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POLITICAL GEOGRAPHYStates, boundaries, and geopolitics

POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY

Study of the human organization of space and the distribution of political phenomenaIncludes the study of nationalityIncludes the study of country units or states

TYPICAL ISSUES

Boundary delineationsInternational alliancesRegional compactsProducer CartelsVoting PatternsConstituency boundaries

STATES, NATIONS, AND NATION STATES

StateIndependent political unit, occupying a defined, permanently populated territory. A state has full sovereign control over its internal and foreign affairsMost countries can be considered statesExceptions include

ColoniesProtectorates

Of all of the world's states, the largest in terms of area covered in Russia. Russia is so vast

that it spans eleven different time zones

NationRefers to a group of people with a common culture who occupy a particular territoryAlways a strong sense of unity usually arising from shared customs and beliefsLanguage and religion may be integral in the idea of nation

STATES, NATIONS, AND NATION STATES

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Nation StateA state whose territorial extent coincides with that occupied by a distinct nation or people with common beliefs

E.g. Japan, Iceland, Poland

STATES, NATIONS, AND NATION STATES TYPES OF NATION STATES

Bi-national / multi-nationalContains more than one nation

Part nation stateOne nation is dispersed across more than one state

E.g. Arab nation is present over 17 states

Stateless nationA nation that has no state

EVOLUTION OF THE MODERN STATE

Developed by Europeans in the C18thPeople owed allegiance to a state and the people that it represents rather than to the ruling body

GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STATES

Every state can be distinguished from other states by its geographic characteristicsThese include

SizeShapeLocationCore areas and capitals

SIZE

Size of states vary from very small (e.g. Leichtenstein) to very large (e.g. Russia)In general larger states have access to more resources than smaller statesSmall states are more likely to be culturally homogenous than large ones

SHAPE

COMPACTThe ideal state shape is considered as a circle with the capital located in the centerCapital is accessible from all parts of the state

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PRORUPT

Almost compact statesContain one or two narrow extensions of the territoryMay represent

PeninsulasBuffer zones between two other states that may other be joinedA corridor providing access to state resources

Shape cont.

ELONGATE

Long and narrow statesMost parts of the state are far from the capital, and can be isolatedCharacterized by

Climatic diversityCultural diversity

Shape cont.

FRAGMENTED

Composed entirely of islandsFragmentation makes it difficult to impose central control over territory

Shape cont.

PERFORATED

Occurs when one state completely surrounds another over which it has no control

a.k.a. enclaveBefore removal of the Berlin Wall, East Germany was perforated

Shape cont.

LOCATION

Absolute and relative location are significant

E.g. Iceland has an absolute location ~65° north in the Atlantic Ocean

The country is mostly barren (lots of volcanic and glacial activity)Most settlement is concentrated around the rim of the island

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Relative location of one state compared to another can be vital

E.g. Landlocked states are disadvantagedStates that have no ocean frontageNo access to maritime trade routes

location cont.

CORES AND CAPITALS

Original core area of a state usually contains the densest population, and largest cities

Southeast EnglandNortheast USA

Capital city is usually in the core area

BOUNDARIES

Each state is separated by international boundariesWithin that boundary a state

Administers lawsCollects taxesProvides defense

Before boundaries there were frontier zones

BOUNDARY CLASSIFICATION

Natural boundariesfollow a physical feature, often a river, mountain range or lakeMountains and Oceans create the best boundaries

Geometric boundariesfollow a geometric shape, typically a straight line, parallel of latitude, or meridian of longitude

Parts of the US/Canada and US/Mexico boundary are geometric

US/ Mexico border @ Mexicalli

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US/Canada border

SaskatchewanAlberta

Montana

Boundary classification cont.

Antecedent boundariesdrawn before there was much human settlement in an area

Sahara of northern AfricaCanada / US the result of a treaty signed in 1846 between the US and Britain

Subsequent boundariesdrawn after people had already settled in an area

Consequent boundaries (ethnographic boundaries)

drawn in such a way as to pay particular attention to human patterns on the landscape

India and Pakistan boundary drawn carefully to accommodate

Muslim majority in Pakistan Non-Muslim majority in India

Boundary classification cont.

Superimposed boundariesdrawn after people were living in an area and ignores human patterns

Most of the boundaries of Subsaharan Africa were drawn with no real regard to tribal identities and other human patterns

Relic boundariesno longer functioning

Berlin Wall separating east and west BerlinHadrian’s Wall separating those areas in Britain conquered by the Roman Empire, from those not conquered by the Roman Empire

Boundary classification cont.

Great Wall of China: a relic boundary

Hadrian’s Wall: a relic boundary

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Boundary disputes

Positional disputesStates disagree about where a boundary actually lies

Territorial disputesArises over the ownership of a particualar region

Resource disputesFunctional disputes

Neighboring states disagree over function of boundary

Geopolitics

A branch of political geography that considers

EconomicPoliticalMilitary aspects of space

Can assess and recommend actions in international relations best designed for national security, projection of power

Geopolitical theories – the heartland theory

Rooted from Halford MacKinder at the beginning of the C20th when Russia and Germany dominated Eastern Europe

Major powers would be those that controlled the land rather than the seaThose lands with the largest landmasses would become the most powerfulThe interior (heartland) would provide a base for world conquest

Modification of the Heartland theory by Nicholas Spykman

Coastal fringes (rimland) are the key, not the core

Contain the densest populationsContain the most resources

“ Who controls the Rimland rules Eurasia, Who rules Eurasia controls the destinies of the world”

Geopolitical theories – the rimland theory

By the end of WWII, heartland was equated with the USSRDuring the Cold War US foreign policy was dominated by containment

Confine the USSR by making regional alliances in the Rimland

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)CENTO (Central Treaty Organization)SEATO (Southeast Treaty Organization

Allows military intervention where communist expansion seemed to be taking place

Geopolitical theories –containment

States that where a country in the Rimlandis successfully taken over by a country in the “Heartland”, all adjacent countries will fallInvoked to explain US intervention in Vietnam

Geopolitical theories – the domino theory

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Centripetal Forces

Promotes unity and national stabilityNationalismUnifying institutionsOrganization and AdministrationTransportation and Communication

Only 8 railroads cross the boundary between the US and Canada – promotes national growth

Centrifugal Forces

Challenges State AuthorityNation states generally are not affected by centrifugal forces that weaken or destroys a state’s unity and stabilityMost strong in states that contain two or more nationalities that occupy distinct territories

When more than one nationality occupies a stateCan be disruptive if a group believes that its right to self-determination has not been achieved

Nationalities have the right to govern themselves in their own state or territory

SubnationalismCentrifugal Forces cont.

Regionalism

Occurs when a minority nationality has an explicit territorial identityExpressed as a desire for more autonomy and sometimes separation from the rest of the country

Quebec, CanadaScotland, UK

Centrifugal Forces cont.

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Devolution

Often when regionalism occurs governments have offered decentralization of political power

E.g. Scotland and Wales now have their own parliaments although they are not states of themselves

Centrifugal Forces cont.