Unit 4
Unit 4 Study Guide
Nation= common cultural heritage, set of unifying beliefs, claim to traditional space, a desire to establish or express self rule.
Multinational State= a state with multiple nations ex:USA ( all states have at least one nation)
Multi State Nation= a nation that spans across multiple states ex: the Koreas
Stateless Nation= a nation that does not have sovereignty
-Spain/ Basque region, is a stateless nation that serves as a centrifugal force in Spain. It’s an ethnic group with its own separate language called Eustreka. An antecedent boundary in this region is the Pyrenees mountain range.
Nation states= think Japan or Iceland
Sovereignty= the power of a political unit, or government, to rule over its own affairs. Must maintain legitimacy over domestic or international affairs.
Autonomous: A defined region within a state that has a high degree of self government and freedom from its parent state is Autonomous (Greenland example).
Semi Autonomous regions: While a semi autonomous regions are regions that have a degree of power and autonomy but not complete (Navajo example)
4.2
Nationalism: a nation’s desire to create and maintain a state of its own.
Centrifugal force: a force that divides a people within a country. Ex: Different religions, different languages and different ethnicities.
Centripetal force: a force that helps unify a people within a country. Ex: shared religion,poor economy, and a common language.
Imperialism: a broader concept that includes a variety of ways of influencing another country or group of people by direct conquest, economic control or cultural dominance.
Colonialism: a particular type of imperialism in which people move into and settle on the land in another country.
Berlin conference: in 1884 and 1885 european representatives laid claim to different areas of the african continent disregarding ethnic and pre-established borders. Think superimposed boundaries.
Self determination: the right to choose their own sovereign government without external influence.
Decolonization: the undying of colonization, in which indigenous people reclaim sovereignty over their territory.
Neocolonialism: control over developing countries was exerted through indirect means, whether economic, political, or even cultural power.
Genocide: is the organized mass killing of people bassed on their race, religion, ethnicity or nationality.
-Rwanda: In 1994 Hutus being the more populous and the ruling class enacted a genocide on the other minority ethnic group, the Tutsi. This was due to a long lasting view created by the Belgians separating and piting the two ethnic minorities against themselves. Through hate and fear of violence the tutsi revolted and stuck down the hutu president while he was in the air. A million were killed and 250,000 women expirenced rape and violence. Later cases were settled by the ICJ but due to the immense number of convicts they used a native trial process called the Gacaca.
-Armenia= between 1884 to 1885 the armenian genocide commenced under the orders of the Sultan of the Ottaman Empire. The reason was the fact that the Armeanian’s were christian and the Ottoman-Turks which took over the land were muslims. There was also a resentment due to the Armenians holding high class positions in government and finance despite the Ottoman-Turks attempt at repression. 1 million people were slaughtered during this time. The Armenians retreated into the Anatolian mountains living there until world war 1 when they were taken to camps in Syria. The turkish government still does not recognize this genocide.
Devolution=the transfer of power from the national government to local governments\
Ethnic cleansing= the forced removal of a ethnic minority from a territory.
-Myanmar (Rohingya)= being denied citizenship since 1982. Many are living in Bangladesh in overcrowded camps, many having fled in 2017.
Shatterbelts=a state/ region that suffer from instability due to be placed in between two different and contentious region’s
4.3
Geopolitics=is the study of the effects of geography on politics and relations among states
Choke point= is a place of physical congestion between wider regions of movement and interaction. Bab-el-Maneb is a strait that serves as a choke point between the red sea and the gulf of Aden north of the horn of Africa. Mainly a centrifugal force. Militarily, tariffs and fees can be used for access and importance in geopolitics.
4.4
Types of Boundaries
Antecedent= the type of boundary preceded the development of cultural boundaries. All physical boundaries count and a few drawn ones such as the 49th parallel count as well though that’s because Europeans disregarded the presence of the indigenous peoples.
Subsequent = This boundary is typically created while the cultural landscape is evolving and is subject to change over time. These boundaries are more than often ethnographic, meaning they are usually related to cultural phenomena. (Think irish and the british)
Consequent: A type of subsequent boundary is a consequent boundary; it takes into account an already existing physical and/or cultural landscape.
