Unit IV: Political Organization of Space

1. Unit IV: Political Organization of Space

2. Political Geography • The study of the organization and distribution of political phenomena

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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

6. World States • 195 states (only 50 in the 1940s) • 192 recognized by the United Nations • Over 250 different nations

7. 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)

8. 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

9. The nations we perceive as “natural” and “always existing” are relatively recent phenomena. In 1648, Europe was divided into dozens of small territories.

10. 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

11. Stateless Nation • Nations that do not possess a national territory even with a larger multinational state • Palestine, Kurds

12. Multinational State • A state with more than one nation. The Former Yugoslavia

13. Multistate Nation • A nation with more than one state Transylvania – homeland for both Romanians and Hungarians.

15. Spatial Characteristics of States • Largest Size • Russia 17.1 million square kilometers • Others: China, Canada, United States, and Australia

16. 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

17. Spatial Characteristics of States • 5 basic shapes • Compact • Prorupt • Elongated • Fragmented • Perforated

18. Shape – Compact Compact • Most efficient form is a circle with a capital in the center • Compact size • Uruguay, Zimbabwe, Poland

19. B E A D C

20. 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

21. B E A D C

22. 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

23. B E A D C

24. Shape - Fragmented • Countries composed entirely of islands (Philippines, Indonesia) • Partly on Islands (Malaysia) • Mainland – but separated • Weakness centralized control

25. B E A D C

26. Shape - Perforated • State that completely surrounds another one • Example: South Africa • Surrounds Lesotho • Completely dependent on South Africa for imports and exports

27. B E A D C

29. 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

30. 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

32. 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.

33. Rise of the Modern State 1. The European model • The Norman invasion of 1066 produced a whole new political order • On the European continent, the strength of some rulers produced national cohesiveness in more stable domains • Economic revival and so called Dark Ages were over • Treaties signed at the end of the Thirty Years' War contained fundamentals of statehood and nationhood - Peace at Westphalia • Western Europe’s strong monarchies began to represent something more than authority

34. Rise of the Modern State Mercantilism a) promotion of commercialism and trade with other states b) City-based merchants, not the nobility, gained wealth c) As money and influence were concentrated in the cities, land as a measure of affluence began to lose its relevance

35. 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

36. 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

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

38. 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.

39. What happened to state size?

40. Two Waves of Decolonization First wave – focused on decolonization of the Americas Second wave – focused on decolonization of Africa and Asia

42. 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.

43. 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

44. Immanuel Wallerstein’s World-Systems Theory: • The world economy has one market and a global division of labor. • Although the world has multiple states, almost everything takes place within the context of the world economy. • The world economy has a three-tier structure.

45. Three Tier Structure Core Processes that incorporate higher levels of education, higher salaries, and more technology * Generate more wealth in the world economy Periphery Processes that incorporate lower levels of education, lower salaries, and less technology * Generate less 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

46. Core • Most states have assumed their current shape following centuries of growth • Examples: North America, Western Europe, Japan, Australia

47. 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

48. Semi-Periphery • Exploited by the core, and exploit the periphery • Examples: Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Eastern Europe, China, India

50. 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?)