Studied by 5 people
Independent ______ are the primary building blocks of the world political map.
States
What are the requirements for a State?
Defined territory with borders
Permanent population
Government
Sovereignty
Recognition from other states
What is Sovereignty?
The right of a government to control and defend its territory and determine what happens within its borders
What is a Nation?
A group of people who share a common cultural identity through traits like language, religion, ethnicity, and heritage.
What is an example of a Nation?
Example(s) are…
The Maasai in East Africa live in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are a semi-nomadic ethnic group with a traditional culture and language.
What is a Nation-State?
When the borders of the nation match the borders of the state—a state with (ideally) only one nation within it
What are examples of Nation-States?
No “true” examples
Japan (98% Japanese, 70% Shinto & Buddhist)
Denmark (86.3% Danish, 75% Lutheran)
Iceland (81% Norse/Celtic Heritage, 67% Lutheran)
What is a Stateless Nation?
Nations of people without a State to occupy.
What are examples of Stateless Nations?
Example(s) are…
The Kurds in SW Asia
The Basque in Spain
Palestinians in Israel
What is a Multi-State Nation?
A Nation of people who live in more than one state.
What is an example of a Multi-State Nation?
Example(s) are…
After the fall of the Soviet Union, ethnic Russians living in former Soviet territories such as Estonia, Latvia, and Ukraine
What is a Multinational State?
A country with various ethnicities and cultures within its borders.
What are examples of a Multinational State?
Example(s) are…
The U.S.
Russia
the former Yugoslavia
Iraq
Afghanistan
Nigeria
What is a Autonomous (Semi-Autonomous) Region?
A location within a State that is given authority to govern independently from the national government.
What are examples of Autonomous or Semi-Autonomous Regions?
Example(s) are…
Hong Kong, and Tibet in China
Native American Indian Reservations and Tribal Lands in the U.S.
What is Self-Determination?
The right of all people to govern themselves. Usually, a nation, ethnicity, or former colony wants to govern itself and establish a sovereignty over its own state (may result in independence movements or devolution)
What causes Devolution?
Centrifugal forces, because power is sifted from the central government to regional authorities (which are usually reflective of nations).
What are events that have happened in the past that influence the Modern Map?
Berlin Conference (1884)
The Treaty of Versailles (1920)
Establishment of Israel (1948)
Decolonization & Independence Movements (1945-1990)
Fall of the Soviet Union (1991)
What are results of the “Berlin Conference (1884)”?
European powers gathered to divide up the continent of Africa and establish borders
Europeans drew political boundaries for their benefit without regard to tribal cultures and distributions. Over time this causes conflict and violence and impacted the development of African countries and other colonies
Colonialism & Imperialism
What is Colonialism?
People moving to a place, from their motherland, to create or bring the same culture.
What is Imperialism?
Economic exploration of a region/country by another (usually bigger) country
What are results of “The Treaty of Versailles” (1920)?
Ended WWI
Redrew boundaries in Europe and Southwest Asia
The Empires of German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman were broken up, they were organized into individual states to create nation-states
Results varied, with some places experiencing further division
What are the results of the “Establishment of Israel (1948)”?
Palestine was established as the state of Israel after the Holocaust
Self-determination for Arabs across Palestine rose
Conflict has been a constant since the state was officially established
In modern times, Palestine is recognized as a Stateless Nation by many countries throughout the world
What are the results of the “Decolonization & Independence Movements (1945-1990)”?
After the development of the United Nations and the end of WWII, the movement of decolonization began around the world
Resistance to colonial power and self-determination gained momentum and new countries were formed out of previous colonial empires
Throughout Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America
What are the results of the “Fall of the Soviet Union (1991)”?
This event 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 this Country
New states include: Ukraine, Estonia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus, Moldova, and the ‘Stans
What is Territoriality?
The control and influence over a specific geographic space.
What aspects does Territoriality include?
Historic and Cultural Links
Governments
Economics
Boundaries
Sovereignty
Defense/Military
Sometimes leads to conflict
What is Political Power?
The control over people, land, and resources
Doesn’t necessarily correspond to a specific geographic area with defined boundaires
How is Political Power and Territoriality Expressed?
Neocolonialism
Shatterbelts
Choke Points
What is Neocolonialism?
The use of economic, political, cultural, or other pressures to control or influence other countries
Semi-Periphery and Periphery Countries
Former African colonies - reliant on outside investments for economic security
Political Influence - U.S. Wars in the Middle East
What is a Shatterbelt Region?
Instability within a region that is geographically located between states with overlapping territoriality and political power
What are Choke Points?
