aphg unit 4

state requirements

defined territory with borders, permanent population, government, the right to sovereignty, and recognition from other states

nation definition

a group of PEOPLE with a common identity through shared cultural traits such as language, religion, ethnicity, and heritage

nation-state definition

when the borders of the nation match the borders of the state- a state with (ideally) only one nation within it

stateless nation definition

nations of people WITHOUT A STATE to occupy

stateless nation examples

the kurds in southwest asia, the basque in spain, palestinians in israel. focused more on the people

multistate nation definition

a nation of people that live in MORE THAN ONE state. focused more on the people

multinational state definition

a country with various ethnicities and cultures within its borders. focused more on the location

multinational state examples

afghanistan, nigeria

(semi) autonomous region definition

a location within a state that is given authority to govern independently from the national government

sovereignty definition

the right of a government to control and defend its territory and determine what happens within its borders

the berlin conference

(1884) European powers gathered to divide up the continent of Africa and establish borders. europeans drew political boundaries for their own benefits without regards to tribal cultures and distributions. over time this caused conflict and violence and impacted the development of African countries.

the treaty of versailles

(1920) this treaty was signed to end ww1. it redrew boundaries in Europe and southwest asia; the german, austro-hungarian, and ottoman empires were broken up and organized into individual states with the intention of creating nation-states; this worked in some places and resulted in further divisions in others (specifically the middle east)

establishment of israel

(1948) Palestine, a former British colony, was established as the state of israel after the holocaust; self-determination for arabs across Palestine rose and conflict has ebbed and flowed since the state was officially established; palestinians are recognized as a stateless nation by many countries throughout he world

decolonization and independence movements

(1945-1990) after the development of the united nations and the end of ww2, the movement of decolonization began around the world; resistance to colonial power and political self-determination gained momentum and new countries were formed out of previous colonial empires; throughout Africa, south asia, southeast asia, and latin america

fall of the soviet union

(1991) the fall of communism and the soviet union ended the cold war and led to the creation of newly independent states, and changed the world balance of power; eastern Europe was less influenced by the soviet union, ex: yuogoslavia, east Germany, Poland; new states include Ukraine, Estonia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus, moldova, and the ‘stans

territoriality definition

the control and influence over a specific geographic space. often includes aspects such as historic and cultural links, govts, economics, boundaries, sovereignty, defense/military, sometimes leads to conflict

political power

control over people, land, and resources

shatterbelts

instability within a region that is geographically located between states with overlapping territoriality and political power

shatterbelt examples

Germany during the cold war, Balkan peninsula- former Yugoslavia

choke points

a strategic strait or canal which is narrow, hard to pass through, and has competition n for use; this could be closed or blocked to stop sea traffic and strategically show political power or territoriality; essential to shipping oil, food, and consumer products around the world

choke point examples

strait of malacca, strait of hormuz, suez canal

antecedent boundary

borders that are established BEFORE there has been major SETTLEMENT BY PEOPLE in a territory

ex. 49th parallel that separates the us and canada

subsequent boundary

borders that are drawn in areas that have been settled by people, typically due to changes that have occurred over time

ex. boundaries in Europe have changed frequently throughout history usually in response to a new empire, war, or political agreement

consequent boundary

takes into account the EXISTING CULTURAL DISTRIBUTION of the people living in the territory and redevelops boundary lines to more closely ALIGN WITH CULTURAL BOUNDARIES

ex. boundary between Nunavut and rest of canada, india and pakistan

superimposed boundary

border that is drawn OVER EXISTING and ACCEPTED BORDERS by an outside force

ex. berlin conference

geometric boundary

boundaries that are established on straight lines of latitude and longitude instead of physical or cultural boundaries

ex. Saudi arabia and Iraq, 49th parallel, sykes-picot agreement

relic boundary

border that no longer exists, buts has left some imprint on the local cultural or environmental geography

ex. boundary between east and west Germany during the cold war, the iron curtain, great wall of china, the confederacy in the us

