State
Largest political unit , is the formal term for country. Requirements needed:
Defined boundary
Contains a permanent population
Maintains sovereignty to domestic and international affairs
Recognized by other states(can be just one)
Example:
Brazil
Nation
Often confused with state or country, is a group of people who share a common ethnicity
Requirements needed:
Share a common cultural heritage
Have beliefs and values that unify them
Claim particular space based on tradition as their homeland
Desire to establish their own state to express self-determination
Example: Catalonia/Catalans (in northern Spain)
Nation-state
A singular nation of people that fulfill requirements of a state
Example:Japan
Stateless Nation
Cultural groups with no independent political entities attached to them
Example: Kurdistan/Kurds
Multinational state
Country(state) that contains more than one nation
Example: Canada
Multi State nation
Nation that stretches across the borders of multiple states
Example: Hungary
Autonomous/Semi Autonomous region
Defined area in a state that has a high degree of self-governance and freedom from its state
Example: Hong Kong
Sovereignty
Independence from control of outside states when it comes to states own affairs
Self-determination
Process by which a country establishes what it means to be a state
Imperialism
Influencing a country or group of people by force, economic control, or cultural dominance
Colonialism
A particular type of imperialism that focuses around the concept of direct rule
First wave of European colonialism
Conquering “undiscovered” and “unclaimed” land
Examples:
Spanish and Portuguese in Latin and Central America
The English with North America
Second wave of European colonialism
resource acquisition and the spread of western ideology
Examples:
Berlin conference
Spheres of influence on China
Berlin conference
14 nations arbitrarily claiming territory in Africa as colonies while in berlin without African representation
Effects can still be seen based on the borders of states in Africa
Caused different ethically groups of people into one resulting in conflict
Devolution
The transfer of political power from central government to subnational levels of government, typically along regional lines
Can be built into a system and formalized:
USA
Can be a result of weak political infrastructure:
Soviet Unions collapse with the fall of communism
Can strain political sovereignty :
Catalonia
Territoriality
A community’s or country’s sense of property and attachment toward its territory, as expressed by its determination to keep its inviolable and strongly defended
Closely ties to the concept of sovereignty
Cultural territoriality
Direct ties to centripetal and centrifugal forces
Creates a sense of place
Often comes with tension
Economic territoriality
Economic gain to be had by holding specific lands and territories
Colonization of Africa by European powers
Disputes over the sovereignty of Sparty islands
Neocolonialism
form of indirect control through the use of economic/political pressures to control or influence other countries, especially former colonies
Seen in East/South East Asia for labor
Seen in Africa and Middle East for resource extraction
Shatterbelts:
Region endangered by local conflicts within states or between countries(states) in the area, as well as opposing great powers outside the region driven primarily by centrifugal forces
Examples:
Korea as a result of the Cold War (opposing great powers(North and south korea))
Kashmir due to the disputed claims of sovereignty from India, Pakistan, and China
(countries surrounding the territory)
Israel and Palestine because of the disputed territorial claims from the opposing sides
(local conflict within the state)
Choke points
geographical feature (sea or land), that has significant strategic importance
Examples:
The Panama Canal: Reduces length of trip from east to west coast of USA by 8000
nautical miles. ~12,000 ships pass through annually
Gibraltar: Connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic. Still an important colonial
holding for the UK.
Boundaries
invisible line or feature that marks the extent of a territory
Relic
Boundary that no longer exists as a boundary, but evidence of its existence can still be seen on the landscape
Example:
Berlin wall
Subsequent
Boundary drawn to accommodate immediate developments from a certain event after a population has settled in the region
Example: Yugoslavia
Superimposed
Boundaries drawn by powerful outsiders that DO NOT take into consideration existing cultural boundaries and divides
Example:
Imperial Africa/Berlin conference
Consequent
A boundary drawn to accommodate religions, ethnic, linguistic, or economic differences that have existed previously.
Example:
The partition of India and Pakistan
Antecedent
boundary in the natural landscape that existed before the settlements. Typically mountains or bodies of water.
Examples:
the Pyrenees Mountains: Spain and France
The Great Lakes of North America:The USA and Canada
Geometric
boundary that follows a straight line or arc disregarding any physical or cultural differences.
