Political Geography

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Political Geography

• Chapter 8

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Introduction

• Political geography helps explain the cultural
  and physical factors that underlie political
  unrest
• Political geographers study how people have
  organized Earths land surface into countries and
  alliances, the reasons for doing so, and the
  conflicts that can erupt from the organization

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Where are States Located?

• Almost all land on the Earth belongs to a country
• Not true as recently as 1940s only about 50
  countries then
• Now there are 192 members of the UN
• State- an area organized into a political unit
  and ruled by an established gov. that has control
  over its internal and foreign affairs
• Occupies a defined territory and has a permanent
  population

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• Sovereignty- independence from control of its
  internal affairs by other states
• States are examples of formal regions because the
  entire territory is ruled by a common gov., laws,
  military etc.
• Country and state are synonyms

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Problems of Defining States

• Antarctica is the only large landmass on Earth
  that is not part of a state
• Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand,
  Norway, and the UK all claim portions of
  Antarctica
• The US and Russia do not recognize these claims
• The Treaty of Antarctica 1959 (1991) says states
  may establish research stations but may not have
  a military presence

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• There is some disagreement about the number of
  sovereign states around the world
• Korea, China, and Western Sahara (Sahrawi
  Republic) are examples of places that test the
  definition of state

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Korea One State or Two?

• After Japan was defeated in WWII, Korea was
  divided into two occupation zones by the US and
  Russia
• Division was made at 38 degrees N. Latitude
• N. Korea invaded South Korea in 1950
• After 3 years, a cease-fire was agreed upon near
  the 38th parallel

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• Both gov. are committed to reunification
• In 2000 they agreed to exchange visits of
  families separated for more than 50 years and for
  increased economic cooperation
• Progress slowed by N. Koreas decision to build
  nuclear weapons even though the country cant
  provide its citizens with food, electricity, etc.
• Both countries were admitted into the UN in 1992

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China and Taiwan One State or Two?

• In 1949 the ruling gov. of China lost a civil war
  and fled to the island of Taiwan
• They claimed to still be the rightful gov. of
  China and that they were waiting for the defeat
  of the communists so they could return to the
  mainland
• Communist China claimed Taiwan and vice versa
• They agreed there was only 1 states, but not
  about who ruled it

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• In 1999, Taiwan decided to claim itself a
  separate sovereign state
• In the 1950s and 1960s the US did not recognize
  communist China as a country
• Not until 1971 did the US recognize communist
  Chinathey were awarded the UN seat formerly held
  by the Taiwanese gov.
• Taiwan is now the most populous country not in
  the UN

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Western Sahara (Sahrawi Republic)

• Most African countries recognize as a sovereign
  state
• Morocco does not
• They claim the territory and built a 3,000
  kilometer wall around it to keep out rebels
• The territory was controlled by Spain until 1976
  when they withdrew
• An independent state was declared, but Morocco
  and Mauritania annexed the Northern and Southern
  portions

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• After 3 years, Mauritania withdrew and Morocco
  claimed the entire territory
• Today Morocco controls most of the territory
• However, there is a gov. group that operates in
  the sparsely populated deserts (esp. the 1/5 of
  territory outside the wall)
• A cease-fire was signed in 1991 and a UN
  peacekeeping force upholds it
• While all of this is going on, Spain controls 2
  cities in Moroccothe were annexed into Spain 500
  years ago and the combined 140,000 residents
  favor remaining part of Spain

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Varying Size of States

• Largest Russia 6.6 million sq. miles
• 11 of total land area
• China, Canada, United States, Brazil, and
  Australia are the only other states of more than
  2.9 million sq. miles
• Microstates- states with very small land areas
• Smallest is Monaco0.6 square miles
• Many microstates are small islands

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Development of the State Concept

• Relatively recent concept
• Before the 1800s Earth was organized in other
  ways
• City-states, empires, and tribes

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Ancient States

• The first states to develop in the Fertile
  Crescent (Mesopotamia) were city-states
• A sovereign state that compromises a town and the
  surrounding countryside
• City was walled for protection and surrounding
  countryside was used for agriculture