A strategic strait or canal that is narrow, hard to pass through, and has competition 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
What are the types of Political Boundaires?
Antecedent
Subsequent
Consequent
Superimposed
Geometric
Relict
What are Antecedent Boundaries?
Border that are established before there has been major settlement by people in a territory.
What is an example of an Antecedent Boundary?
Example(s) are…
The 49th parallel that separates the U.S. and Canada.
What is a Subsequent Boundary?
Borders that are drawn in areas that have been settled by people, typically due to changes that have occurred over time.
What is an example of a Subsequent Boundary?
Example(s) are…
Boundaries in Europe have changed frequently throughout history usually in response to a new empire, war, or political agreement
What is a Consequent Boundary?
Is a type of subsequent boundary— takes into account the existing cultural distribution of people living in the territory and redevelops boundary lines to more closely align with cultural boundaries.
What is an example of a Consequent Boundary?
Example(s) are…
The boundary between Nunavut and the rest of Canada—drawn in 1999, established a province that coincided with the Indigenous groups.
What is a Superimposed Boundary?
A border that is drawn over existing and accepted borders by an outside force.
What is an example of a Superimposed Boundary?
Example(s) are…
The Berlin Conference imposed arbitrary boundaries throughout the continent of Africa.
What is a Geometric Boundary?
Borders that are established on straight lines of latitude and longitude instead of physical or cultural boundaries.
What are examples of Geometric Boundaries?
Example(s) are…
The Sykes-Picot agreement, Europeans split up the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire after WWI
The established border between Saudi Arabia and Iraq
What is a Relict Boundary?
A border that no longer exists, but has left some imprint on the local, cultural, or environmental geography.
What are examples of a Relict Boundary?
Example(s) are…
The Berlin Wall
The Iron Curtain
The Confederacy in the U.S.
How does one Identify a Boundary?
They are on land and in water
Express political power and territoriality
Used to establish sovereignty
Subject to change and conflict
Sometimes they correspond with cultural or economic divisions
What is a Defined Bound?
One legally agreed on between states
Countries legally define and agree to where boundaries are located through an agreement or treaty
What is a Delimited Boundary?
Marked on a map
Identifying the location of the defined boundaries on a map. Usually at the same time that boundaries are defined and done through a legal destination
What is a Demarcated Boundary?
Marked physically on the map, with something physically there
Visible marking of the landscape with objects such as fences or signs
What is a Administered Boundary?
Legal management of the border through laws, immigration regulation, documentation, and prosecution
Going to East to West Berlin, you have to have some form of ID to get in and out
Why do Maritime Boundaries matter?
Because of…
Trade and Shipping Routes
Fishing Rights
Oil Reserves
Defense
Landlocked Countries are at a Significant Disadvantage
Highly Disputed, just like Land Boundaries
What does “The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (1982)” do?
It establishes…
Territorial Sea
EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone)
What happens when there are less than 400 miles between two countries (talking about maritime boundaries)?
The Median Line Principle is enacted
What is the Value of Islands?
Islands can extend a state’s claim hundreds of miles beyond its contiguous borders
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) control nearly 30% of all seas and oceans
Blue Economy
What is the Census?
It’s done every 10 years (mandated by the Constitution), and is the official population count but also includes data on age, race, and sex.
What is the Census used for?
Determine federal and state funding for planning and providing services and building/maintaining infrastructure
Schools, Roads, Waste Management, Hospitals, Libraries, Public Transportation
Reapportioning the Congressional Map
What is Reapportionment?
A process in which U.S. House of Representatives seats are re-allocated to different states, based on population change.
How many Congressional Districts are there in the U.S.?
435, which means there is that number of U.S. Representatives aswell.
What is the Electoral College?
An organization that utilizes the popular vote to vote for President. (Loss of Congressional Seat = Loss of Electoral College Seat)
How many votes does the Electoral College have?
538 (435 from U.S. Representatives, 100 Senators, 3 Representing Washington, D.C.)
What is Redistricting?
A state’s internal political boundaries that determine voting districts for the U.S. House of Representatives and the State Legislatures. Redrawn to accurately reflect the new Census data.
What is a Voting District?
A geographic term used by State and Local Governments to organize Elections (they are drawn by state legislatures)
What are Requirements for Voting Districts?
Similar Population Size
Contiguous
Compact
Define Contiguous
A single, unbroken shape.
Define Compact
Smooth, rather than contorted boundaries and should cluster around a central core, rather than dispersing outwards.
What is Gerrymandering?
Redistricting for political advantage, when the political party that controls a majority of the seats in the state legislature draws political district boundaries to maintain or extend their political power.
What is Packing?
