Political Geography: States and Nations

Political Geography

  • Political geography studies how the world is divided and spatially arranged by the exercise of political power and the drawing of boundaries.

States

  • Independent states are like the pieces of a world map puzzle.
  • The United Nations recognizes 195 independent states.
  • Definition of a State:
    • A political unit with power over a geographic territory defined by borders and containing a population.
    • Exerts sovereignty over its territory.
      • Sovereignty: The right to determine what happens within its borders and to defend its territory.
    • Example: The United States, Russia, Brazil
    • Ohio is a subunit of the larger state of The United States and thus, not a state itself.
  • The arrangement of independent states is a relatively new phenomenon.
    • Historically, territory and peoples were consolidated into massive empires.
  • Nationalism in the nineteenth century transformed the political map of the world.
    • Nationalism: A sense of commonality among a people based on shared language, religion, social customs, and a desire for territory.
    • Led to the creation of new states throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

Types of Political Entities

1. Nation

  • A group of people who share a common language, history, and culture.
  • Distinction from State: State refers to a political entity, while nation refers to a cultural unit.
  • Example: Belgium (a state) contains two nations: the Flemish and the Walloons.
  • Example: The United States contains several distinct cultural units such as Native American groups, the Deep South, or Northeast Yankees.

2. Nation-State

  • A state made up of a single unified nation.
  • State boundaries are drawn around a single nation.
  • Ideal: state = nation.
  • This is an ideal and doesn't truly exist because nearly every modern state has some cultural diversity within.
  • Example: Japan (historically restrictive on immigration, leading to cultural homogeneity). However, Japan has been easing immigration restrictions more recently since Japan’s rate of natural increase (RNI) has been in decline for the last few decades.

3. Stateless Nation

  • A group of people who share common cultural values and history but lack a formal state.
  • This designation applies only to nations that possess no state.
  • Example: The Kurds (spread across Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey).
    • They have a deeply cohesive cultural identity and history.
    • Their attempts to seek independence have been largely unsuccessful.

4. Multi-State Nation

  • A single nation living in more than one state.
  • Example: The Kurds (spread across Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey).
  • Example: The Yoruba people (divided by the state boundaries of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo).
  • Germans have a state, but German people also live in neighboring states like Austria.

5. Multinational State

  • States that contain multiple cultures and ethnicities within its boundaries.
  • Most modern countries fit this definition.
  • Example: The United States.
    • Long history of immigration.
    • Multiple Native American nations.
    • Several strong Latin American nations.
    • Dense pockets of Asian nations throughout the territory.
    • Attempts to impose a dominant culture have largely failed (e.g., bills to make English the official language).

6. Autonomous and Semi-Autonomous Regions

  • Autonomous Regions: Regions within a state that have a great deal of authority to operate independently of their national government.
  • Semi-Autonomous Regions: Regions within a state that have more limited authority granted by the national government.
  • The distinction between them is about degrees of autonomy.
  • If a place was fully autonomous, then it would be its own independent state.
  • Example: Hong Kong (technically part of China but operates largely independently).
    • Has freedoms and basic rights for its citizens that are not available in China proper.
  • Example: Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland (semi-autonomous regions in The United Kingdom).
    • They have their own parliaments which pass laws in the interests of their own people.
    • They're still answerable to the United Kingdom's government.