POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY WHAT IS POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY? Political Geographers use the spatial perspective to study political systems 2 Perspectives 1st Focuses on the impacts of economic, cultural, and physical geography on political systems Essentially, how the environment/cultural landscape affects politics Ex. Theocracies in the Middle East 2nd views political systems as the driving force behind different country’s economic and cultural systems Essentially how politics affect the environment/cultural landscapes Ex. The Kashmir Region between India and Pakistan Muslims in India/Hindus in Pakistan FOCUS OF POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY Local politics, National politics & International Politics The fundamental units of political geography are countries, which are formally known as STATES The U.S is one of the few countries to call its smaller regions ‘states’ most others call them provinces, counties or some other variation WHAT IS A STATE? An area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government Things states need to be considered states 1. Control over its internal and foreign affairs 2. A defined territory on the earth’s surface 3. A permanent population 4. Recognition by other states The states we perceive as “natural” and “always existing” are relatively recent phenomena. In 1648, Europe was divided into dozens of small territories. BELL WORK What is the difference between a nation and a state? Where did these ideas first originate? What is nationalism? In your opinion, is it a good thing or a bad thing? NATION-STATE Earliest rulers ruled over a group of followers-not fixed territories. Medieval concept of the Nation- State began with the Roman Catholic Church-that created “dominium” rule over a defined territory. Merovingian Kings 5 th -8th cent. Called themselves “Kings of the Franks”, later Capetian Dynasty 10 th - 14 th cent. Called themselves “Kings of France”. Rise of the modern nation-state saw the development of distinctive territory. RISE OF THE MODERN STATE European Model of the state diffused from Ancient Greece & Rome. Middle Ages- fragmentation, on mainland, Dynastic rule & strong leaders led to greater national cohesion, Norman invasion ended the fragmentation of England. Muslim invasion repelled. New technology-horseshoe, stirrup, horse collar, wheel barrow & wind mill introduced. RISE OF THE MODERN STATE Renaissance-political nationalism & economic nationalism in the form of mercantilism developed- concept of diplomacy developed in Italy . Mercantilism-states should acquire wealth through-colonization, plunder, protection of home industries & markets, a favorable balance of trade. RISE OF THE MODERN STATE Reformation-brought a religious split Roman Catholic versus Protestant- led to a series of wars. Monarchies benefited from the Church’s loss of political power. Age of Absolutism- emerged with Louis XIV of France as a prime example. Monarchies became the focal point of national awareness-ended regionalism and aristocratic local control RISE OF THE MODERN STATE Powerful dynasties- Habsburgs, Bourbons, Tudors & Stuarts struggled for power. Thirty Years’ War began as a religious struggle-but ended as state & dynastic struggle for control of Europe. Peace of Westphalia 1648 ended the war- created defined boundaries & guarantees of security-Modern Europe emerged. TAKE OUT THE ANDERSON ARTICLE What different things did he argue gave rise to nationalism? How does relate to the formation of modern states? NATIONS 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” -Benedict Anderson • imagined = you will never meet all the people in your nation • community = you see yourself as part of it STATE AND NATION State from the Latin word “status” or “standing”-a political entity-used interchangeably with country. Nation-an ethnic or cultural group with similar language, religion, customs and territory-historic connection. Berlin was a divided city between 2 states-West Germany and East Germany- but it was a nation split by divisions of the Cold War DEFINING THE NATION-STATE A Nation should have A Nation-State has: • A single language • Clearly delineated • A common history territory • A similar ethnic background • Substantial population • Unity from a common • Well-organized political system. government Cultural homogeneity • Shared political and not as important as cultural history “national spirit” or emotional • Emotional ties to commitment to the institutions or political state. – Switzerland* systems or an ideology. EUROPE AN BOUNDA RY CHANGE S Fig. 8-13: Twentieth-century boundary changes in Europe, 1914 to 2003. Germany’s boundaries changed after each world war and the collapse of the Soviet Union. WHAT DO ALL OF THESE COUNTRIES HAVE IN COMMON? GEOGRAPHIC 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 STATELESS 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. Territoriality – “the attempt by an individual or group to affect, influence, or control people, phenomena, and relationships, by delimiting and asserting control over a geographic area.” – Robert Sack Sovereignty – having the last say over a territory – legally. Territorial Integrity – a government has the right to keep the borders and territory of a state in tact and free from attack. TERRITORY Territorial Morphology- shape, size & relative location of a state. Compact-distance from the geographic center does not vary greatly. Fragmented-consisting of 2 or more separate pieces divided by water or other territory. Elongated-long & thin states. TERRITORY Prorupted-states that are nearly compact, but have a narrow extension . Perforated-having another state lie within ones territory. Exclave-an outlier of a state located within another. Enclave-the counterpart of exclave-it lies within a country and is independent or ruled by another country. AN ENCLAVE IS A TERRITORY WHOSE GEOGRAPHICAL BOUNDARIES LIE ENTIRELY WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF ANOTHER TERRITORY AN EXCLAVE, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS A TERRITORY LEGALLY OR POLITICALLY ATTACHED TO ANOTHER TERRITORY WITH WHICH IT IS NOT PHYSICALLY CONTIGUOUS INDIA: THE TIN BIGHA CORRIDOR Fig. 8-7: The Tin Bigha corridor fragmented two sections of the country of Bangladesh. When it was leased to Bangladesh, a section of India was fragmented. LANDLOCKED COUNTRIES Landlocked states have a serious disadvantage in trade and access to resources. Africa has more landlocked states than any other continent. Sahel is poorly linked to the coastal ports; Uganda linked by rail; Zimbabwe access via South African and Mozambique ports; Rwanda & Burundi the world’s most isolated states; Zambia & Malawi have poor connections. Asia-Mongolia & Nepal are landlocked with rough terrain, great distances and limited communication, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia & Georgia. South America-Bolivia and Paraguay-lost coastline in war Europe-Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Moldova, Belarus and Bosnia WHY DO BOUNDARIES BETWEEN STATES CAUSE PROBLEMS? AND HOW ARE BOUNDARIES ESTABLISHED? LAND BOUNDARIES Not just a line, but also a vertical plane that cuts through subsoil, rocks and the airspace above-coal, gas & oil reserves often cross these lines. Belgium, Germany & Netherlands argued over coal seams & natural gas reserves. Kuwait Oil drilling prompted the 1991 Gulf War (Rumaylah Reserve) LAND BOUNDARIES 3 Stage Evolution of Boundaries: definition-a document is created that indicates exact landmarks; delimitation- cartographers place the boundary on the map; demarcation-boundary markers such as steel posts or concrete pillars, fences or wall marks the boundary LAND BOUNDARIES Frontier-a zone of separation that keeps rivals apart can be natural or manmade- such as Korean DMZ. Boundaries keep out adversaries or keep citizens inside-limit smuggling, migration, etc. Internal boundaries- provinces or states within a larger state. TYPES OF BOUNDARIES Geometric-straight line boundary such as US- Canada or many in Africa. Physical or Natural- Political Boundary-river, crest of a mountain range or some other physical landmark Cultural or Anthro- Geographic Boundary- breaks in the human landscape, such as most of Europe’s boundaries AOZOU STRIP: A GEOMETRIC BOUNDARY Fig. 8-9: The straight boundary between Libya and Chad was drawn by European powers, and the strip is the subject of controversy between the two countries. Left-the Demilitarized Zone between North Korea & South Korea is heavily defended by both sides Bottom left-the US-Canadian border is the longest undefended border in the world. Bottom right-the