Human Geography Chapter 8

State

a politically organized territory with a permanent population, a defined territory, and a government

Territoriality

“The attempt by an individual or group to affect, influence, or control people, phenomena, and relationships, by delimiting and asserting control over a geographic area.” - Robert Stack

Sovereignty

having the last say (having control) over and territory-politically and militarily

territorial integrity

the right of a state to defend sovereign territory against incursion from other states

Mercantilism

The belief that money equals power, sell more than buy, more export than import

Peace of Westphalia

series of treaties that ended the Thirty Years' War in 1648, marked the beginning of the modern state

Nation

A group of people who think of themselves as one based on a sense of shared culture and history, and who seek some degree of political-territorial autonomy

Nation-state

a politically organized area in which nation and state occupy the same space. Rare in practice. Origins in French Revolution. Ex: Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt

Multinational state

state with more than one nation within its borders

multistate nation

when a nation stretches across borders and across states

Stateless nation

nation that does not have a state ex: Kurds, Basques

Colonialism

Sovereign state takes control over an uninhabited or uncontrolled parcel of land and claims it as their own

Imperialism

Sovereign state takes control over another sovereign state or group of people to impose political, cultural, and economic values on the people

Neo-Colonialism

Current dependence of former colonies (sub-saharan africa) on the previous colonizer (europe). Also based on globalization and capitalist claims to resources around the world.

Scale

the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole

Wallerstein's World Systems Theory

1. The world economy has one market and a global division of labor. 2. Although the world has multiple states, almost everything takes place within the context of the world economy. 3. The world economy has a three-tier structure. (Peripheral, Semi-peripheral, Core)

Capitalism

In the world economy, people, corporations, and states produce goods and exchange them on the world market, with the goal of achieving profit

Commodification

The process of placing a price on a good and then buying, selling, and trading the good

Core processes

incorporate higher levels of education, higher salaries, and more technology--core processes generate more wealth in the world economy

Periphery processes

Incorporate lower levels of education, lower salaries, and less technology--periphery processes generate less wealth in the world economy

Semiperiphery places

places where core and periphery processes are both occurring, places that are exploited by the core but in turn exploit the periphery

centripetal

the forces within a state that unify the people

centrifugal

the forces within a state that divide the people

unitary governments

all power resides in the central government Ex: Afghanistan, People’s Republic of China, Japan, Egypt, Sweden

federal systems

government systems that divide the powers between the national government and state or provincial governments

devolution

the movement of power from the central government to regional governments within the state. Reasons: Ethnocultural, Economic, Spatial Forces

territorial representation

system where in each representative is elected from a territorially defined district

Reapportionment

the process by which districts are moved according to population shifts, so that each district encompasses approximately the same number of people

splitting

the process by which the majority and minority populations are spread evenly across each of the districts to be created therein ensuring control by the majority of each of the districts; as opposed to the result of majority-minority districts

majority-minority districts

packed districts in which a majority of the population is from the minority

gerrymandering

Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power.

boundary

Invisible, vertical plane between states that cuts through the rocks below, and the airspace above the surface. Divides the extent of a state's territory

Establishing a boundary

1st, states define the boundary through a treaty-like legal document in which actual points in the landscape or points of latitude and longitude are described. 2nd, cartographers delimit the boundary by drawing on a map. 3rd, if either or both of the states so desire, they can demarcate the boundary using visible means. 4th, the final step is to administrate the boundary--to determine how the boundary will be maintained and how goods and people will cross the boundary

geometric boundaries

when boundaries are drawn using grid systems such as latitude and longitude or township and range

physical-political boundaries

boundaries that follow an agreed upon feature in the physical geographic landscape

Definitional boundary dispute

Conflict over the language of the border agreement in a treaty or boundary contract

Locational Boundary Dispute

These disputes arise when the definition of the border is not questioned but the interpretation of the border is.

Operational Boundary Dispute

dispute over function of boundary, differing views of enforcement

Allocational Boundary Dispute

A boundary dispute that involves conflicting claims to the natural resources of a border region.

Organic Theory (Ratzel)

A country, behaves like an organism-to survive, a state requires nourishment, or territory, to gain political power.

Heartland theory

Hypothesis proposed by Halford MacKinder that any political power based in the heart of Eurasia could gain enough strength to eventually dominate the world.

Geopolitics

Global-scale relationships between sovereign states

critical geopolitics

Intellectuals of statecraft construct ideas about places, these ideas influence and reinforce their political behaviors and policy choices, and these ideas affect how we, the people, process our own notions of places and politics

Unilateralism

World order in which one state is in a position of dominance with allies following rather than joining the political decision-making process

supranational organization

voluntary association of three or more states to promote shared goals

Nationalism

Strong sense of loyalty to the state on the part of its people, government that promotes the nation within the state, promotion of loyalty to the state in multinational states

Democracy

the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation, or to choose governing officials to do so

Modern State Idea

The idea of a state that is tied to a particular territory with defined boundaries. Came out of Europe. Diffused through Mercantilism and Colonialism

Imagined Communities

Imagined = you will never meet all the people in your nation, Community = you see yourself as part of it, used to analyze Nationalism

Balkanization

Division of a place or country into several small political units, often unfriendly to one another

Theocracy

Government and religion are run together as one and use divine guidance to run state. ex: Yemen, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Vatican City

Force Theory

states were created through forced movement and demarcation

Divine Right Theory

states were created through the ideology that people had a god-given right to a territory and they had to defend it

Social-Contract Theory

states were a compromise of ideas, beliefs, and people agreed to be members of these states based on the shared beliefs

Evolution Theory

states evolved from necessity and expansion of humans, differences in size and territory were dependent upon the evolutionary needs of the people

Self-Determinism

People will naturally try to control their environment and the activities that take place within that environment

Elongated State

A states whose territory is long and narrow in shape ex: Chile

Compact state

“round” shaped state ex: Uganda

Perforated state

a state that completely surrounds another state ex: South Africa surrounds Swaziland and Lesotho

Protrude state

an extension that protrudes from the main territory ex: Thailand

Micro State

Sovereign nation with a small population ex: Vatican City

Enclave

When a country is completely surrounded by another county, but is not ruled by it. ex: Lesotho

Exclave

Part of a nation's territory that is completely separate from its main body. ex: Alaska

Relic Boundary

A former boundary that is no longer in use but still visible as a relic on the ground. Ex: Great Wall of China

Primate City

A city that is the largest in its country, province, state, or region, and disproportionately larger than any others in the urban hierarchy. Ex: Seoul in South Korea

Multi-Core State

A state with more than one center of activity. Ex: Nigeria

Landlocked state

 Almost or entirely surrounded by land; having no coastline or seaport. Ex: Chad

Fragmented state

Broken into pieces; archipelagos. Ex: Phillipines

Territorial Sea

Sovereign territory includes the area of sea from shore out to the 12-nautical mile limit. All laws of the country apply there

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

Exclusive economic rights from shore out to the 200-nautical-mile limit. Within that, a state controls all aspects of natural resource exploration and extraction. Ex: Fisheries, Oil and gas productions

Antecedent boundary

Boundary lines that exist from prehistoric times

Subsequent boundary

Lines resulting from conflict or cultural changes. Ex: War, migration

Superimposed boundary

Lines laid down for political reasons over existing cultural boundaries