APHG Unit 4

Political Geography

Definitions and Basic Concepts

  • Political Geography: The branch of geography that deals with the boundaries, divisions, and possessions of countries (states).

Political Maps: Maps that emphasize the political divisions of regions, showing boundaries, the locations of capitals, and other significant administrative features.

  • The political map is often the first world map learned by students.

  • It appears natural to most, but the mosaic of states represents a politically organized space less than 400 years old.

  • Key Insight: Just as people create places, they also create states.

Political Boundaries

Advantages and Disadvantages of Natural Borders

  • River as a Border: Good for delineating land, yet can be disadvantageous due to changing courses and flooding.

  • Example countries involved: Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil.

Political Entities

Questions to Consider

  • What defines a place as a country?

Types of Nations and Political Entities

Nations

  • Definition: Groups united by common cultural, ethnic, religious, or historical identities, which may or may not have their own political agenda.

Nation-state

  • Definition: Ethnic groups with sovereign territory.

  • Importance of self-determination: Right for an ethnicity to govern itself.

Stateless Nations

  • Examples:

    • Hmong (in Laos, China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand)

    • Kurds (in Turkey, Armenia, Iran, Iraq, and Syria)

    • Mapuche (in Chile and Argentina)

    • Roma/Romani populations across Europe and the Americas.

Statistical Overview of Stateless Nations

  • Kurds: Approx. 25 million people across 6 states.

  • Palestinians: About 8 million living in various Arab states.

  • Roma: Estimated between 2-20 million globally, primarily originating from India.

  • Basques: About 2 million people in the Basque region and numerous others worldwide.

Former and Current Unrecognized States in Africa

States with Limited Recognition

  • **Examples:

    • RIF Republic

    • Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

    • Azawad

    • Federal Republic of Ambazonia

    • Others including puppet states and regions with histories of independence declarations since 1920.**

How Does Someone Become Stateless?

Causes of Statelessness

  • Prolonged absence abroad.

  • Renouncing citizenship without acquiring another nationality.

  • Laws discriminating on grounds of sex, race, ethnicity, or religion.

    • For instance: Women in Morocco before 2007 could not pass on nationality to children.

Impacts of Statelessness

  • Stateless individuals may experience:

    • Detentions or incarcerations.

    • Alienation and a sense of not belonging.

    • Difficulty in receiving pensions, filing police reports, working legally, and accessing medical care.

Multinational States vs Stateless Nations

Multinational States

  • Examples: United States, Canada with a focus on the Quebec sovereignty movement.

Autonomy and Self-Determination in Kurdistan

Key Concepts

  1. Self-determination: The right of peoples to freely choose their political status.

  2. Types of political entities in Kurdistan: Possible classifications and justifications.

  3. Challenges from the Iraqi central government against Kurdish independence.

  4. Problems arising from superimposed boundaries (e.g., legacy of colonialism).

Colonization and Its Impacts

Scramble for Africa

  • Historical Context: The Berlin Conference (1884-85) was the framework for colonialism which partitioned Africa among European powers without regard for existing ethnic and cultural boundaries.

Evolution of Bordering Concepts

Types of Boundaries

  • Natural Boundaries: Defined by physical features like mountains and rivers.

  • Geometric Boundaries: Formed by straight lines that disregard cultural and natural features.

  • Consequent Boundaries: Coincide with cultural divides.

  • Superimposed Boundaries: Established by external powers ignoring preexisting cultural and ethnic divisions.

Political Power and Territoriality

Neocolonialism, Choke Points, and Shatterbelts

  • Neocolonialism: Use of economic, political, and cultural pressures to influence former colonies.

  • Shatterbelts: Regions caught between colliding external forces.

  • Choke Points: Strategic areas essential for trade and resource transport.

Current Global Political Dynamics

International Recognition

  • Israel and Palestine's international recognition statistics as of June 2024:

    • Israel: 164 of 193 UN member states.

    • Palestine: 146 of 193 UN member states and recognized as a non-member observer state since 2012.

Reminders and Updates

  • Importance of maintaining organizational structures in projects and research.

Case Studies and Examples

  1. Terrorism: Analyzing the definitions, types (state-sponsored, transnational, domestic), and impacts on global security.

  2. Gerrymandering: An example of how political boundaries can be manipulated for electoral advantage, affecting representation.

Policy Options for States

  • Defensive measures and offensive strategies aimed at combating terrorism while maintaining sovereignty.