AP Human Geography Unit 4 Review Notes

State vs. Nation

• State: A geographic area with:

  • Permanent population

  • Defined borders

  • Sovereign government (control over domestic and international affairs)

  • Recognition by other states

• Nation: A group of people with:

  • Shared culture

  • Shared history

  • Shared homeland

  • Desire to govern themselves (self-determination)

    • Self-determination: The right or desire to self-govern.

Political Entities

• Nation-State: A self-governing state with a relatively uniform population sharing a common language, culture, and history.

  • Often geographically compact and historically isolated.

  • Examples: Japan, Iceland, South Korea.

• Multinational State: Consists of multiple nations within its borders, each with distinct identities and traditions.

  • Typically, a dominant cultural group controls the political, economic, and social system.

  • Example: Canada (English and French linguistic groups).

• Multi-State Nation: A nation that exists across multiple states.

  • Examples: Kurdish population (Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Armenia, Azerbaijan), Basques (Spain and France).

• Stateless Nation: A nation with a history of self-determination but no officially recognized state.

  • Lacks control over political boundaries, a sovereign government, control over internal/external affairs, and recognition from other states.

  • Examples: Kurds, Basques.

• Autonomous Region: A region within a state that enjoys a certain level of independence from the state.

  • Has its own government and self-rule over internal affairs.

  • Example: Native American reservations in the United States.

• Semi-Autonomous Region: A region controlled by another state but granted a moderate degree of self-governance.

  • Has some control over internal affairs, but the controlling state can intervene.

  • Example: Hong Kong (subject to China's central government).

Colonialism and Imperialism

• Colonialism: Acquiring territories and settling there to exert political, economic, and social control.

• Imperialism: Growing a state/empire by exerting force over other nations for economic and political power without establishing settlements.

• Colonialism and imperialism led to the diffusion of religions, languages, cultures, resources, people, and ideas globally.

• Colonizer's culture was often imposed on the colonized population.

• The Berlin Conference: European powers colonized Africa and created boundaries based on longitude, latitude, and what worked best for them instead of recognizing different ethnic, linguistic, and cultural groups in the region.

• Colonies and newly formed states often lacked adequate infrastructure, education, and were designed to be dependent on European power.

• Independent African countries experienced conflict due to colonial powers' created political boundaries.

• European Influence in China: China was divided into different spheres of influence that focused on colonial interests instead of the interests of the local population.

• Decolonization: Colonies breaking away from colonial rulers to become independent states.

  • Occurred primarily after World War II in regions such as Africa.

  • Newly independent colonies often remained dependent on former colonial rulers.

Devolution

• Devolution: The transfer of political power from a central government to a regional government.

  • Can involve creating new regional governments (e.g., Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly in the UK) or transferring specific powers to existing subnational governments.

Political Power and Territoriality

• Territoriality: The tendency to establish and defend a specific geographic area.

  • Involves the use of space to indicate ownership or occupation.

  • Expressed through non-verbal communication, boundary control, military interventions, promotion of political/economic systems, and regulation of activities within a region.

• Neocolonialism: The indirect use of political, cultural, or economic power to influence or control another country.

  • Dominant countries or corporations exploit their power to manipulate weaker countries for their own benefit, such as extracting resources and wealth.

  • Multinational corporations use economic might to exploit low-cost labor markets.

  • China's investment in African infrastructure: Often involves loans from the Chinese government and uses Chinese companies to complete the project.

    • Loans come with conditions that benefit China.

    • China gains political alliances and more influence and control over countries in Africa.

• Shatter Belts: Regions where countries or people are subject to political, cultural, and economic pressure from external powers in conflict.

  • Examples: Eastern Europe during the Cold War, the Korean War.

• Choke Points: Geographic areas that have to be passed through to reach a destination.

  • Countries exert influence by stationing military forces, investing in infrastructure, or creating treaties.

  • Examples: Panama Canal, Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal.

Political Boundaries

• Defining: Boundary line is agreed upon and set.

• Delimiting: Boundary line is drawn on a map and physically marked.

• Demarcating: Boundary is marked with permanent physical markers (walls, signs).

• Geometric Boundary: Uses straight lines and follows latitude and longitude (e.g., the 49th parallel between Canada and the United States).

