boundary: an invisible line that marks the extent of a state’s territory
boundaries separate states, but they are also debated on
frontier: a zone where no state exercises complete political control
frontiers are a tangible geographic area
used to separate states instead of boundaries
were uninhabited or sparsely settled
boundaries can be
physical
coincide with significant features of the natural landscape
cultural
follow the distribution of cultural characteristics
boundaries are the only place where the two states have physical contact, which is why they can create conflict
physical features are good boundaries because they can be easily seen on land and on a map
can be a
desert
mountain
water
can effectively divide states because they’re hard to cross and are sparsely inhabited
common in Africa and Asia
can be effective if they’re difficult to cross
contact between opposite sides will be limited/impossible
however, Chile and Argentina fought over what the “crest” of the Andes Mountains is
rivers, lakes, oceans
can be seen on maps and aerial imagery
offered good protection against attack
common in East Africa
boundary between the Dem. Rep. of Congo and Uganda
Lake Albert
boundary between Burundi, the Dem. Rep. of Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia
Lake Tanganyika
boundary between Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda
Lake Victoria
boundary between the Dem. Rep. of Congo and Zambia
Lake Mwera
boundary between Malawai and Mozambique
Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi)
however, the precise position of water changes over time
rivers can change their course
ex. the movement of the Rio Grande between the US and Mexico
can be geometric or ethnic, or coincide with differences in ethnicity (esp. language and religion)
part of the US and Canada boundary is along the 49° north latitude line
Alaska and the Yukon Territory share a boundary along 141° west longitude
the boundary between Chad and Libya is a straight line across the desert
placed where possible to separate speakers of different languages or followers of different religions
in only a few cases has religion been used to select the actual boundary line
the British separated Muslim Pakistan from Hindu India
religion was also somewhat used to draw the boundary between the UK/Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
95% are Roman Catholics in the Republic of Ireland
Protestants are the majority in Northern Ireland
England, France, Portugal, and Spain came from differences in language
contains two nationalities
Greek
78% of population
Turkish
18% of population
Greek military officers who wanted unification with Greece took control of the government
Turkey invaded to protect the Turkish minority
the Turkish army remained on Cyprus, and the northern part of the island declared itself the independent Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
only Turkey recognizes it
a wall between the areas was made by the UN
the nationalities were now geographically isolated
1/3 of Greeks had to move, and 1/4 of Turks
a UN Peace Plan for unification was accepted by the Turkish side by rejected by the Greek side
shape affects the potential for communication and conflict with neighbors
can influence the ease or difficulty of internal administration and social unity
can be
compact
prorupted
elongated
fragmented
perforated
examples of each can be seen in southern Africa
compact state: a state where the distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly
ideal compact state would be circular
benefits
better for smaller states
good communications can be more easily established, especially if the capital is near the center
negatives
compactness doesn’t mean peacefulness
just as likely to experience civil wars and ethnic rivalries
elongated states: states that have a long and narrow shape
examples
Malawi (sub-Saharan Africa)
Gambia (sub-Saharan Africa)
Chile (South America)
negatives
poor internal communications
a region at an extreme end might be isolated from the capital, which is usually near the center
prorupted state: an otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension
created to
provide a state with access to a resource, such as water
Dem. Rep. of Congo has a proruption along the Zaire/Congo River
separate two states that otherwise would share a boundary
Namibia has a proruption, disrupting communications with the British colonies while it was still a German colony
Afghanistan has a proruption to prevent Russia and Pakistan sharing a border
perforated state: a state that completely surrounds another one
the state that is surrounded faces problems of dependence and interference by the surrounding sate
ex. South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho
Lesotho must depend on South Africa to import and export
this is difficult when South Africa is controlled by whites who discriminate against the black majority
ex. Italy surrounds the Holy See (the Vatican) and San Marino
fragmented state: a state that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory
all states that have islands are fragmented
two main kinds of fragmented states, both facing problems with communication and maintaining national unity
Tanzania is a united island of Zanzibar and the mainland of Tanganyika
Indonesia has over 13,000 islands, though more than 80% of the population live on Java or Sumatra
fragmentation hinders communications and makes integration of people living on remote islands nearly impossible
government has encouraged migration from the more populated islands to the more isolated ones
Indonesia invaded Timor-Leste to force it to join
West Papua wants to break away from Indonesia
Angola is separated into two fragments by Congo
Russia has a fragment called Kaliningrad, separated by Lithuania and Belarus
Russia wants Kaliningrad because it has a large naval base
Panama was divided by the canal built by the US, but became an elongated state once the US withdrew
landlocked state: a state that lacks a direct outlet to a sea because it is completely surrounded by several other countries
landlocked states are most common in Africa
to send goods to sea, a state must interact with states surrounding it
states have two types of government
national
can be more/less democratic
local
national determines how much power they get
democracy: a country in which citizens elect leaders and can run for office
autocracy: a country that is run according to the interests of the ruler rather than the people
anocracy: a country that is not fully democratic or fully autocratic, but rather displays a mix of the two types
democracies and autocracies differ in 3 essential elements:
selection of leaders
democracy
institutions and procedures where citizens can express preferences about alternative policies and leaders
autocracy
leaders selected according to clearly defined rules of succession (hereditary) from within the established political eltire
citizen participation
democracy
institutionalized constraints on the exercise of power by the executive
autocracy
citizens’ participation is sharply restricted or suppressed
checks and balances
democracy
guarantees of civil liberties to all citizens in their daily lives and in acts of political participation
autocracy
leaders exercise power with no meaningful checks from legislative, judicial, or civil society institutions
the world has become more democratic
Center of Systemic Peace has 3 reasons for this
replacement of irrelevant and out-of-touch monarchies to elected governments that are able to regulate, tax, and mobilize citizens in exchange or broadening individual rights and liberties
widening of participation in policy, giving citizens universal rights to vote and to serve in government
diffusion of democratic governments from Europe and North America
consisted of protests in countries in Southwest Asia and North Africa
had demonstrations, rallies, strikes, and other civil disobedience
used a lot of social media and electronic devices to organize protests
resulted in changing the autocratic rulers in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen
unitary state: a state that places most power into the hands of central government officials
federal state: a state that allocates strong power to the units of local government within the country
works best in nation-states with few internal cultural differences and strong senses of national unity
France has a good system
requires effective communication with all regions
smaller states are more likely to adopt
common in Europe
some multinational states have a unitary system to impose one nationality
ex. Kenya and Rwanda
common in multinational states because they can empower different nationalities, even if living in separate regions
suitable for large states
ex. US, Russia, Brazil, India
however, Belgium, a small state, is federal
to accommodate the two main cultural groups
China is a unitary state
to promote Communist values
the world is slowly moving toward a federal government
in democracies, politicians must follow rules
however, some find ways to bend them to their advantage
boundaries in legislative districts in the US are redrawn so they have the sameish population every 10 years with the census
gerrymandering: the process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power
Elbridge Gerry was first to gerrymander
people said the new district looked like a salamander, and combined it with Gerry to create “gerrymandering”
gerrymandering can be one of three forms
wasted vote
spreads opposition supporters across many districts but in the minority
excess vote
concentrates opposition supporters into a few districts
stacked vote
links distant areas of like-minded voters through oddly shaped boundaries
redrawing boundaries is entrusted to independent commissions in European countries
commissions try to create compact homogeneous districts without regard for voting preferences
most US states leave redrawing boundaries to state legislature, who try to redraw boundaries to improve the chances of its supporters to win seats
stacked vote gerrymandering is attractive for districts inclined to elect ethnic minorities
gerrymandering is illegal in the US, but oddly shaped districts aren’t