A cultural consequent boundary is one that takes into account, ethnicity, language, religion, and other cultural traits.
-India / Pakistan: The British colony of India was divided in 1947, though it was called the partition. They created India for the Hindu majority and Pakistan for the Muslim majority.
A physical consequent boundary is one that follows the natural flow of physical features.
The Pyrenees is a good example that crosses the northern edge of the Iberian Peninsula separating Spain from France and surrounding the neighbouring state of Andorra.
Superimposed= This type of boundary is drawn by outside powers and may have ignored pre-existing cultures and ethnic groups. Think Berlin conference.
Geometric= a line or arc that doesn't follow any physical features on the landscape. Think Paris and its districts.
Relic/ Relict= and old border that isn't used anymore
Landlocked state/territory with borders that don't touch water. These states/territories have an increased cost of importing/exporting goods; especially bulky ones (cars, grain, petroleum, etc…). They have to maintain good relations with surrounding countries to use their ports. Being landlocked is a centrifugal force.
Open= is an unguarded boundary the people cross easily with little to no political intervention. The EU is an example having abolished the Schengen Agreement.
Militarized= is a heavily guarded border that discourages crossing.
4.5
Types of borders
Defined= is established by a legal document from one political entity to another. It’s usually done under the form of a treaty establishing an invisible line.
Delimited= is drawn on a map by a cartographer to show the limits of space
Demarcated= is one identified by physical objects such as fences or even a sign.
Boundary/ Border disputes
Definitional dispute= when 2 or more parties disagree over how to interpret legal documents or maps that identify a boundary. Happens often with antecedent boundaries
Territorial dispute= center on where a boundary should be, how it's mapped (delimited) or where its fence is placed (demarcated).
Germany and Poland: Post WWI boundary between Germany and Poland is an example of this. The Germans disputed the location because it controlled the land prior to the war but the new border drawn had many German people now living in Poland. This caused:
Irredentism, a type of cultural expansionism when one country seeks to annex another country's territory due to preexisting cultural ties.
Annexation:The act of a country or state legally incorporating a new territory into its own, usually through military conquest or political agreement, effectively extending its sovereignty over that land
Operational dispute / functional dispute= centers not on where the boundary is but how it functions. Disagreements can arise due to trade, transportation, and/or immigration. (Think Syrian refugees in Turkey)
Allocational dispute/ resource = a boundary divides a natural resource that may be used by both countries.
-Iraq and Kuwait= Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 claiming Kuwait was drilling too many wells using directional drilling, thus breaking the vertical plane and extracting oil on the Iraqi side of the boundary
Administered boundary= how it will be maintained , how it will function, and what goods and people will be allowed to cross are important aspects of this boundary.
-Israel-West bank= This border has many checkpoints and limitations on what can and cannot be brought into the West Bank, it's heavily militarized.
Controlled boundary= boundaries where checkpoints are present that require visas and passports are this. US and Canada.
National Exclaves= territories that are part of a state but not attached. Serves usually as a centrifugal force for separation of ethnic groups, lack of communication, and defence but could be centrifugal for trade and defence. (Think US)
Enclaves= a state surrounded by other states (Think Vatican city. Centrifugal forces are maintaining a good relationship with the surrounding country.
Shatterbelts= boundaries that are sandwiched between states/territories/ etc that are contentious. May suffer from fragmentation and instability due to external aggression (invasion). The Balkans are considered a shatterbelt region.
Reasons for the UN Law of the Sea and the zones
Territorial sea= an area that extends 12 nautical miles of sovereignty where commercial vessels may pass but non commercial vessels may be stopped. Sovereignty (laws and customs) pertain to this area.
Contiguous zone= Coastal states have limited sovereignty for up to 24 nautical miles where they can enforce laws, customs, immigration, and sanitation.
Exclusive Economic zone EEZ= coastal states can extract, explore, exploit resources for up to 200 nautical miles.
High Sea/ International waters= water beyond EEZ open to all states.
