Political Geography
Key Issue #1 Where are states located?
Current World States
State and Nation Terminology A nation is a group of people with a common ancestral heritage based on belief systems, customs, sometimes religion and language. A state is the area with a bounded territory and the government has sovereignty (control its own internal affairs) over that area. It is recognized to exist by other states, has a sizable population and an economic and political system. A nation-state is when that group of people coincides with the borders of the state. Not the 50 U.S. States!!
End of Cold War How did the world change as a result of the end of the Cold War?
States Versus Ethnic Group Areas: How can borders of a state and the area of an ethnic group differ? Example on this map?
The Nation-State Denmark Are there perfect nation-states? Not quite. Closest is Japan, Denmark, Slovenia Japan Slovenia
Statehood? Testing the Definition Korea: Divided @ 38N after WWII -Korean War Tensions always high been North & South -Both in UN 1992 As separate countries -Both governments committed to reunification Exchange visits of family members in 2000 Reconciliation halted due to North Korea s nuclear program. Taiwan: Chinese civil war 1940s -Nationalists fled to Taiwan -Still claimed rule over China -U.S. recognizes Communist China (1971) -Taiwan declares sovereignty. (1999) - Most gov. s agree -Taiwan most populous country not in UN
Statehood? Testing the Definition WESTERN SAHARA Known as the Sahrawi Democratic Republic -Morocco claims territory -Polisario Front fights this ANTARCTICA Shared Research stations but no military ops -Argentina, Aussies, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, UK claim territory -U.S. and Russia don t recognize any claims
Size of Countries Largest state: Russia 6.6 million sq. miles 11% of world s land area Other states over 2 million sq. miles United States, China, Australia, Canada, Brazil. Microstates smallest states Monaco -.6 sq. miles Other states under 1,000 sq. km = Andorra, Barbuda, Bahrain, Barbados, Micronesia, Singapore, & Tonga Most are islands = small size and sovereignty.
Ministates/microstates
Origins of the State Can be traced to Fertile Crescent Fertile Crescent is an arc between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea Crossroads between Europe, Asia, and Africa City-State is a sovereign state that comprises a town and surrounding countryside First states to evolve in Mesopotamia Mesopotamia including the empires of the Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians Egypt also had an empire from 3000 B.C. until the 4 th Century AD Roman Empire -Controlled 38 provinces @ height -Collapsed infighting and raids
What drove colonialism/ imperialism & how did they change the countries that had colonies? Modern States 1100 AD Kings estates under their control God, Gold, and Glory 1. Christianity 2. Resources to help economy 3. Colonies were indicative of power Began 1400s (New World) -Western colonialism ended 1824 -Asia/Africa imperialism followed -UK had the largest empire -France second (W. Africa, SE Asia) -Portugal, Spain, Germany, Italy, Denmark and Netherlands also
Key Issue #2 Why do Boundaries Between States Cause Problems
Compact States Efficient, distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly. Prorupted An otherwise compact state with a large, projecting extension -can provide a state with access to the coast. -can separate two states.
Perforated A state that surrounds another one. South Africa (Lesotho) Italy: 1.Vatican City 2. San Marino Fragmented Includes several discontinuous pieces. 2 types of separation: 1. separates another state (Armenia) 2. separated by water
Elongated Has a long narrow shape: May suffer from poor internal communications Landlocked Lacks direct outlet to the sea Leshotho surrounded by one country Most common in Africa
H T T P : / / W W W. M A R I L I N K. N E T/ W P - C O N T E N T/ U P LO A D S / 2 0 1 0 / 1 0 / T R U E - S I Z E - A F R I C A. J P G
Itaipu Dam Paraguay
Lesotho: an enclave Kaliningrad: an exclave
Land Boundaries International boundaries Have a vertical plane cutting through the rocks below, and the airspace above Why are the boundaries above and below ground important for a country to claim?
Look at the oil fields and pipelines. How did the locations of the fields and pipeline lead to Iraq s invasion of Kuwait in the early 90s?
Land Boundaries How do we get boundaries? Three steps of boundary evolution Define it Exact location established, via treaty-like legal documents, describing (absolute or relative) actual points Delimit it Officially put on a map, by a cartographer Demarcate it Actual ground markers fences, pillars, walls, etc. if desired Not all boundaries are demarcated
4 Corners: What type of boundary?
Land Boundaries Types of boundaries Geometric boundary Straight-line boundaries (often) marked by parallels or meridians Totally unrelated to any aspects of physical or cultural landscapes Physical-political boundary or natural-political boundary Outlined by a physiographic landscape features (river, mountain ridge, etc.) Convenient, but nature & meaning might change over time Cultural-political boundary Formerly anthropogenic boundaries Mark breaks in the human landscape Turn & Talk: Examples of each type of boundary geometric, physical, cultural
Land Boundaries Origin-based classification Richard Hartshorne s Genetic Boundary Classification Antecedent boundary Existed before the cultural landscape emerged Consequent boundary: Developed at the same time as the major elements of the cultural landscape Superimposed boundary Placed by powerful outsiders on a developed cultural landscape Relic boundary Ceased to function, but its imprint is still on the cultural landscape Frontiers A frontier is a zone of separation
Subsequent and Superimposed
Functions of Boundaries External Boundaries: Walls Limit state jurisdiction State symbols Internal boundaries For administrative purposes Examples: United States or Canada Some culturally divided countries have internal boundaries that do not show on a map
Functions of Boundaries Boundary disputes Four principal forms of boundary disputes Definitional Focus on the legalese of the agreement Locational Focus on the delimitation and/or demarcation of the border Operational Focus on neighbors who differ over the way their boundary should function Allocational Focus on resources that straddle neighbors
Trans-Arctic Shipping, boundaries LAW OF THE SEA 12 nautical miles: territorial laws 200: Economic zone Fishing 350: Resources continental shelf International waters Turn & Talk: What is the point of Shipping boundaries Law of the Sea?
September most navigable month Arctic ice sheet expected to thin for unaccompanied passage between Atlantic and Pacific Route directly over North Pole 20% shorter than the Northern Sea Route (hugs Russia) Northwest Passage today is navigable 1 out of 7 years (by mid-century: every other year due to ice melt) WHY? 25% carbon emissions Expected 10% additional increase will lower temps Law of the SEA: dashed lines
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2007/04/mongolia_land_w.html
Resources De Blij, Harm, J. (2007). Human Geography People, Place and Culture. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Domosh, Mona, Neumann, Roderic, Price, Patricia, & Jordan-Bychkov, 2010. The Human Mosaic, A Cultural Approach to Human Geography. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. Fellman, Jerome, D., Getis, Arthur, & Getis, Judith, 2008. Human Geography, Landscapes of Human Activities. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Pulsipher, Lydia Mihelic and Alex M. and Pulsipher, 2008. World Regional Geography, Global Patterns, Local Lives. W.H. Freeman and Company New York. Rubenstein, James M. (2008). An introduction to human geography The cultural landscape. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Benewick, Robert, & Donald, Stephanie H. (2005). The State of China Atlas. Berkeley: University of California Press.