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• Sometimes one city-state would assert dominance
  in the area and create an empire
• Ex. Sumerians, Assyrians, and Babylonians
• About the same time the Egyptians were forming an
  Empire along the Nile River Valley

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Early European States

• Roman Empire controlled most of Europe, North
  Africa, and SW Asia
• Spanned from England in the North to Egypt in the
  South and from Spain in the West to Iran in the
  East
• After the fall of the Empire, Europe was broken
  up into large estates owned by Kings, Dukes, etc.
• They fought each other and some consolidated
  lands into Kingdoms

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• Around 1100, powerful Kings began to emerge as
  they consolidated large estates
• England, France, and Spain
• Germany and Italy however were not consolidated
  until the 1800s

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Colonies

• Def.- a territory that is legally tied to a
  sovereign state rather than being completely
  independent
• Usually sparsely populated before the colony is
  established
• Colonialism- the effort by one country to
  establish settlements and impose its political,
  economic, and cultural principles on a territory

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continued

• European states created colonies for three
  reasons
• To promote Christianity
• To gain valuable resources
• To show their relative power
• GOD, GOLD, and GLORY

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• Europeans first started colonizing in the late
  1400sAmericas
• Most of those colonies declared independence by
  1824 and Europe turned to Africa and Asia
• Imperialism- control of territory already
  occupied and organized by an indigenous society

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• UK created largest colonial empire
• sun never set on British empire
• France also had a large empire- colonies
  concentrated in West Africa and SE Asia

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• France attempted to assimilate its colonies into
  French culture and educate an elite group to
  provide local leadership
• After independence most French colonies remained
  close to France

• The British created different gov. policies in
  each of its colonies
• Allowed local inhabitants to maintain their
  diverse cultures and local customs
• British colonies made peaceful transitions to
  independence in most cases

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concluded

• Most African and Asian colonies became
  independent after WWII
• Only a handful of colonies still exist
• Most are islands in the Pacific or Caribbean
• Most populous is Puerto Rico

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Why Do Boundaries Cause Problems?

• Boundary- an invisible line marking the extent of
  a states territory
• Can be natural physical features or cultural
  features such as religion and language
• Boundary locations often generate conflict
  because the lines are the only place two
  neighboring countries must have physical contact

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Shapes of States

• Shape of a state controls the length of its
  boundaries with other states
• Shape also can influence the ease or difficulty
  of internal administration and can affect social
  unity
• There are 5 basic shapes
• Compact
• Prorupted
• Elongated
• Fragmented
• Perforated

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Compact States Efficient

• Def.- state where the distance from the center to
  any boundary does not vary significantly
• Ideal compact state would be a circle with the
  capital in the center
• Allows for good communications from all regions
• Exs Burundi, Kenya, Uganda

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Prorupted States Access or Disruption

• Def. an otherwise compact state with a large
  projecting extension
• Proruptions are created for 2 reasons
• To provide a state with access to a resource such
  as water (Congo stretches to Atlantic Ocean) (why
  Cabinda is separated from the rest of Angola)
• To separate two states that would otherwise share
  a border (Afghanistan separates Russia from
  Pakistan)

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Elongated States Potential Isolation

• Def.- states with a long narrow shape
• Only a handful of these
• Ex. Chile over 2500 miles long, but only 90
  miles wide
• Italy is a less extreme example 700 by 120 miles
• Gambia is an elongated state on an East-West
  orientation (300 miles wide by15 miles long) by
  that is completely surrounded by Senegal

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• May suffer from poor internal communication and
  some regions may be isolated from the capital
  which is usually near the center

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Fragmented States Problematic

• Def.- state with several discontinuous pieces of
  territory
• Technically, any state that has offshore islands
  is considered fragmented fragmentation is
  particularly significant for some states
• 2 types
• Areas separated by water
• Areas separated by an intervening state