Example:
the 49th parallel that separates Canada and the USA
Definition
The territory in question is negotiated and legally described. Identifies definitive start and stop
Delimitation
the boundary is drawn on a map identifying the limits of the territory
Demarcation
Physical boundaries are put in place to identify the existence and limits of the boundary
Administration
The new boundary is maintained
Definitional disputes
Variation in the interpretation of the defined boundary
Territorial disputes
Questions about who should have claims to land based on population living in the territory
Typically based on irredentism
Functional disputes
Variation in the interpretation of the administration of the boundary
Resource disputes
Disagreement in which entity has rights to access a given resource
Irredentism
the annexation of territory based on a connection to part of the population that lives there
Example:
Annexation of the Sudetenland
Two-state solution/Zionism
Korean DMZ tries to counteract this
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
established rights and responsibilities of states concerning ownership/usage of the seas and their resources.
Territorial Sea
Up to 12 nautical miles of sovereignty; commercial vessels may pass but non-commercial vessels may be challenged
Contiguous Zone:
Coastal states have limited sovereignty for up to 24 nautical miles, where they can enforce laws on customs, immigration, and sanitation
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
Coastal states can explore, extract minerals , and manage up to 200 nautical miles
High Seas
Water beyond the EEZ open to all states
Voting District
Territorial subdivision dedicated to electing a representative to a legislative body
Redistricting
Establishing new voting districts due to changes in population
Gerrymandering
The drawing of boundaries for political districts by the party in power to increase or ensure their advantage.
Cracking
Spreading like-minded voters into several districts to prevent a majority. Also referred to as wasted vote gerrymandering
Packing
Combining like-minded voters into one district to prevent them from affecting elections in other districts. Also referred to as excess vote gerrymandering
Federal State
a state where there is a division of power between a central government and local territories/provinces/states
Examples:
United States, Canada and Belgium
Unitary State
a state that is governed as a single unit with a central, top-down form of governance where local territories only have power that is granted by the central government.
Examples:
China, Italy and Japan
Ethnic Separatism
Ethnic groups or minorities concentrated in a specific area look to gain independence/autonomy
Example: Pakistan
Ethnic Cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial and/or religious groups from a given territory by a more powerful ethnic group, often with the intent of making it ethnically homogeneous
Example:
Rohingya crisis
Terrorism
organized violence aimed at government and civilian targets that is intended to create fear in furtherance of political aims.
Examples:
Attack on 9/11
Taliban in Afghanistan
Subnationalism
Primary allegiance to a traditional group or ethnicity rather than the state
Examples:
Canada with Quebec
Belgium with Flanders and Wallonia
Balkanization
Can lead to disintegration of states into smaller independent states
Supranationalism
political and/or economic alliance of three or more states that is formed for mutual benefit to promote shared goals or resolve disputes, but can limit the economic or political actions of member states creating a challenge to state sovereignty.
Uneven development
Variation in distribution of funds or access to resources within a state or between states
Ethnic Nationalist Movements
Attempt at self determination by a smaller ethnic group within a larger state
Example:
Catalonia and Scotland
Failed States
A state that is unable to project authority of its territory and peoples, and fails to administer its own boundaries
Example:
South Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria
Ethnonationalism
An attempt to tie an ethnicity/ethnic identifier to the state
Example:Japan
Centripetal forces
bind a state together resulting in a stronger identity and a feeling of unification.
Centrifugal forces
put strains on states resulting in instability, devolution, and failed states in some more drastic cases.
Economics and trade agreements
The European Coal and Steel Company (EU)
United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement(USMCA)
Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN)
African Union
Military
NATO (the largest military alliance in the world)
United Nations(UN)
United Nations(UN)
Promote peace, security and human rights
North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO)
Provide mutual defense of member states from countries like Russia
European Union(UN)
Integrate member states politically and economically
Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN)
Advance economic growth, peace, social progress and cultural and economic development in the region
United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement(USMCA)
to stimulate free trade among members
Arctic Council
Foster cooperation, coordination, and interaction among the Arctic states with participation of Arctic indigenous communities
African Union
Advocate peace, security, and stability on the continent through greater cooperation, economic development, and global integration
Environmental
United Nations(UN)
Arctic Council
Annexation
The process of legally adding territory to a city
Studied by 88 People