Political Geography Notes

Political Geography: The study of how the world is divided and arranged through the exercise of political power and the drawing of boundaries.
Nation-State: A state made up of only one, unified nation. This is more of an ideal, as nearly every state has ethnic minorities.
Nation: A group of people who share a common language, history, and culture.
State: A territory that is politically organized under a single government, possessing sovereignty (the power to determine what happens within its borders and defend its territory).
Stateless Nation: A group of people who share common cultural values and history but lack a formal state (e.g., the Kurdish people).

Multi-State Nation: A nation that lives in more than one state (e.g., Germans before World War II).
Autonomous Region: A region within a state that has the authority to operate independently of the national government (e.g., Hong Kong).
Multinational State: A state that contains multiple cultures and ethnicities; most countries today fit this description.
Semi-Autonomous Region: A region within a state that has limited authority granted by the national government to operate independently.
Right of Self-Determination: The right of all people to choose and determine their own form of government.

Partition of India: The creation of Pakistan for the Muslim minority due to fears of marginalization in an independent, majority-Hindu India; resulted in violence and population transfer.
Territoriality: A people’s connection and claim to a particular piece of land, leading to a desire to draw boundaries and control the space. Intimately bound up with political power, influencing control over people, land, economic systems and resources.
Shatterbelt Regions: Strategically important regions, usually divided by internal conflict and competition between more powerful states, often due to natural resources or location. Territoriality plays a significant role due to rival ethnic or religious groups.
Choke Point: A narrow geographic passageway of immense strategic value, especially for trade. States often battle for control of these territories for economic gain.

Four Characteristics of Political Boundaries:
- Defined
- Delimited
- Demarcated
- Administered
United Nations Conference on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS): Established international law governing sea boundaries (12 nautical miles from shore) and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) extending 200 nautical miles from maritime borders.
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ): An area between two states with no military presence allowed by treaty (e.g., the DMZ between North and South Korea).

Antecedent Boundary
Subsequent Boundary: Drawn after a territory has been populated, established through conflict or diplomacy (e.g. border between Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland).
Consequent Boundary: Drawn with consideration of different cultural landscapes in a region (e.g., boundaries after the breakup of Yugoslavia).
Superimposed Boundary: Drawn by an outside conquering force without respect to cultural landscapes (e.g., the Berlin Conference and the colonization of Africa).
Geometric Boundary: Follows lines of latitude and longitude (e.g., states such as Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah).
Relic Boundary: Boundaries that once existed but no longer function as borders, but their division can still be observed. For example, the division between West and East Germany

Unitary State: Political power is centralized in the national government with a top-down power structure (e.g., France).
Federal State: Political power is shared between a central government and smaller regional governments (e.g., the United States).

How internal boundaries can affect voting outcomes in democratic countries:
- Voting Districts
- Redistricting
- Census
- Gerrymandering

Friction of Distance: The greater the distance between two locations, the weaker their connection; physical barriers can challenge national unity.
Devolution: The process by which power is transferred from a central political authority to smaller regional authorities.
Ethnic Separatism: When an ethnic group identifies more closely with their people than the political state where they live.
Seven Devolutionary Factors:
- Friction of distance
- Separatism
- Ethnic cleansing
- Terrorism
- Economic problems
- Social problems
- Irredentism

Ethnic Cleansing: A state's attempt to eliminate a particular ethnic group through imprisonment, expulsion, or mass killing.
Irredentism: The movement to politically unite an ethnic group divided by a boundary.
Subnational Political Unit: Smaller regional powers within a state (e.g., states in the United States, provinces in Canada).
Terrorism: Violence carried out against a government and its citizens to change political policies.
Balkanization: The division of a multinational state into smaller, ethnically homogeneous entities (e.g., Sudan into Sudan and South Sudan).

Arab Spring: Pro-democracy protests in the Middle East and North Africa in 2010 and 2011 organized using the internet and social media.
Rise of Supranationalism (Four Developments):
- Transnational and environmental problems
- Desire to create global economies of scale
- Rise of international trade agreements
- International military alliances
Supranationalism: The process by which independent sovereign states relinquish some power to participate in a larger political body.
World Trade Organization (WTO): Sets rules for international trade and works to keep trade flowing globally.
Climate change states that carbon emissions are heating up the planet, but that those emissions are not equally distributed. For example, the United States holds about 5% of the world’s population, but is responsible for 28% of all carbon emissions.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): Facilitates trade among Southeast Asian countries by keeping trade barriers low.
Four Major Supranational Organizations and Objectives:
- United Nations: Forum for diplomatic resolution of disputes.
- European Union: Common trade policies, citizenship rights, environmental policies, and judicial rulings.
- Arctic Council: Sustainable development and environmental issues in the Arctic.
- African Union: Fosters cooperation among African states, including resolving border disputes.

International military alliances are formed for mutual military defense (e.g., NATO).

Brexit: The departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union in 2020.
Centripetal Forces: Unite people and support the sovereignty of a state.
Ethnonationalism: Pride and identity tied to a territory composed of a singular ethnic group.
Centrifugal Forces: Divide people and undermine the sovereignty of a state, potentially leading to stateless nations and ethnic nationalist movements (e.g., the Kurds).