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• Indonesia is most extreme fragmented state
• 13,677 islands spread over 3,000 miles in the
  Indian Ocean
• 80 of pop. lives on the two islands of Java and
  Sumatra
• Fragmentation hinders communication and makes
  integration of people living on remote islands
  nearly impossible
• Indonesian gov. encourages migration from major
  pop. centers to more remote areas to encourage
  national integration

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• The US, Russia, Angola, and Bangladesh are
  examples of countries with territory separated by
  other states
• Kaliningrad is separated from the rest of Russia
  by 250 miles
• Important to Russia because it gives them access
  to the Baltic sea
• The Tin Bigha corridor of India divides Bangladesh

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• Panama was a fragmented state while the US
  controlled the canal and the surrounding canal
  zone
• Now that the US has returned control of the
  canal, Panama is now a elongated state

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Perforated States South Africa

• Def.- a state that completely surrounds another
  one
• South Africa is a great example
• It completely surrounds Lesotho
• Lesotho dependent upon S. Africa for import and
  export of goods

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Can You Identify Each Type of State?
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Landlocked States

• Landlocked states- a state that lacks a direct
  outlet to the sea because it is completely
  surrounded by several other countries
• 14 out of the 54 countries in Africa are
  landlocked
• Remnant of European colonialism

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• Access to a seaport is critical because it
  facilitates international trade
• Bulky goods are usually transported by ship
• Landlocked states are at the mercy of other
  states for the use of their seaports

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Types of Boundaries

• Historically, frontiers separated states
• -a zone where no state exercises complete
  political control
• Frontiers are tangible geographic areas
• Boundaries are thin, invisible, and imagined
  lines
• Boundaries have replaced frontiers almost
  everywhere on Earth

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• Antarctica and the Arabian Peninsula are the only
  places that still have frontiers
• Saudi Arabia is separated from Qatar, UAE, Oman,
  and Yemen by frontiers

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• Boundaries can be physical or cultural
• Physical boundaries can be seen on a map and on
  the ground
• Neither type necessarily better than others
• Best boundaries are those that all affected
  states agree upon

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Mountain Boundaries

• Serve as effective boundaries when they are
  difficult to cross
• Also pretty permanent
• Argentina and Chile are separated by the crest of
  the Andes Mountains
• They have had disagreements about where exactly
  that crest lies

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Desert Boundaries

• Deserts are hard to cross and sparsely inhabited
• Type of boundary common in Africa and Asia
• Sahara desert separates Libya, Algeria, and Egypt
  from their southern neighbors Mauritania, Mali,
  Niger, Chad and the Sudan

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Water Boundaries

• Rivers, lakes, and oceans are often used to mark
  boundaries
• Very common in East Africa
• Ex. Boundary separating Kenya, Tanzania, and
  Uganda runs through Lake Victoria
• Boundaries are typically in the middle of the
  water, but not always
• Water makes attack from neighbors more difficult
  because of troop transport

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• Water boundaries can cause some difficulties
• Position of water changes over time
• Ex. Rio Grande along the US Mexico border
• Ocean boundaries can also be problematic
• Most states claim the boundary is not at the
  coastline, but out at sea
• Done for defense and resources
• The Law of the Sea (1983), signed by 117
  countries, recognizes borders at 12 nautical
  miles with exclusive fishing rights to 200
  nautical miles

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Cultural Boundaries

• A nation-state exists when the boundaries of a
  state match the boundaries of the territory
  inhabited by an ethnic group

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Geometric Boundaries

• Part of US border with Canada is an arc that
  follows the 49th parallel for 1300 miles from
  Minnesota to Washington

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Religious Boundaries

• In a few cases religion has been used to select a
  boundary between states
• The British split India into states based on
  religion
• Hindus in India, Muslims in Pakistan
• Northern Ireland is majority Protestant and is
  part of the UK
• Ireland is 95 Catholic and is independent from
  the UK

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Language Boundaries

• After WWI, language was the most important factor
  the Allies used in creating new states and
  changing the boundaries of existing states esp.
  in Eastern and Southern Europe
• Ex. Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland
• Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia were created by
  grouping people of similar languages together
  into one country both separated into many
  countries in the 1990s

