Unit IV: Political Organization of Space

Unit IV: Political Organization
of Space
Political Geography
• The study of the organization and distribution
of political phenomena
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
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.
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
World States
• 195 states (only 50 in the 1940s)
• 192 recognized by the United Nations
• Over 250 different nations
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)
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
The nations we perceive as “natural” and “always existing” are
relatively recent phenomena.
In 1648, Europe was divided into dozens of small territories.
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
Stateless Nation
• Nations that do not possess a national
territory even with a larger multinational
state
– Palestine, Kurds
Multinational State
•A state with more
than one nation.
The Former Yugoslavia
Multistate Nation
•A nation with more than one state
Transylvania – homeland for both Romanians and Hungarians.
Spatial Characteristics of
States
• Largest Size
– Russia 17.1 million square kilometers
– Others: China,
Canada,
United States,
and Australia
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
Spatial Characteristics of
States
• 5 basic shapes
– Compact
– Prorupt
– Elongated
– Fragmented
– Perforated
Shape – Compact
Compact
• Most efficient form is a circle with a
capital in the center
• Compact size
• Uruguay, Zimbabwe, Poland
B
E
A
D
C
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
B
E
A
D
C
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
B
E
A
D
C
Shape - Fragmented
• Countries composed entirely of islands
(Philippines, Indonesia)
• Partly on Islands (Malaysia)
• Mainland – but separated
• Weakness centralized control
B
E
A
D
C
Shape - Perforated
• State that completely surrounds
another one
• Example: South Africa
– Surrounds Lesotho
– Completely dependent on South Africa
for imports and exports
B
E
A
D
C
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
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
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.
Rise of the Modern State
1. The European model
a) The Norman invasion of 1066 produced a whole new
political order
b) On the European continent, the strength of some rulers
produced national cohesiveness in more stable domains
c) Economic revival and so called Dark Ages were over
d) Treaties signed at the end of the Thirty Years' War
contained fundamentals of statehood and nationhood
- Peace at Westphalia
e) Western Europe’s strong monarchies began to represent
something more than authority
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
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
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
Two Waves of European Colonialism:
1500 - 1825
1825 - 1975
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.
What happened to state
size?
Two Waves of Decolonization
First wave – focused on decolonization of the Americas
Second wave – focused on decolonization of Africa and Asia
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.
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
Immanuel Wallerstein’s World-Systems Theory:
1. The world economy has one market and a global
division of labor.
2. Although the world has multiple states, almost
everything takes place within the context of the
world economy.
3. The world economy has a three-tier structure.
Three Tier Structure
Core
Periphery
Processes that incorporate higher
levels of education, higher salaries,
and more technology
* Generate more wealth in the world
economy
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
Core
• Most states have assumed their current
shape following centuries of growth
• Examples: North America, Western
Europe, Japan, Australia
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
Semi-Periphery
• Exploited by the core, and exploit the
periphery
• Examples: Mexico, Brazil, Russia,
Eastern Europe, China, India
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?)
