Unit 4 AP Human Geography Notes

State vs. Nation

A state is a geographic area characterized by:

  • A permanent population.
  • Defined borders.
  • A sovereign government, meaning it controls its internal and external affairs.
  • Recognition by other states.

A nation, conversely, is a group of people sharing:

  • A common culture.
  • A shared history.
  • A homeland.
  • A desire for self-governance.

Self-determination is a key aspect of a nation, representing its right or desire to govern itself. Nations often seek territorial control to protect their culture and traditions.

The key difference: a state refers to the government and land, while a nation refers to a group of people with shared culture and history.

Political Entities

Nation-State

A self-governing state with a relatively homogeneous population sharing a common language, culture, and history. Nation-states have a strong national identity and social cohesion, often due to geographic compactness and historical isolation. Examples include Japan, Iceland, and South Korea.

Multinational State

A state containing multiple nations within its borders. These states encompass diverse ethnic, linguistic, and cultural groups, each retaining its unique identity while coexisting within a single state. Often, a dominant cultural group controls the political, economic, and social systems. Canada, with its English and French linguistic groups, is an example.

Multistate Nation

A nation that spans across multiple states. The Kurdish population, spread across Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, exemplifies this. The Basques, located in Spain and France, are another example.

Stateless Nation

A nation with a history of self-determination but lacking an officially recognized state. These nations lack control over political boundaries, a sovereign government, control over internal and external affairs, and recognition from other states. The Kurds and Basques also fall into this category.

Autonomous and Semiautonomous Regions

  • Autonomous Regions: Regions within a state that possess a significant degree of independence, with their own government and control over internal affairs. The state has limited involvement in the region's affairs. Native American reservations in the United States are an example.
  • Semiautonomous Regions: Regions controlled by another state but granted a moderate degree of self-governance. The controlling state retains the authority to intervene when necessary. Hong Kong, subject to the authority of China's central government, is an example.

Colonialism and Imperialism

  • Colonialism: The practice of acquiring territories and settling there to exert political, economic, and social control.
  • Imperialism: Extending a state's or empire's power over other nations to gain economic and political influence without establishing settlements.

Colonialism led to the diffusion of religions, languages, cultures, resources, and ideas globally. However, this diffusion was often uneven, with the colonizer's culture imposed on the colonized population. Colonialism and imperialism shaped political boundaries, often favoring the colonial ruler without considering local cultures, such as in the Berlin Conference, where European powers colonized Africa, establishing boundaries based on longitude and latitude to benefit themselves, rather than recognizing existing ethnic, linguistic, and cultural groups. The resulting colonies often lacked adequate infrastructure and education and were designed to be dependent on European powers.

Following independence, many newly formed African states faced conflict and civil wars due to the diverse nations and ethnic groups within their borders. Similarly, in China, European powers divided the country into spheres of influence, prioritizing colonial interests over the local population.

Decolonization is the process by which colonies gain independence, primarily occurring in Africa after World War II. Former colonies often remained dependent on their former colonial rulers and experienced conflict over land, resources, and political power due to the arbitrarily created political boundaries.

Devolution

Devolution refers to the transfer of political power from a central government to a regional government. This can involve the creation of new regional governments or the transfer of specific responsibilities to existing subnational governments. An example is the creation of the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly in the United Kingdom.

Political Power and Territoriality

Territoriality is the tendency to establish and defend a specific geographic area. It involves:

  • Nonverbal communication.
  • Control of boundaries.
  • Military intervention.
  • Promotion of specific political or economic systems.
  • Regulation of activities within a region.

States promote their interests in the global community by exerting political and economic influence on other states.

Neocolonialism

Neocolonialism is the indirect use of political, cultural, or economic power to influence or control another country, such as through the exploitation of weaker countries by dominant countries or companies to extract resources and wealth. Multinational companies exploit low-cost labor markets or seek regions with lax regulations and low taxes. China's investments in African infrastructure, often involving loans from the Chinese government and Chinese companies, are an example. These loans, while having low interest rates, come with conditions that benefit China if they cannot be repaid, fostering political alliances and increasing China's influence and control over African countries.

Shatter Belts

Shatter belts are regions where countries or people are subject to political, cultural, and economic pressures from conflicting external powers, creating instability. Eastern Europe during the Cold War and the Korean War are examples, with the latter resulting in the splitting of North and South Korea by a demilitarized zone.

Chokepoints

Chokepoints are geographic areas that must be passed to reach a destination. Countries can exert influence over chokepoints by:

  • Stationing military forces.
  • Investing in infrastructure.
  • Creating treaties to regulate control.

Countries that do not physically control a chokepoint can use diplomatic pressure to influence policies. Examples include the Panama Canal, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Suez Canal.

Political Boundaries

Boundaries are defined, delimited, and demarcated:

  • Defining: The boundary line is agreed upon and set.
  • Delimiting: The boundary line is drawn on a map and physically marked.
  • Demarcating: The boundary is marked with permanent physical markers, such as a wall.

