Transcript APHG Unit Four Review

APHG Unit Four Review
Political Organization of
Space
Political Geography
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Political Geography is the study of the
political organization of the planet
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Since the beginning of history, humans have
divided the planet into political units, or
territories
Territoriality: effort to control pieces of the
Earth’s surface for political and social
reasons
Political Culture: the collection of political
beliefs, values, practices, and institutions
that the government is based on
Boundaries
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A state is separated from its neighbor
by boundaries, or invisible lines that
mark the extent of a state’s territory
and the control the leaders have
Historically, frontiers separated states
Frontier: a geographic zone where no
state exercises power
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Ex: Antarctica and the Rub al-Khali
Types of Boundaries
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Physical Boundary: Rivers, lakes, and
oceans are the most common; also
include mountains and deserts
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Law of the Sea: coastal boundaries
extend 12 nautical miles from the coast
Types of Boundaries
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Cultural Boundaries: boundary set by
ethnic differences such as language
and religion
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Ex: India and Pakistan
Geometric Boundaries: straight,
imaginary lines that generally have a
reason behind them
Morphology
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Territorial Morphology is a term that
describes the shapes, sizes, and
relative locations of states
Shapes of States
.
Compact – The most
efficient form.
A state whose
territory is nearly
circular. Because all
places could be
reached from the
center in a minimal
amount of time
making it the most
efficient for roads,
railway lines, other
infrastructure.
Examples: Burundi,
Kenya, Rwanda, and
Uganda
Shape of States
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Prorupt - A state
that is nearly
compact but
possess one or two
narrow extensions
of territory, which
isolates a portion of
the state.
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The proruption can be
a physical
(penninsula)
elongation of land or
may have economic
or strategic
significance – access
to resources, sea,
establishment of a
buffer zone, etc…
Examples:
Democratic Republic
of the Congo
Shape of States
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Elongated – A state
whose territory is
long and narrow.
The least efficient
shape
administratively. It
may sacrifice
national cohesion
to promote eco
strength.
Example: Chile,
Italy, and Gambia
Shape of States
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Fragmented –
Entirely made up
of islands or
territory, separated
by another state,
or is a state with
an offshore island.
- contains isolated
parts, separate
and
discontinuous.
Examples: Indonesia,
United States, former
East and West
Pakistan
Shape of States
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Perforated - A state
that completely
surrounds a territory
that it does not rule.
That area is called an
‘enclave’ and it may be
independent or part of
another state.
(Enclaves are territories
or ‘outliers’ located
inside another state.)
Example: Italy or
South Africa
Size of States
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Microstates: a country with a land size
of a few square miles
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Examples: Vatican City, Monaco
Russia is the largest country in the
world, followed by Canada, China, the
United States, and Brazil
Relative Location of States
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Landlocked State: countries lacking an
ocean coastline, and surrounded by
other states
Sometimes a landlocked country will
try to access a foreign port, or become
prorupted
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Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked
state
Functions of Boundaries
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Boundaries serve as symbols of
sovereignty, or the ability of the state to
carry out actions or policies within its
borders
Sovereignty promotes nationalism, or a
sense of unity with fellow citizens and loyalty
to the state
Internal Boundaries: boundaries within a
state
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Ex: The United States, Canada, China
Boundary Disputes
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Almost half of the world’s states have
been involved in boundary disputes
Positional Dispute: occurs when states
argue about where the boundary
actually is
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Ex: Argentina and Chile
Boundary Disputes
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Territorial Disputes: arise over
ownership of a region, usually around
mutual border
Usually one state claims the other
should belong to them due to ethnic
and language commonalities
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Ex: German invasion of Poland
Boundary Disputes
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Resource Dispute: dispute involving
natural resources that lie in border
areas
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Ex: Iraq and Kuwait
Functional Dispute: arise when
neighboring states cannot agree on
policies that arise in a border area
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Ex: US and Mexico border
The Nation-State
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State: a territorially organized piece of
land, or country
Institution: stable, long-lasting
organizations that help to turn political
ideas into policies
Nation: a group of people that is bound
together by a common political identity
The Nation-State
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A nation-state is a state whose territorial
extent coincides with a group of people, or
nation
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Binational/Multinational State: a state with
more than one nation
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Examples: Denmark, Iceland, The United States
Ex: The former USSR
Stateless Nation: a group of people without
a country
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Ex: Palestine, the Kurds
Organization of States
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Core Area: the heartland of an area;
identified by levels of population
concentration and transportation
networks
Multicore State: a state with more than
one core area
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Example: Nigeria
The Capital City
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In most states, the capital is not only
the center of government, but also the
economic and cultural center
Primate City: the largest city in a
nation and one where the second
largest city is significantly smaller
Forward Capital: the capital city serves
as a model for national objectives
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Ex: Japan
Electoral Geography
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Electoral Process: the methods used in a
country for selecting its leaders
Electoral Geography: the study of how the