Clustering like-minded voters in a single district, thereby allowing the other party to win the remaining districts.
What is Cracking?
Dispersing like-minded voters among multiple districts in order to minimize their impact and prevent them from gaining a majority.
What are Representative Districts?
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.
What are Results of Gerrymandering?
Impacts election results at various scales (national, state, and local).
What are the two forms of Government?
Federal, and Unitary
Where is Power Held: Federal Government
A style of government in which power is shared between central, regional, and local governments
Regional and local governments have autonomy and authority to administer their spaces to account for the needs of diverse groups
Where is Power Held: Unitary Government
A style of government in which the power is located centrally and the purpose of regional or local units is to carry out policy
Regional and local political units exist but do not act independently to make laws or policies. The units are an extension of the central government.
Spatial Organization: Federal Government
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
Substrate —> County —> City/Local
Spatial Organization: Unitary Government
Very little political power outside the central government. Limited diffusion of power.
States are more likely geographically compact with less cultural differences and minority groups (*generally)
Positives: Federal Government
Reduction of conflict around specific issues because each sub-state can legislate differently
Death Penalty or Legalization of Marijuana
Local issues resolved more quickly by regional/local governments
Positives: Unitary Government
Efficiency in the creation and implementation of laws
All from one central authority
Change happens quickly - only has to go through the central government
Sense of Unity
Negatives: Federal Government
Slow to enact change
Amending to the Consitution - ¾ of states need to agree for a law to be amended
Conflicts between national, state, and local level governmental units can cause confusion and stall progress
Negatives: Unitary Government
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
What factors lead to the devolution of states?
Physical Geography
Ethnic Separatism
Ethnic Cleansing
Terrorism
Economic or Social Problems
Irredentism
What is Devolution?
The process in which regions within a State demand and gain political strength and growing autonomy at the expense of the central government.
What is Autonomy?
Independence, Freedom, Self-governing
Is Devolution Balkanization?
No, but it is a challenge to state sovereignty and destabilizes the central government.
Define Physical Geography
Regions that are separated from the central state due to physical features such as mountain ranges, deserts, or bodies of water.
What is an example of Physical Geography?
Example(s) are…
Fragmented states, like Indonesia, or the Phillipines
What is Distance Decay?
When distances increases between two locations, the quantity and quality of interactions decline.
What is an example of Distance Decay?
Example(s) are…
Kashmir is separated from the rest of India because of the Himalayan Mountains.
Define Ethnic Separatism
People of a particular ethnicity in a multinational state identify more strongly with their ethnic group than as citizens of the state
Many times a result of mistreatment or disparity between dominant ethnic groups and minority ethnic groups within a state
Define Ethnic Cleansing
State governments attack an ethnic group in an attempt to try to eliminate them through expulsion, imprisonment, or mass murder.
Similar to genocide (genocide is trying to eliminate an ethnic group instead of pushing that group out of an area) —> The Holocaust
Define Economic and Social Problems
Such as uneven development, different levels of economic activity, and conflict over the allocation of funding from the central level of government. Devolutionary forces, like discrimination against a minority group, can lead to increased tension.
What is an example of an Economic Problem?
Example(s) are…
Scotland in the UK
Most of the UK’s oil and gas assets are found in the North Sea, in Scotland
Control of the oil and gas reserves could make $$ for Scotland, rather than the UK if independent
Define Irredentism
A political and cultural movement where a nation seeks to reclaim territory it considers historically or ethnically related, often due to shared cultural ties with people living in that area or reunite with a nation-state from which they were separated.
What is an example of Irredentism?
Example(s) are…
Russians in Ukraine and other former Soviet Republics, Russia keeps trying to claim them because these countries have some born “Russians” in them.
What are some Challenges to State Sovereignty?
Devolution
Advancements in Communication Technology
Supranational Organizations
What are some examples of Devolution?
Example(s) are…
Catalonia, Basque, in Spain
Flanders, Wallonia, in Belgium
Quebec, Nunavut, in Canada
______ of the state through disagreement, disunity, and a desire for more autonomy.
Destablization
When a State cannot resolve issues, these devolutionary forces may result in _____ of a state.
disintegration
What is Time-Space Compression?
The Relative Distance between places has been shrinking due to modern advancements in transportation and communication technology.
Constant connections result in…
…the following
Information and news stories are broadcast throughout the world
Access to information, knowledge, and services
Instant communication with large groups
Propaganda and misinformation
What are the results of Advancements in Communication Technology?
Time-Space Compression decreasing
Constant connections
Increases devolutionary pressures and challenges state sovereignty, leads to social movements
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Flashcard (29)