• Antecedent Boundaries: Existed before human settlement or cultural landscape creation.

  • Determined by local geography.

  • Example: boundary between Argentina and Chile (mountain range).

• Relic Boundary: No longer officially recognized but still affects the cultural landscape.

  • Example: Berlin Wall.

• Superimposed Boundary: Created by an external power without considering local communities' needs.

  • Example: Boundaries established at the Berlin Conference.

• Subsequent Boundaries: Develop along with the cultural landscape.

  • Example: Boundaries of Europe.

• Consequent Boundary: Created to separate ethnic, religious, or linguistic groups.

  • Example: Border between Pakistan and India.

• Frontier: A geographic area where no state has direct power or control.

Functions of Boundaries

• International Boundaries: Separate sovereign states, established through treaties and agreements.

• Internal Boundaries: Separate different regions within a single state, established by the state's government.

  • Used to distribute power throughout a state.

Boundary Disputes

• Definitional Boundary Disputes: Occur over the interpretation of original boundary documents.

• Locational Boundary Disputes: Occur over the location of the boundary and land ownership.

• Operational Boundary Disputes: Occur when countries disagree on how to manage a boundary.

• Allocational Boundary Disputes: Occur over the use of resources on or in the boundary.

UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea)

• Established in 1982 to help countries manage allocational boundary disputes at sea.

  • Territorial Waters: Extends 12 nautical miles from shore; states set laws regulating passage.

  • Contiguous Zone: Extends 12-24 nautical miles from shore; states enforce laws on pollution, taxation, customs, and immigration.

  • Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): Extends 24-200 nautical miles; states have rights to natural resources.

• International Waters: No state has direct control.

• International Court of Justice can be used to resolve conflicts/disputes.

• South China Sea: Biggest dispute with different claims on the area.

Internal Boundaries

• Established by the state's government: Congressional districts, county boundaries, city boundaries, school districts, voting districts.

• Voting Districts: Geographic areas organized for administering elections.

• Redistricting: Redrawing districts after a census to reflect population changes.

• Gerrymandering: Redistricting to favor one political party.

  • Cracking: Spreading like-minded voters across many districts so they are the minority.

  • Packing: Stacking like-minded voters into a few districts.

• Gerrymandering can lead to unfair representation and weakens the democratic process.

Forms of Governance

• Unitary States: Power concentrated at the national level.

  • National government creates laws and policies for the entire state.

  • Often smaller and have a homogeneous population.

• Federal States: Power distributed between national and regional governments.

  • Allows states to respond to local issues, cater to minority needs, and develop local laws/policies.

  • Often used in states with a large geographic area, a high level of diversity, or with states that have isolated populations.

Devolutionary Factors

• Physical Geography: Fragmented states can lead to isolation and different cultures.

• Cultural Divisions: Ethnic groups with a history of self-determination may want more autonomy.

  • Ethnic Separatism: Desire for more political power or separation from the state based on ethnic identity.

    • Examples: Basques and Catalans in Spain, Kurds in the Middle East.

• Political Instability: High crime rates or terrorism.

• Economic and Social Inequalities: Disparities between parts of a state.

• Government Corruption and Abuse: Governments participating in ethnic cleansing.

  • Ethnic Cleansing in Myanmar: Denying rights to the minority Rohingya group.

• Irredentism: A movement by a nation to unite other parts of its nation located in another state's boundaries.

Challenges to State Sovereignty

*Technology and Globalization:
* Advancements in technology and globalization challenge state sovereignty.
* Social media and internet can contribute to devolution or disintegration.
* Increased access to information can reduce the control of autocratic governments.
* Arab Spring: revolutions occurred where people used social media to call out government corruption and abuse.
*Supranational Organizations:
*Definition:
* alliances that consist of multiple countries, traditionally three or more, that work together to achieve common goals or address specific issues or challenges that impact the states
* Examples:
* maintain political stability in a region or around the world (e.g., the United Nations); promote economic prosperity( e.g., the European Union -- economic and political)
* Environmental Organizations
Impact on state sovereignty:
* When a country becomes a member of a supranational organization, it agrees to abide by the rules and regulations set by the organization, which results in the country surrendering some of its autonomy and sovereignty