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Cypruss Green Line Boundary

• Read about this p. 271-272

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Boundaries Inside States

• Local gov. boundaries are sometimes drawn to
  separate different nationalities or ethnicities
• In the US, they are sometimes drawn to provide an
  advantage to a political party
• Unitary state- an internal organization of a
  state that places most power in the hands of the
  central government officials
• Federal state- an internal organization of a
  state that allocates most powers to units of
  local government

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Unitary States

• Works best in nation-states characterized by few
  internal cultural differences and a strong sense
  of national unity
• Smaller states are more likely to adopt
• Common in Europe
• Some multinational states have adopted unitary
  systems so the values of one nationality can be
  imposed on the others
• Ex. Rwanda

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Federal States

• Local governments have the authority to adopt
  their own laws
• Multinational states may adopt federal systems to
  empower different nationalities, esp. if they
  live in different regions of the country
• Well suited for large states-most large countries
  are
• US, Russia, Canada, Brazil, and India

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Electoral Geography

• Legislative districts in the US are redrawn every
  10 years to reflect relative population changes
• In most European countries independent
  commissions are created to draw the districts
• In the US, state legislatures are responsible for
  drawing congressional districts
• Party in power attempts to draw lines to keep
  them in power

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Gerrymandering

• Def.- the process of redrawing legislative
  boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the
  party in power
• Named for Elbridge Gerry, Gov. of Mass. 1810-1812
• One of the districts he drew looked like a
  salamander critic called it a gerrymander

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Types of Gerrymandering

• Basically three types
• Wasted Vote- spreads opposition supporters across
  many districts in minority numbers
• Excess Vote- concentrates opposition supporters
  into a few districts
• Stacked Vote- links distant areas of like-minded
  voters through oddly shaped boundaries

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• Most gerrymandering in the Us is now stacked
  vote gerrymandering
• Leads to the party in power owning a majority of
  support in a majority of the districts
• Often used to create districts made up largely of
  ethnic minorities
• Ex. 12th district in NC

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• Supreme Court ruled Gerrymandering illegal in
  1985, but doesnt have the power to keep it from
  happening
• Estimated that only 10 of congressional seats
  are actually competitive because of gerrymandering

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Political and Military Cooperation

• The United Nations was created to prevent the
  likelihood of a third World War
• It was created at the end of WWII by the Allies
• In 1945 there were 45 members, by 2007 there were
  192
• The UN replaced the failed League of Nations that
  was created after WWI

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The United Nations

• The UN has had three major expansionary periods
• 1955- 16 countries were added mostly European
  countries that had been liberated from Nazi
  Germany
• 1960- 17 new members added mostly former British
  and French colonies in Africa
• 1990-1993- 26 countries were addedmostly from
  the breakup of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia

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• UN members can vote to send a peacekeeping force
  into unstable areas
• Member countries send troops to make up the force
• China, Russia, France, the UK, and the US
  (permanent members of the UN Security Council)
  have the power to veto a peacekeeping force
• Happened often during the Cold War

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• The UN is currently trying to separate warring
  groups in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and
  sub-Saharan Africa
• Ties to maintain neutrality b/w the two sides
• Not always possible, esp. in cases involving
  genocide
• Ex. Bosnian Serbs were seen as the aggressor
  versus Bosnian Muslims

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Regional Military Alliances

• In addition to the UN, many states also joined
  regional military alliances after WWII

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Era of Two Superpowers

• During the Cold War, the US and Soviet Union were
  the Worlds two superpowers
• Before this time, there were usually multiple
  powerful states, none of which could dominate on
  their own
• Major states joined together for temporary
  alliances
• Balance of power- condition of roughly equal
  strength between opposing countries or alliances
  of countries

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• After WWII, the US and Soviet Union were the only
  powers left that were not battered to the point
  of losing there power status
• During the Cold War, the world was split into
  allies of the US and allies of the Soviet Union
• Both superpowers created military bases in ally
  countries around the world
• Therefore, they could maintain strength in
  regions not near their own territory