The Evolution of Boundaries
• Definition: the official establishment or
documentation of a boundary
– Treaty
– Legal document
– Example: 2000 Macedonia-Serbia and
Montenegro delimitation agreement
The Evolution of Boundaries
Delimitation: placing of the boundary on a
map
The Evolution of Boundaries
Demarcation: marking of the boundary by
some method on the ground
Boundary Types
• Natural (physical): based on
recognizable physiographic features
– Mountains, rivers, and lakes
– Can cause disputes
Boundary Types
• Law of the Sea
– Territory
• 12 Nautical miles
– Contiguous Zone
• 12 Nautical miles
– Exclusive Economic Zone
• 200 Nautical Miles
Boundary Types
• Geometric (Artificial): follows
parallels of latitude and meridians of
longitude
– 49th parallel United States & Canada
– Africa, Asia, Americas
Boundary Types
• Cultural: separate groups by a common
cultural trait
– India and Pakistan
Boundary Origins
• Antecedent: border drawn before it
was well populated
– United States & Canada
Boundary Origins
• Subsequent: border drawn after the
development of the cultural landscape
– 2 types:
• Consequent
• Superimposed
Boundary Origins
• Consequent (ethnographic): border drawn to
accommodate existing religious, linguistic,
or ethnic differences
– N. Ireland and Ireland
Boundary Origins
• Subsequent Superimposed Boundaries:
forced on an existing cultural
landscape, country, or people by a
conquering colonial power
– Unconcerned about preexisting cultural
patterns
– Great Britain = India/Pakistan
Boundary Origins
• Relict/relic Boundary: former
boundary that no longer functions
– Differences on each side of the border are
still evident
Definitional/Positional Boundary
Disputes
• Focus on the legal language of the
boundary agreement
• A boundary agreement may base a
boundary on a landmark that has
moved or no longer
visible
• Argentina and Chile
Locational Boundary Disputes
• The delimitation and possible
demarcation of the border is in dispute
Operational/Functional Disputes
• Neighboring states disagree over
policies to be applied along a boundary
• Immigration
Allocation/Resource Disputes
• Neighboring states can argue about the
distribution of resources
• United States v. Mexico
• Iraq v. Kuwait
Territorial Disputes
• A subsequent boundary divides and
ethnically homogenous group
• Irredentism- advocating annexation of
territories administered by another state on
the grounds of common ethnicity or prior
historical possession
• Germany, Somalia, Kashmir
Capitals
• Typically are centrally located to allow
for equal access
• Many capitals have become distant to
many areas due to growth: Washington
D.C.
• Some capitals have been relocated to
make the more accessible
Capitals
• Usually located in the core area and
frequently the focus of it
• Capital cities are also frequently the
largest or the Primate City
• Primate City: dominates the economic
structure of the entire country
Forward-Thrust capital City
• Deliberately sited in a state’s interior
• Brazil relocated its capital from Rio de
Janeiro to a new city called Brasilia
• Nigeria – Abula
• Kazakhstan – Astana
Brasilia
Brasilia
Brasilia
Nigeria - Abuja
Nigeria - Abuja
Kazakhstan – Astana
Kazakhstan – Astana
Geopolitics
• Considers the strategic value of land and sea
area in the context of national economic and
military power and ambitions
– power relationships: past, present, and future
• Manifest Destiny, Monroe Doctrine,
“Greater East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere”
Geopolitics – German School
Ratzel’s Organic Theory
a) Held that a nation which is an aggregate
of organisms would itself function and
behave as an organism
b) Nourishment of organism provided by
acquisition of territories and people
c) Territory is essential to life.
d) Nazi expansion policies based on some of
Ratzel’s ideas.
Geopolitics – British/American School
Sir Halford Mackinder Heartland Theory
a) Believed a land-based power, not a sea power,
would ultimately rule the world
b)Pivot area extended from Eastern Europe to
eastern Siberia
Mackinder – Heartland Theory
• The Heartland is impenetrable
• Resource rich
• Provided a base for world conquest
Mackinder – Heartland Theory
–“Who rules East Europe commands the
Heartland”
–“Who rules the Heartland commands
the World Island”
–“Who rules the World Island
commands the World”
Geopolitics
Nicholas Spykman - Rimland Theory
• Critic of Mackinder
• Argued that the Eurasian rim, not its
heart, held the key to global power
Spykman-Rimland
• Fragmented zone
• Divided rimland key to balance of
world power
• Dense population, abundant resources,
controlling access to both the sea and
the interior
Spykman-Rimland
• “Who controls the Rimland controls
Eurasia”
• “Who rules Eurasia controls the destiny
of the world”
Recent Geopolitical Developments
Bipolar World
• Post WWII – Heartland = U.S.S.R
• U.S. practiced Containment
• Confining the U.S.S.R by means of
alliances with Rimland
NATO
• Military intervention
CENTO
• Domino Theory
SEATO
Geopolitics Today
• Current world events have rendered
older geopolitical ideas obsolete
• End of the Cold War, Nuclear
Technology, and Japan, China, W.
Europe becoming world powers
• Unilateralism – United Sates dominance
• Will this last???
Current Geopolitics
2 Main Forms of Competition
1. Economic rivalry: core countries versus
peripheral states
2. Conflicts between “Civilizations”
• Western, Confucian, Japanese, Islamic,
Hindu, Slavic, Latin America, African
• Differences are antagonistic
• Enduring differences in history, language,
culture, and religion
Key Question:
How do States Spatially Organize
their Governments?
