Political Geography

Key Terms• Nation –all the citizens of a tightly knit group of

people possessing bonds of language, ethnicity, religion, and other shared cultural attributes/identity

• State – politically organized territory administered by a sovereign government – has a defined territory, permanent population, a government, and is recognized by international community

What is Sovereignty?

• Sovereignty – ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states

Nation-State

• Recognized political unit wherein territorial state coincides with the area settled by a certain group of people – corresponds with particular ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality

• Very few true Nation-States• Close Example is Denmark:– Most people of Denmark are Danes but not all

Not all States are Nations

• FRANCE – State > Identified as a political area

Nation > Most people in France ID themselves as

French• YUGOSLAVIA – State > Identified as a political

areaNOT A NATION > Majority Identify

themselves as Croatian, Serbian, or Slovenian etc.- Not as Yugoslav

Concept: Nation-State

• Ideal built on homogeneity of territory and culture

• Politically organized• Sovereignty: final

authority over territories political and military affairs

• Example - Japan • Ethnic Groups in Japan

Japanese 99%

Picture Here

CIA Factbook. online

Multinational State – A state with more than one nation.

The Former Yugoslavia

Stateless Nations Have no national Territory

• 20 million Kurds

• Turkey and Iraq very volatile relationship

• Kurds desire territory or at least autonomous control of land in Iraq and Turkey

• Fertile Crescent – arc between the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Sea

• First states to evolve were known as city-states– City-state – sovereign state that comprises a town and

surrounding countryside–Walls were boundary of city with area outside the city

used for agriculture (food for urban residents)– Empire would be formed when one city-state would

gain military dominance over others• Ex. Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians

Ancient States

• Roman Empire spread across most of Europe, North Africa, and Southwest Asia– 38 provinces using same laws–Walls used to defend empire’s frontier

• European portion fragmented into large number of estates (owned by kings, dukes, barons)

• Consolidation of neighboring estates under control of a king led to development of modern Western European states

Early European States

• Colony – territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than being completely independent– Control of the colony varies

• Colonialism – effort by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles on a territory

Colonies

• European states established colonies for 3 reasons1. European missionaries established colonies to promote

Christianity2. Colonies provided resources that helped the economy

of European states3. European states considered the number of colonies to

be an indicator of relative power

• Summarized as “God, gold, and glory”• Imperialism – control of territory already

occupied and organized by an indigenous society

Colonies

• Nearly all in Pacific Ocean or Caribbean Sea• Puerto Rico is most populous remaining colony– Commonwealth of the United States– 4 million residents

• France’s French Polynesia, Mayotte, and New Caledonia; the Netherlands’ Netherlands Antilles; and the United States’ Guam and U.S. Virgin Islands are colonies with population between 100,000 and 300,000

• Least populated colony – Pitcairn Island (United Kingdom) – 47 people

Few Remaining Colonies

Colonial Possessions, 2006

• Boundary – invisible line marking the extent of a state’s territory– Result from combination of natural physical features

and cultural features– Boundaries interest geographers because the process

of selecting their location is frequently difficult– Boundary line is only location where physical contact

must take place between neighboring states– Potential to become focal point of conflict

Boundaries

• Two types of boundaries 1. Physical – coincide with features of the natural

landscape (mountains, deserts, water)– Three types of physical elements serve as boundaries

– Mountains, deserts, and water

2. Cultural – follow the distribution of cultural characteristics– Typically coincide with differences in ethnicity, mainly

language and religion, but also includes geometry

Types of Boundaries

Evolution of Boundary(3 stages)

• 1. DEFINITION – treaty-like definition on the landscape agreed upon

• 2. DELIMITATION – Put line on the map officially

• 3. DEMARCATION – Making the Boundary known – fences,

markers, signs

How are Boundaries Created?• Defined - usually

legally by someone who is not directly involved (written)

• Delimitation - mapped

• Demarcation - marked with posts, walls, fences, etc.

BOUNDARY

• Not just a line on the ground

• Vertical Plane

• Cuts deep into the ground and far up into the air

• Rights to drill oil, mine coal / airspace

Boundary – a vertical plane that cuts through the rocks below and the airspace above, dividing one state territory

from another.

• Mountains can be effective if difficult to cross

• Useful boundaries because they are permanent and sparsely inhabited– Ex. Andes

Mountains serve as border between Argentina and Chile

Mountain Boundaries

• Deserts are hard to cross and sparsely inhabited• Common in Africa and Asia– Ex. Sahara desert in North Africa

Desert Boundaries

Frontier – zone where no state exercises complete political control

A tangible geographic area that provides an area of separation that is either uninhabited or sparsely settledFrontiers have been replaced by boundariesOnly regions of the world that still have frontiers are Antarctica and the Arabian Peninsula

• Rivers, lakes, and oceans are commonly used as boundaries

• Readily visible and relatively unchanging• Boundaries are usually in the middle of water

Water Boundaries

– Precise position of water may change over time• Ex. Rio Grande River that borders U.S. and Mexico in

which treaties were needed to restore land affected by shifting course of the river

– Ocean boundaries cause problems because states generally claim the boundary lies out at sea, rather than along the coastline• Reasons are for defense and control of valuable fishing• Law of the Sea (1983) was signed by 117 countries

standardizing the territorial limits for most countries at 12 nautical miles

Water as boundaries can cause difficulties

• Straight lines that serve as political boundaries that are unrelated to physical and/or cultural differences– 49˚ north latitude established in 1846 separating

