Political Geography Notes

Nation vs. State

  • Nation: A group of people with common characteristics (same as an ethnic group or ethnic population).
  • State: A country with defined borders and sovereignty within those borders (government controls the space).
  • Distinction: Nations are peoples, not countries. States are countries with defined borders and sovereignty.
  • Nation-state: A country that controls territory primarily made up of a single ethnic group (e.g., Iceland, Japan, Korea).
    • These countries were historically physically isolated, allowing them to maintain a pure ethnic population.
  • Stateless nations: Nations that do not have their own independent state (e.g., the Kurds, Palestinians).

Colonialism and Imperialism

  • Aggressors: European countries (Great Britain, Portugal, France, Spain).
  • Impact: Cultural and political diffusion of European languages worldwide.

Supernational Organizations

  • Definition: Organizations involving multiple countries (usually three or more) working together.
  • Examples:
    • European Union (EU)
    • ASEAN
    • Mercosur (South America)
    • United Nations
  • Purpose: To address issues that cross borders (economic development, political protection, climate change, etc.).

Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces

  • Centripetal Forces: Factors that unite a country.
    • Examples: common language, common religion, common ethnicity, sports teams (e.g., the Houston Astros), patriotism, nationalism.
  • Centrifugal Forces: Factors that divide a country.
    • Examples: ethnic differences, feelings of wrongful treatment by the government.
    • Diversity of ethnicities can be both centripetal (melting pot) and centrifugal (divisions).

Sovereignty

  • Definition: The ability of a state to rule or control its territory and people.
  • Requirements of a State:
    • Defined border.
    • Permanent population.
    • Functioning economy.
    • Government.
    • Recognition/legitimacy from other states.
  • Controversy: Recognition of Palestine as a sovereign state is divided in the international community.

Self-Determination

  • Definition: The desire to determine one's own rules and policies.
  • Importance: Crucial for stateless nations and ostracized populations who often feel underrepresented.

Autonomous and Semi-Autonomous Regions

  • Definition: Regions within a country that have been granted some level of self-governance.
  • Devolution: The process where a country gives up some of its power to a specific region.
  • Examples:
    • Nunavut (Indigenous population in Canada).
    • Catalonia (Northern Spain).
  • Federal System of Government: Power is devolved or spread to regional governments, reducing centrifugal forces.

Choke Points

  • Definition: Narrow waterways that have economic and political significance.
  • Advantages of Controlling:
    • Economic control over shipping.
    • Political leverage (e.g., restricting access to unfriendly countries).
  • Examples:
    • Suez Canal
    • Panama Canal
    • Strait of Gibraltar
    • Crimean Peninsula (invaded by Russia in 2014 to maintain control).

Decolonization and Neocolonialism

  • Decolonization: Occurred mostly after World War II as European countries lost the ability to control territories.
  • Neocolonialism: Former colonies remain economically dependent on their former colonizers.
  • Reason: Colonial economies were set up to extract natural resources, leaving newly independent countries with no diversified economic base.

Shatter Belts and Balkanization

  • Shatter Belts: Regions with many different ethnic groups, prone to conflict.
    • Example: Yugoslavia.
  • Balkanization: The process of a shatter belt breaking apart into smaller countries.
    • Named after the Balkan Peninsula (Yugoslavia).

Boundaries

*Boundaries are things that determine whose territory is where.

*They're very fluid until Westphalian trees. Right?

*Westphalian trees, when the European powers got together, they said, hey. We need to really figure out whose country begins where and where it is. Right?

  • Subsequent Boundary: Drawn based on the existing population distribution.
  • Consequent Boundary: A type of subsequent boundary based on a specific cultural trait.
    • Example: The boundary between Northern Ireland (Protestant) and the Republic of Ireland (Catholic).
  • Relic Boundary: A boundary that no longer functions but is still visible in the landscape.
    • Examples: The Berlin Wall, the Great Wall of China.
  • Superimposed Boundary: Forced upon a population without regard for existing cultural patterns.
    • Example: African boundaries drawn at the Berlin Conference.
  • Antecedent Boundary: Existed before significant settlement occurred.
    • Example: The western border between the United States and Canada.
  • Geometric Boundary: Defined by lines of latitude and longitude.
    • Examples: The western border between the United States and Canada, North and South Korea, Indonesia and New Guinea. These are drawn using lines of latitude and longitude.

Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

  • Definition: A space between countries where military operations are prohibited.
  • Example: The border between North and South Korea.

Frontier

  • Definition: A region that is unexplored or unsettled.
  • Examples: Antarctica, the deepest parts of the oceans.

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

  • Components:
    • Territorial Seas: Extends 12 nautical miles from the shoreline; the country has full sovereignty.
    • Contiguous Zone: Extends 24 nautical miles from the shoreline; the country has limited authority.
    • Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): Extends 200 nautical miles from the shoreline; the country has rights to resources.

Median Line Principle

  • Definition: Dividing waters between two countries when the distance between their coastlines is less than 400 nautical miles.

Voting Districts and Gerrymandering

  • Redistricting: Redrawing voting district lines after a census to ensure equal population distribution.
  • Gerrymandering: Manipulating district lines to favor a particular political party or candidate, lines based on political affiliation is, legal within the court's rights.
  • Gerrymandering Strategies:
    • Cracking: Breaking apart a large population of a specific political group.
    • Packing(Hacking): Concentrating voters of one type into a single district to dilute their influence in others.