of Kuwait
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Iron Curtain
NATO
Above the State Boundaries
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State Organization andNational Power
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Colonialism has changed the global order of
politics often creating unequal cultural and
economic relations
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• Core-Periphery Model
• World Systems Analysis (Immanuel Wallerstein)
  view the world as an interlocked system of states
  
• Core economically dominant states
• Periphery developing states have little
  autonomy or influence
• Semi-periphery middle keeps the world from
  being polarized into two extremes
• The world must be seen as a system of
  interlinking parts ties political and economic
  geography together

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• OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
  Development, 2001

Country GDP (billions)
United States 10,082
Japan 4,141
Germany 1,846
United Kingdom 1,424
France 1,310
China 1,159
Italy 1,089
Canada 694
Mexico 618
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• Geopolitics Friedrich Ratzel (Ger)
• State resembles a biological organism birth,
  maturity, decline, death
• Nourishment through acquisition of less powerful
  territories space is essential
• Organic Theory (stated above) led to
  expansionist Nazi policies of 1930s
• Heartland Theory Halford Mackinder (Br)
• Heart of Eurasia resource-rich, land-based
  pivot area, E. Eur is key to World Island
• Rimland Theory Nicholas Spykman (US)
• Eurasian rim, not heart key to global power

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Mackinders Heartland Theory Spykmans Rimland
Theory
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• Core areas center, heart relates to scale
• State national heartland largest pop., most
  productive region, greatest centrality, may
  contain the capital (multicore Nigeria, US)
• Region several economically strong states
• Capital city pol. nerve center, seat of govt,
  center of nat. life, nat. headquarters
• Forward capital capital city moved for a nat.
  objective culture, disputed territory,
• Primate city states largest city most
  expressive of culture, may be capital Mexico
  City, Paris, Jakarta, (many countries dont
  have e.g. US)

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• Unitary state nation-state w/ highly
  centralized govt, central authority exerts power
  equally over its territory (UK, Fr)
• Federal state central govt represents various
  entities w/in a nation-state, allows entities to
  retain some power (most geographically
  expressive)
• Electoral geography US 435 seats in House.

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• Centripetal Forces promote unity
• Charismatic leaders, external threats ( Iraq)
• Nationalism religion, education, national
  ideology,
• Centrifugal Forces divisive forces
• Internal religious, linguistic, ethnic, or
  ideological differences
• Tribalism people identify more w/ their local
  affiliation than with their country

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• Supranationalism
• Venture involving three or more states for pol.
  (UN), econ. (EU), mil. (NATO) and/or cultural
  (African Union) objectives
• Benelux first multinational union no tariffs,
  quotas, licenses joined EEC later