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Military Cooperation in Europe

• 2 military alliances were formed in Europe after
  WWII NATO and the Warsaw Pact
• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was a
  military pact between the US, Canada, and 14
  democratic European States
• The Warsaw Pact was a military agreement among 7
  Communist countries in Eastern Europe

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• NATO and the Warsaw Pact were created to maintain
  a bipolar balance of power in Europe
• NATO wanted to prohibit the Soviets from taking
  over W. Germany and many smaller nations in
  Europe
• The Warsaw Pact created a buffer zone between the
  Soviet Union and W. Germany

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• After the Cold War, the Warsaw Pact disbanded and
  most of its former members joined NATO
• Which offers its members a sense of security
  against Russian threats in the future

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Other Regional Organizations

• The Organization of American States (OAS)
  includes all 35 states in the W. Hemisphere
• Cuba has been suspended since 1962
• Promotes social, cultural, political, and
  economic links b/w member states
• The African Union (AU) was created in 2001 and
  has 53 members
• Tries to promote economic integration in Africa

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Economic Cooperation

• The need for a bipolar balance of power ended
  when the Soviet Union disbanded in 1992
• We are now back to having more than 2 major
  powerslike before WWII, but with 2 diff.
• Economic power becoming more important than
  military powerallows Japan and Germany to be
  considered powers
• The leading power is not a single state, but an
  economic union in Europe led by Germany

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European Union

• Predecessor was established in 1958 with 6
  members
• Originally designed to help Europes WWII scars
  heal
• Expanded to 12 countries in the 1980s and now
  has 27 members with 2 more wanting to join
  (Croatia and Turkey)
• Wants to promote development through economic
  cooperation
• Removes barriers to free trade goods and
  services and people can travel throughout the
  Union without stopping
• Created a common currency (the Euro)
• Has become the Worlds wealthiest market

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Terrorism

• Def- the systematic use of violence by a group to
  intimidate a population or coerce a gov. into
  granting its demands
• Terrorism attacks usually target ordinary people
  rather than military or political leaders

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Al-Qaeda

• Terror network founded by Osama bin Laden
• Believed to be living in Afghanistan since 1994
• Issued a declaration of war against the US
  because of its support for Saudi Arabia and
  Israel
• Al-Qaeda means the foundation
• Created around 1990 to unite jihad fighters
  around the worldest. 20,000 members in 34
  countries

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• Network consists of a large number of autonomous
  cells who have little contact with other cells
  and other members of their own
• Not all Muslims agree with the terror tactics of
  Al-Qaeda
• Americans and Europeans have the challenge of
  distinguishing b/w peaceful Muslims and the
  handful of terrorists out of the 1.3 billion
  Muslims in the World

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State Support of Terrorism

• Several Middle Eastern states have provided
  support for terrorists3 types
• Providing sanctuary
• Supplying weapons, money, and intelligence
• Planning attacks using terrorists
• Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran have all been
  accused by the US of supporting terrorism

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Libya

• 1986- bombing of a night club popular with US
  service men in Berlin
• Bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie,
  Scotland in 1988
• Bombing of UTA flight 772 over Niger in 1989
• After 8 years of UN trade sanctions, Colonel
  Muammar el-Qaddafi turned over flight 103
  suspects and agreed to compensate survivors of
  the victims

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Afghanistan

• Sheltered Osama bin Laden and other terrorists
  after the attack on the World Trade Center in NY
• Gov. known as the Taliban
• Strict Islamic Fundamentalist
• Ruled for six years until the US expelled them in
  2001

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Iraq

• US claimed Iraq was supporting terrorism and
  creating weapons of mass destruction
• Invaded in 2003 and deposed longtime ruler Saddam
  Hussein

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Iran

• Hostility with the US began in 1979 when a
  revolution removed pro-US leader from office and
  placed the Ayatollah Khomeini as ruler
• In Nov. of 1979, 62 Americans at the US embassy
  were kidnapped and held hostage until Jan. of
  1981
• US has accused Iran of harboring terrorists and
  of trying to develop nuclear weapons