Types of Boundaries

  • Geometric Boundary: Uses straight lines and follows lines of latitude and longitude, such as the 49th parallel between Canada and the United States.
  • Antecedent Boundary: Existed before human settlement or the creation of the cultural landscape, determined by local geography. An example is the boundary between Argentina and Chile, formed by a mountain range.
  • Relic Boundary: No longer officially recognized but still affects the cultural landscape. The Berlin Wall is an example.
  • Superimposed Boundary: Created by an external power without considering the needs and wants of local communities. The Berlin Conference boundaries in Africa exemplify this.
  • Subsequent Boundary: Develops along with the development of the cultural landscape. Most of Europe's boundaries are examples.
  • Consequent Boundary: Created to separate different ethnic, religious, or linguistic groups. The border between Pakistan and India, based on religious differences, is an example.
  • Frontier: A geographic area where no state has direct power or control.

Functions of Boundaries

International vs. Internal Boundaries

  • International Boundaries: Separate sovereign states and are established through treaties and agreements.
  • Internal Boundaries: Separate regions within a single state and are established by the state's government.

Boundary Disputes

  • Definitional Boundary Disputes: Occur over the interpretation of the original documents that defined the boundary.
  • Locational Boundary Disputes: Occur over the location of the boundary and ownership of the land, such as shifts in the Mississippi River altering the boundary between Mississippi and Louisiana.
  • Operational Boundary Disputes: Occur when countries have different ideas on how to manage a boundary, such as the dispute between India and Pakistan over the line of control in Kashmir.
  • Allocational Boundary Disputes: Occur over the use of what is on or in the boundary, typically natural resources.

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

Established to help countries deal with allocational boundary disputes at sea.

  • Territorial Waters: Extends 12 nautical miles from the shore, where states can set laws regulating passage and have full political and economic control.
  • Contiguous Zone: Extends 12 to 24 nautical miles from the shore, where states may enforce laws concerning pollution, taxation, customs, and immigration.
  • Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): Extends 24 to 200 nautical miles, where states have the sole right to natural resources.
  • International Waters: Beyond 200 nautical miles, where no state has direct control.

Disputes can be taken to the International Court of Justice. A major dispute is currently in the South China Sea, where seven countries have claims, with China asserting historical claims, ignoring the Law of the Sea.

Internal Boundaries

Examples include US congressional districts, county boundaries, city boundaries, and school districts.

Voting Districts

Geographic areas organized for administering elections.

Redistricting

Redistricting is the redrawing of districts after a census to reflect population changes. In the US, state legislators primarily create districts, which can lead to…

Gerrymandering

Gerrymandering is the process of redistricting a voting district to favor one political party. Methods include:

  • Cracking: Spreading like-minded voters across many districts to dilute their influence.
  • Packing: Stacking like-minded voters into a few districts to reduce their impact elsewhere.

Gerrymandering leads to unfair representation, weakens democratic processes, and decreases competition in political races.

Forms of Government

Unitary State

Power is concentrated within the national government, which creates laws and policies for the entire state. Advantages include a strong sense of national identity and quick implementation of laws. Disadvantages include potential inability to address local needs efficiently. Typically geographically smaller with a homogeneous population. Nation states are often unitary states.

Federal State

Power is distributed between the national government and regional governments. Suitable for large, diverse states or those with isolated populations. Advantages include responsiveness to local issues and tailored policies. Disadvantages include slower policy changes and potential for devolution. Multinational states often use federalism.

Devolution Factors

Factors that can lead to the devolution of a state:

  • Physical Geography: Fragmented states may lead to isolated populations, creating different cultures and identities.
  • Cultural Divisions: Ethnic groups with a history of self-determination may want more autonomy.
    • Ethnic Separatism: When a group identifies more as an ethnic group than as citizens of the state and wants more political power or wants to separate from the state.
    • Examples: Basques and Catalans in Spain, Kurds in the Middle East.
    • Cultural devolutionary factors are at work in Nigeria.
  • Languages: In Belgium, the country is split into the Flemish Dutch speaking community and the French speaking community.
  • Political Instability: High crime rates or terrorism.
  • Economic and Social Inequalities:
  • Government Corruption and Abuse: Ethnic cleansing, such as in Myanmar.
  • Irredentism: A movement by a nation to unite other parts of its nation located in another state's boundary. The Ukrainian Russian war.

States with more devolutionary factors often face challenges to their sovereignty.

Challenges to State Sovereignty

Disintegration

The state breaks up into smaller parts.

Technological Advancements

Facilitate information sharing globally, challenging state sovereignty. Social media and the Internet can contribute to devolution, disintegration of states, or create challenges for states.

Globalization

Makes countries reliant on commodities traded in the global market, influencing political decisions.

Supranational Organizations

Alliances of multiple countries working together to achieve common goals:

  • Political: Maintain stability.
    • Examples: United Nations, African Union, NATO.
  • Economic: Promote economic prosperity.
    • Examples: European Union, Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
  • Environmental: Protect natural resources.
    • Examples: Arctic Council.

Membership in supranational organizations requires countries to abide by the organization's rules, surrendering some autonomy and sovereignty.

Centrifugal and Centripetal Forces

Centrifugal Forces

Forces that divide people, a state, or a group.

  • Economic and Social:Uneven development leading to deprivation in certain regions.
  • Cultural Differences: Language barriers or conflicting religious beliefs.
  • Political: Corrupt governments alienating citizens.

Centrifugal forces can lead to a failed state, where the government no longer functions properly.

Centripetal Forces

Forces that unite people, a state, or a group.

  • Patriotism.
  • Economic and Social Opportunities.
  • Lack of Corruption and Discrimination.
  • Shared History, Language, and Religion.
  • Strong National Government.