Internal Structure
1. The needs of a well-functioning state
a) Clearly bounded territory served by an
adequate infrastructure
b) Effective administrative framework, a
productive core area, and a prominent
capital
2. All states confront divisive forces
Forms of Government
• Unitary – highly centralized government
where the capital city serves as a focus of
power.
• Federal – a government where the state is
organized into territories, which have
control over government policies and funds.
Unitary and Federal Systems
1.Early European nation-states were
unitary states:
a)Governments were highly centralized
and powerful
b)Capital cities represented authority that
stretched to the limits of the state
Unitary and Federal Systems
2. The federal state arose in the New World
a) Newness of the culture, and emergence of
regionalism due to the vast size of territories
b) Conditions did not lend themselves to unitary
systems of government
c) Absence of an old primate city
d) Lack of a clear core area and the vastness of
national territory
Nigeria’s Federal Government –
Allows states within the state to determine
whether to have Shari’a Laws
Shari’a Laws
Legal systems
based on
traditional
Islamic laws
The U.S. Federal Government –
Allows states within the state to determine “moral” laws such as
death penalty, access to alcohol, and concealed weapons.
Minnesota’s
concealed
weapons law
requires the posting
of signs such as this
on buildings that do
not allow concealed
weapons.
Forces of Fragmentation and
Cohesion:
Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces
Centripetal Forces
•
•
•
•
•
•
Promoting State Cohesion
Nationalism
Unifying Institutions
Organization and Administration
Transportation and Communication
Supranationalism
Centrifugal Forces
•
•
•
•
•
Challenges to State Authority
Nationalism
Devolution, Regionalism
Peripheral Location
Social and Economic Inequality
Devolution –
Movement of power from the central government
to regional governments within the state.
What causes devolutionary movements?
Ethnocultural forces
Economic forces
Spatial forces
Ethnocultural Devolutionary Movements
Eastern Europe
devolutionary forces
since the fall of
communism
Economic
Devolutionary
Movements
Catalonia, Spain
Barcelona is the center
of banking and
commerce in Spain and
the region is much
wealthier than the rest of
Spain.
Spatial
Devolutionary
Movements
Honolulu, Hawai’i
A history apart from the
United States, and a
desire to live apart in
order to keep traditions
alive.
Electoral Geography
1.Electoral geographers
a) Study spatial configuration of
electoral districts
b) Voting patterns
c) Influence of voting patterns on
social and political affairs
Electoral Geography
Gerrymandering - redrawing of voting
districts in such a way as to give one
political party maximum political advantage
• Creating of majority-minority districts
Gerrymandering
• Stacked: drawing circuitous boundaries
to enclose pockets of strength or
weakness
• Excess vote: concentrates the votes of
the opposition in a few districts which
they can win easily, but leaves them few
potential seats elsewhere
• Wasted vote: diffuses opposition’s vote
Supranational Organizations
A separate entity composed of three or more
states that forge an association and form an
administrative structure for mutual benefit
in pursuit of shared goals.
* How many supranational organizations
exist in the world today? At least 60
United Nations
• Background: League of Nations – 1919,
idea of Woodrow Wilson but…
• Basics:
– Cooperate with internationally approved
standards
– 191 members
– Aid: refugees, poverty, troops, human rights
Global Scale – The United Nations
Regional Scale - Europe
• Benelux: Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemberg
• Marshall Plan: US aid to Western European Courntries
• Organization of European Economic Cooperation (OEEC)
to
European Economic Community (EEC)
to
European Community (EC)
to
European Union (EU)
Regional Scale - Europe
• European Union: domestic, military, and
certain sovereign policies that govern all
members
Germany,
– 12 European Community (EC) members
established the EU – 1992
– Euro introduced in 2002
– Problems facing the EU?
• Subsidies, Germany, Turkey
France, UK,
Italy,
Portugal,
Spain,
Greece,
Netherlands,
Belgium,
Luxemburg,
Denmark
and Ireland
Regional Scale – The European Union
Supranationalism Elsewhere…
• NAFTA, ACS, APEC, CIS…
• Treaties to reduce tariffs and facilitate
trade
• None like the European Union