Political Patterns

1. Political Patterns Chapter 4 The Human Mosaic

2. Culture Regions • Political culture regions • Political diffusion • Political ecology • Politico-cultural integration • Political landscapes

3. Independent countries • Earth’s surface is divided into some 190 independent countries • Scores of other provinces and districts enjoy some level of autonomy with being fully independent • The United States occupies about the same amount of territory as Europe, which has 46 independent countries • Australia is politically united • South America has 12 countries

5. Independent countries • Africa’s mainland has 47 independent entities • Territoriality: the tangible geographical expression of one of the most common human characteristics: to belong to a larger group that controls its own piece of Earth • Some political geographers believe territoriality is instinctive in humans • Fragmentation of humankind into independent countries is natural and unavoidable • It is a product of the animal part of our brain

7. Independent countries • Territorial imperative • Most political geographers believe territoriality is learned • Robert Sack believes it is a cultural strategy using power to control area thereby subjugating inhabitants and acquiring resources • Warns against uncritical borrowing of concepts from animal behaviorists • Precise border marking was a concept unique to Western culture • Others suggest a recent origin for nationalism of 150 to 500 years ago

8. Independent countries • Whether learned or instinctual, human territoriality is a geographical phenomenon • The sense of “we” springs from attachment to region and place

9. Distribution of national territory • As a rule, the more compact the territory the better • Theoretically, the most desirable shape for a country is round or hexagonal • Allow short communication lines • Minimizes amount of border to be defended • No country has this ideal degree of compactness • Some countries come close—France, Poland, Zaire, and Brazil

11. Distribution of national territory • Unfavorable territorial distributions can inhibit national cohesiveness • Enclave — district surround by a country but not ruled by it • Pene-enclave — an intrusive piece of territory with only the smallest of outlets free from the surround country

12. Distribution of national territory • Exclaves — Pieces of national territory separated from the main body of a country by the territory of another • Hard to defend • Isolated population may develop separatist feelings

14. A is Armenia C is Iran B is Azerbaijan a is Nagomo-Karabakh b is Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic c is Okibair Eskipara enclave d is Sofulu enclave e is Kyarki enclave f is Bashkend enclave

15. Distribution of national territory • Pakistan as an exclave in 1947 • Two parts were separated by 1,000 miles of India territory • West Pakistan had the capital, most of the territory, and hoarded the country’s wealth • East Pakistan had most the people and resources • Divided in 1973, East Pakistan became Bangladesh

17. Distribution of national territory • Long narrow “shoestring” countries such as Chile, Gambia, and Norway can be difficult to administer • Island nations such as Indonesia can cause problems — transportation, communication • Sea encouraged islanders to develop local allegiances in the former British Islands in the Caribbean

19. Boundaries • Until recently many boundaries were not sharp, clearly defined lines, but were zones called marchlands • Buffer state — independent but small and weak country lying between two powerful countries • Mongolia—lies between Russia and China • Nepal—lies between India and China • Satellite state -- a buffer state that falls under the domination of one of its powerful neighbors and loses much of its independence

20. Boundaries • Most modern boundaries are lines rather than zones • Natural boundaries — follow some feature of the natural landscape • Ethnographic boundaries — based on a culture trait often religion or language • Geometric boundaries — regular, often perfectly straight lines drawn without regard for physical or cultural features

21. Niagara Falls • Niagara River forms a natural boundary between Canada and the United States • This view is from Horseshoe Falls in the province of Ontario towards American Falls in the state of New York

22. Niagara Falls • Each year, millions of visitors travel across the bridge-border to enjoy the spectacular scenery. • Niagara Falls is an important element of Canada’s iconography.

23. Niagara Falls • The area became home to many loyalists from the American Revolution/War of Independence and was the site of Upper Canada’s first capital. • Decisive battles against American forces in the War of 1812 were also fought there

24. Boundaries • Some boundaries are of mixed type • Relic boundaries — no longer exist as international borders • Often leave behind a trace in local culture • Example of the reunification of Germany where different levels of prosperity still show between east and west • International borders can be very divisive

27. Spatial organization of territory • Independent countries differ greatly in the way their territory is organized for administration purposes • Unitary governments • Power is centrally concentrated • Little or no provincial authority • All major decisions come from the central government

28. Spatial organization of territory • Unitary governments • Policies are uniformly applied throughout the territory • China is unitary and totalitarian • France is unitary but democratic • Federal governments • A more geographically expressive system • Acknowledges the existence of regional cultural differences • Provides mechanism for allowing regions to perpetuate their individual character