Canada and the United States– 600 mile boundary between Chad and Libya is a

straight line across the desert• Aozou Strip has produced some conflict

Geometric Boundaries

Geometric Boundaries

• Creating a dividing line between religions has rarely been used

• British partitioned India into two states based on religion–Muslim portion were allocated to Pakistan– Hindu portions became independent India

• Two states on the island of Ireland (Eire)– Northeast Ireland is part of the United Kingdom and

is predominately Protestant, while Ireland is 95% Roman Catholic

Religious Boundaries

• Language important cultural characteristic for drawing boundaries – especially in Europe– Language has been a means of distinguishing

distinctive nationalities in Europe• France, England, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Germany used

language to assist in developing boundaries

– Following World War I, languages played a major role in the creation of new states – especially in Eastern and Southern Europe

– Several countries were adjusted somewhat following World War II

Language Boundaries

• IRRENDENTISM – support the return to their country territories that used to belong to it but are now under foreign rule

• Nazi Germany unifying German lands• UK returning Hong Kong to China

Shape of States

• Distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly– Theoretically shaped like a

circle with capital in center

• Beneficial because good communications can be more easily established

Compact State

Rwanda

• Fragmented state includes several discontinuous pieces of territory

• Two kinds of fragmented states1. Separated by water

2. Separated by an intervening state

• States fragmented by water– Indonesia is most extreme example• 13,677 islands extended more than 3,000 miles• More than 80% live on two islands, yet fragmentation

hinders communication and makes integration nearly impossible

Fragmented State

• States fragmented by an intervening state– Problematic if not friendly with neighbor

• Examples of fragmented states– Angola – fragmented with creation of proruption of

Zaire (now Congo)– Russia – area of Kaliningrad is 250 miles from the

remainder of Russia• Separated by Belarus and Lithuania• Russia wants for strategic naval base

– Panama – fragmented when the U.S. owned the Panama Canal and surrounding Canal Zone• No longer – Panama took control on December 31, 1999

Fragmented State

Fragmented State

Kaliningrad (along the Baltic Sea) is fragmented from the rest of Russia by Belarus and Lithuania.

Kaliningrad

• Otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension

• Created for two reasons1. Provide state with access to a resource

– Belgium made proruption 300 miles in length along Zaire River in order to have access to Atlantic Ocean – when they controlled the Congo

2. Separate two states that would otherwise share a boundary– British created a long, narrow proruption in Afghanistan

to prevent Russia from sharing a border with Pakistan

Prorupted State

Prorupted State

Zaire – proruption located on western portion to provide access to Atlantic Ocean

Afghanistan – proruption located on eastern portion to prevent Russia from accessing Pakistan

• States with long and narrow shape– Chile is the best example– Other examples include Italy, Malawi, and Gambia

• Elongated states may suffer from poor internal communications

• Regions at the extreme ends may often be isolated

Elongated State

Elongated State

Chile – more than 2,500 miles long, but rarely more than 90 miles wide

Malawi – more than 530 miles long, but only 90 miles wide

Perforated State• broken by another

country• 1. exclaves:

separated from the state by another state– e.g. Azerbaijan

• 2. enclaves: surrounded by another state– e.g. Christian

Armenia– b. e.g. South

Africa-Lesotho

Which Shape is this State? 1.

Which Shape is this State? 2.

Which Shape is this State? 3.

Which Shape is this State? 4.

Which Shape is this State? 5.

Lesotho

Which Shape is this State? 6.

• Landlocked state – lacks a direct outlet to the sea because it completely surrounded by several other countries–Most common in Africa (14 of 54 are landlocked)– Remnants of European imperialism when European

powers built railroads to connect interior of Africa to seaports

• Direct access to an ocean is critical for trade– Bulky goods are usually transported long distances by

ship –Must arrange to use another country’s seaport

Landlocked States

Forms of Government

• Unitary – highly centralized government where the capital city serves as a focus of power.

– POWER IS HELD CENTRALLY

• Federal – a government where the state is organized into territories, which have control over government policies and funds.

– POWER IS DISPERSED AMONG TERITORIES

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

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/nigeria/

Minnesota’s concealed weapons law

requires the posting of signs such as this on buildings that do not allow concealed weapons.

The U.S. Federal Government – Allows states within the state to determine “moral” laws such as death penalty, access to alcohol, and concealed weapons.

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?

Global Scale – The United Nations

Regional Scale – The European Union

• Primate City – A country’s largest city – representing best the national culture (usually capital) –Mexico City– London–Paris

• USA• Capital City = – Washington DC

• Primate City = – New York City

• Boundaries separating legislative districts redrawn periodically to ensure each district has approximately same population– Boundaries of U.S. House of Representatives redrawn

every 10 years – following the census

• Most European countries use independent commissions to redraw district boundaries

• Most U.S. states use the state legislature – giving the political party in power to redraw districts

Electoral Geography

• Gerrymandering – process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power

• Three types of gerrymandering1. “Wasted Vote” – spreads opposition supporters

across many districts, but in the minority

2. “Excess Vote” – concentrates opposition supporters into a few districts

3. “Stacked Vote” – links distant areas of like-minded voters through oddly shaped boundaries

Electoral Geography

• The term gerrymandering is derived from Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814), the governor of Massachusetts from 1810 to 1812. In 1812, Governor Gerry signed a bill into law that redistricted his state to overwhelmingly benefit his party, the Republican Party.

• The opposition party, were quite upset. One of the congressional districts was shaped very strangely. It was remarked that the district looked like a salamander.

• The Boston Weekly Messenger brought the term gerrymander into common usage when it subsequently printed an editorial cartoon that showed the district in question with a monster's head, arms, and tail and named the creature a gerrymander."