spatial configuration of electoral districts and
voting patterns reflect and influence social
life
Gerrymandering: the attempt to redraw
boundaries to improve chances of winning
election
Minority/Majority Districting: rearranging
districts to allow a minority representative to
be elected
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Ex: North Carolina
Colonialism and Imperialism
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Colonies: Dependent areas given fixed
and recorded boundaries where none
existed before
Imperialism: empire building
Systems of States
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Unitary System: one that concentrates all
policymaking powers in one central
geographic place (European States)
Confederal System: spreads the power
among many sub-units and has a weak
federal government (Switzerland)
Federal System: divides power between
strong central government and sub-units
(US, Canada, Australia)
Supranational Organizations
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Cooperating groups of nations that
operate on either a regional or
international level for all major
decisions and rules
Challenges to the Modern
State
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Centripetal Forces: bring people
together
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Includes Nationalism, Institutions,
Television, and Transportation
Centrifugal Forces: destabilizes the
government and encourages the
country to fall apart
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Includes Multinationalism, Religious
Conflicts, and Separatist Movements
Devolution
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Devolution is the tendency to
decentralize decision-making to
regional governments
Devolution-Ethnic Forces
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Ethnic forces that can cause
devolution usually occur because of
multinationalism; an ethnic group sees
itself as a separate unity from the state
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Examples: Canada and Ireland
Devolution-Economic Forces
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Economic forces can devolve a state if
the economic activities of the state
vary by region; one region of the state
does better economically than the rest
of the state
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Examples: Italy and Spain
Devolution-Spatial Forces
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Spatial forces cause devolution if a
part of the state is separated from the
rest of the state due to physical or
other barriers
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Examples: East and West Pakistan and
Puerto Rico
Geopolitics
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The study of the spatial and territorial
dimensions of power relationships
within the political-territorial order
Friedrich Ratzel: developed the study
of geopolitics; compared the state to
an organism with a predictable rise
and fall of power
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Used by Hitler
Geopolitics
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Halford Mackinder was concerned with the
power relationship around Britain’s empire;
believed Britain’s empire revolved around
the sea, but eventually a land-based power
would rule the world
Heartland Theory: the “pivot area” of the
world (Eurasia), hold the resources to
dominate the world
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Used by Russia after WW II
Geopolitics
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Rimland Theory: challenges the
Heartland Theory; says the Eurasian
Rim holds the power to dominate the
world; rim includes land that encircles
the Heartland and includes China,
Korea, Japan, SE Asia, India, the
Arabian Peninsula, and Europe
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Developed by Nicholas Spykman
Supranational Organizations
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The United Nations (UN)
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191 Member States
Membership is voluntary
UN Peacekeeping Forces
Security Council (US, Britain, France,
China, and Russia)
World Bank and International Court of
Justice
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Anyone for Model UN next year?
Supranational Organizations
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North American Treaty Organization
(NATO)
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28 Member Nations including the US,
Canada, and Turkey
Developed as a political association
The combined spending of NATO on
defense is 70% of the world’s defense
spending
Supranational Organizations
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Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC)
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12 Member Countries including
Venezuela, Ecuador, and Nigeria
Purpose is to control the worldwide
supply of oil
Powerful political force as well
Supranational Organizations
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North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA)
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Agreement between the United States,
Canada, and Mexico
Trade bloc designed to promote
economic prosperity
Supranational Organizations
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European Union (EU)
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27 Member States
Economic and Political agreements
Three Pillars of the EU:
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Trade and other economic matters; including a
single currency and European Central Bank
Justice and home affairs; asylum, border
crossing, immigration, and international justice
Common foreign and security policy; joint
positions and actions, common defense policy
Forces of Change
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Democratization
Movement toward Market Economies
Revival of Ethnic or Cultural Politics
Democratization
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The movement of a country’s government
towards a democracy
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First Wave: developed gradually over time
Second Wave: occurred after the Allied
victory in WW II
Third Wave: began in the 1970’s and is
continuing today; characterized by defeat of
dictator or totalitarian rule in South America,
Eastern Europe, and Africa; Samuel
Huntington
Movement Towards Markets
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Many countries are moving from socialism
towards capitalism
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Command Economy: supply determined by the
state
Market Economy: demand determined by
consumer
Mixed Economy: Government has a say in what is
produced, but competition still exists
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Ex: Germany
Privatization: the transfer of state-owned property
to private ownership
Revival of Ethnic of Cultural
Politics
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Fragmentation: divisions based on
ethnic or cultural identities
Nationalism: identities based on
nationhood
Politicization of Religion: the
domination of religion in World Politics
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Samuel Huntington claims our next
worldwide conflict will be based on
clashes of civilizations