29. Spatial organization of territory • Federal governments • Power is diffused, allowing much authority to individual provinces • The United States, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland exhibit varying degrees of federalism • Since the Civil War, the United States has leaned more toward a unitary government, with fewer states’ rights • In Canada, federalism remains vital and has helped accommodate French-Canadian demands • Today, Russia is striving to create a federal state

30. Spatial organization of territory • Native-American reservations in the United States • Semiautonomous enclave, legally sanctioned political territories only indigenous Americans can possess • Not sovereign, but do have certain self-government rights • Conflicts with other local authorities • Do not fit the normal American system of states

31. Centrifugal and centripetal forces • Centripetal forces — those forces that promote national unity and solidarity • Many nations have one principal force the fuels the nationalistic sentiment • For Israel it is the Jewish faith • Centrifugal forces — whatever disrupts internal order and encourages destruction of the country

32. Centrifugal and centripetal forces • How many independent countries should there be? • We live in a time of new country proliferation • Former Soviet Union disintegrated into 15 new countries • Yugoslavia became 5 • Czechoslovakia became 2 • Russia, Iraq, Peru, and others could also fragment

33. Supranational political bodies

34. Supranational political bodies • Supranational organization — self-governing countries form international associations for purposes of trade, military assistance, or mutual security • Grew in number and importance during the twentieth century • Some represent vestiges of collapsed empires • British Commonwealth • French community • Commonwealth of Independent States (C.I.S.) — a shadow of the former Soviet Union

35. Supranational political bodies • The European Union seeks a widely based confederation • Arab League possess little cohesion • The United Nations is atop the pyramid of supranationals • Maintains peacekeeping and charitable functions • Invokes sanctions against “rogue” countries

36. Electoral geographical regions • When people vote in an election a political culture region is created • Revealed in the voting process are attitudes reflecting religion, ethnicity, sectionalism, and ideology • When mapped, voting tendencies over the decades reveal deep-rooted electoral behavior regions — Europe is a good example • Toward the center of Europe some districts and provinces have a long record of rightist sentiment • Peripheral areas, especially in the east, are often leftist strongholds

38. Electoral geographical regions • Electoral regions also exist in the United States and Canada • Daniel Elazar described three of these • Traditionalistic • Includes the Lower South, Hispanic borderland, and diverse Native American groups • Family and social class are more important than state or individual • Believe “best government is the least government” • Order is best maintained through religion and family, not law

39. Electoral geographical regions • Electoral regions also exist in the United States and Canada • Daniel Elazar described three of these • Moralistic • Found in a zone influenced by New England Yankee culture and Scandinavian settlers • Views government as means to achieve a good society • Public good comes before individual rights or benefits

40. Electoral geographical regions • Electoral regions also exist in the United States and Canada • Daniel Elazar described three of these • Individualistic • Seen as “dirty” — used to further personal, rather than societal interests • Lobbying and monetary contributions to politicians • In much of American heartland • Roots in the independent family farm and German-American culture

43. Functional electoral regions • Electoral geographers are concerned with functional culture regions • They often assist in redistricting after each United States census • New voting areas are established to try and equalize population • Geographers often assist in redistricting process • Pattern of voting precincts or districts can influence election results

44. Functional electoral regions • Problems arise if redistricting remains in hands of legislators instead of impartial experts • Majority political groups can arrange voting districts geographically to maximize their power • Cleavage lines crossed to create districts having majority of voters favoring group in power • Practice called gerrymandering — The next slide reveals resulting voting district shapes

46. Culture Regions • Political culture regions • Political diffusion • Political ecology • Politico-cultural integration • Political landscapes

47. Country building as diffusion • Some countries sprang full-grown into the world • Most countries diffused outward from a small nucleus called a core area

48. Country development from a core area • Generally possess an attractive set of resources for human life and culture • Often possesses some measure of natural defense that attracts people • Denser population may produce enough wealth to support a large army as a base for further expansion and relocation diffusion

49. Country development from a core area • During expansion, the core area usually remains the country’s most important district • Houses the capital city • Contains the cultural and economic heart of the country • Serves as the node of a functional culture region • France expanded to its present size from around Paris

50. Country development from a core area • During expansion, the core area usually remains the country’s most important district • China diffused from a nucleus in the northeast • Russia originated in the principality of Moscow • The United States grew westward from a core between Massachusetts and Virginia