The value of islands and the arctic
Economically= faster trade routes,control over shipping routes
Militarily = control over shipping routes, more security
South China Sea
4.6
US Voting districts
internal boundaries =boundaries are the subnational scale meaning, states, counties, parishes, voting districts, cities
Redistricting= states legislatures and committed redraw district boundaries so that each district contains roughly the same amount of people.
Reapportionment= changing the number of representatives in each state so it reflects the state’s population
Gerrymandering= the drawing of boundaries by the political party in power so it can maintain/increase its power.
Cracking=dispersing like minded voters into several districts to prevent a majority.
Packing= combining like minded voters into one districts to prevent them from affecting elections
Stacking= diluting minority populated districts with majority populations
4.7
Federal states=unites separate political entities into one overarching system that allows each entity to maintain some sovereignty. (Think US, Germany, Nigeria)
Unitary states=the national government has all/almost all of the governing power. (France, China, Kenya)
4.8
Devolution=the transfer of power from the national government to local governments. This can lead to fragmentation. This is usually caused by local governments and ethnic groups demanding more power and representation from the government, these groups usually feel underrepresented.
Ethnic Separatism= is the advocacy of full political separation (secession) from the larger group along cultural, ethnic, tribal, or governmental lines. The government often grants smaller but like freedoms through devolution. (Think basque)
Ethnic cleansing= the forced removal of a ethnic minority from a territory.This ties into ethnic separatism, where the majority would prefer and ethnically homogeneous state/territory.
-Myanmar (Rohingya)= being denied citizenship since 1982. Many are living in Bangladesh in overcrowded camps, many having fled in 2017.
Terrorism= is organized violence aimed at government or civilian targets to create fear for advanced political goals. (Think ETA especially w/ ethnic separatism)
Irredentism, a type of cultural expansionism when one country seeks to annex another country's territory due to preexisting cultural ties.
4.9
The impacts of disagreements or differences within states
Ethnic
Religious
Economic
Fragmentation= sate fracturing along regional lines
Autonomous: A defined region within a state that has a high degree of self government and freedom from its parent state is Autonomous (Greenland example).
Subnationalism: people who have a primary allegiance to a traditional group or ethnicity. The opposite of autonomous thinking. (Think les quebecois, the Uyghur ethnic group for east Turkestan, Russian speaking citizens of Ukraine)
Balkanization: the fragmentation of a state or a region, often hostile, into smaller units along ethno-linguistic lines. Balkanization = Shatterbelts
-Sudan: 1956 Sudan gained its independence from Great Britain and Egypt. Because the north is mainly composed of Muslims and the south is mostly Christians and Animists many civil wars and ethnic cleansings have happened in the country's history (and now currently). Due to this religious tension the country was split (aka balkanized).
-Yugoslavia =The rugged mountains made communication difficult, meaning many ethnic groups formed. In 1918 several Balkan ethnic groups grew worried with the Bolshevik Uprising in Russia thus forming Yugoslavia. After the collapse of the USSR and its satellite the once country broke apart through a series of ethnic cleansing until we have the current.
The end of the USSR and the Cold War
Causes and impacts
Globalization= the integration of markets, states, communication and trade world wide.
Supranationalism
UN
NATO
EU= post WWII eu leaders hoped to push stronger cultural and economic ties. Brexit. 1993 it was established but 1999 was the currency.
Transnational corporations = companies that conduct business on a global scale, have dramatically weakened state sovereignty. They move jobs in order to take advantage of lower taxes, or weaker labor laws.
Regionalism= when loyalty to a distinct portion of a country is more important than loyalty to the rest of the country (Quebecois)
Ethnonationalism= is support for the political interests of a particular ethnic group within a state, especially its ambition for national independence from the state. (Think Kurds and Kurdistan)
Xenophobia.
Autocracy
Democratization
Shapes of States
Compact
Prorupted= tail, easier to invade
Perforated
Elongated
Fragmented
Ideas
Partition of British Palestine
Partition of British India
Reasons for consequent boundaries
Early and late colonialism
Reasons for militarized boundaries with examples
The role of Supranational Organizations
Economic
Political
Environmental
Relationship between transnational corporations and neocolonialism
Pros and Cons of different shape states
Impacts of the shape of a state (centripetal and centrifugal forces)