characteristics of boundaries

defined, delimited, demarcated, administered, on land and in water, an expression of political power and territoriality, used to establish sovereignty, subject to change and conflict, sometimes correspond with cultural or economic divisions

defined boundary

countries legally define and agree to where borders are located through an agreement or treaty

delimited boundary

identifying a location of the defined boundaries on a map

demarcated boundary

visible marking of the landscape with objects such as fences or signs

administered boundary

legal management of the border through laws, immigration regulation, documentation, and prosecution

why maritime boundaries matter

trade and shipping routes, fishing rights, oil reserves, defense, landlocked countries are at a significant disadvantage, highly disputed

territorial sea

12 nautical miles from the coastline; complete sovereignty over the water and airspace; permission of “innocent passage” of foreign ships

exclusive economic zone (eez)

200 nautical miles; a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources such as fishing and whaling, as well as natural resources like natural gas, oil, and energy

median line principle

drawing a boundary that is midway between two or more states' coasts when there is less that 12/200 nautical miles

the census

done every ten years, mandated by the constitution- official population count but also includes data on age, race, and sex

use of census

\-determines federal and state funding for planning and providing services and building/maintaining infrastructure

ex. schools, roads, waste management, hospitals

\-reapportioning the congressional map; process of reapportionment and redistricting in order to assure that each congressional district is roughly the same population; if the population in a specific congressional district DECREASES, they could LOSE their congressional seat and vise versa

reapportionment

process in which us house of representative seats are reallocated to different states, based off of population change

electoral college

organization that utilizes the popular vote to then vote for president. loss of congressional seat = loss of electoral college seat

redistricting

states' internal political boundaries that determine voting districts for the us house of representatives and the state legislative. redrawn to accurately reflect the new census data

voting district

a geographic term used by state and local governments to organize elections; drawn by state legislatures

voting district requirements

similar population size, contiguous- a single and unbroken shape, compact- smooth rather that contorted boundaries and should cluster around a central core rather than dispersing outwards

gerrymandering

redistricting for a political advantage, when the political party that controls a majority of seats in the state legislature draws political district boundaries to maintain or extend their political power

packing

CLUSTERING like-minded voters in a single district, thereby allowing the other party to win the remaining districts

cracking

DISPERSING like-minded voters among multiple districts in order to minimize their impact and prevent them from gaining a majority

representative

the ideal, in which the voting districts are equal in population, contiguous, and compact. they are truly representative of the people living in the district

results of gerrymandering

impacts election results at national, state, and local scales

federal- power held

power is shared between central, regional, and local governments; regional and local governments have autonomy and authority to administer their spaces in order to account for needs of diverse groups

unitary- power held

power is located centrally and the purpose of regional or local units is to carry out policy; regional and local political units exist, but often don’t act independently to make laws or policy. the units are an extension of the central government

federal- spatial organization

power is diffused to state and local governments on multiple levels; multinational and geographically large→local power helps balance the needs of a diverse population; substate→country→city/local

unitary- spatial organization

very little political power outside of the central government. limited diffusion of power; states are more likely geographically compact with less cultural differences and minority groups

federal- positives

reduction of conflict around specific issues because each substate can legislate differently→death penalty or legalization of marijuana; local issues resolved more quickly by regional/local governments

unitary- positives

efficiency in the creation and implementation of laws→all from once central authority; change happens quickly- only has to go through the central government; sense of unity

federal- negatives

slow to enact change→amending the constitution 3/4 of states needed to ratify meaning 38 states have to agree; conflicts between national, state, and local level governmental units can cause confusion and stall progress

unitary- negatives

more vulnerable to corruption or authoritarianism→may only serve the interests of the dominant group; central government may not be in touch with local issues→slower to respond to local issues

devolution

the process in which regions within a state demand and gain political strength and growing autonomy at the expense of the central government

devolution factors

physical geography, ethnic separatism and cleansing, terrorism, economic or social problems, irredentism