Political Patterns and Processes Flashcards

Nation vs. State

  • State:
    • Permanent population.
    • Defined borders.
    • Sovereign government.
    • Recognized by other states (country).
  • Nation:
    • Shared culture and language.
    • History and homeland.
    • May have self-determination.

Nation-State

  • One nation within one state.
  • Example: Japan (97.9% Japanese ethnic group).

Multinational State

  • Multiple nations within one state.
  • Example: The United States (diverse ethnicities).

Multistate Nation

  • A nation split across two or more states.
  • Example: Korea.

Stateless Nation

  • A nation without its own state.
  • Example: The Kurds.

Autonomous and Semi-Autonomous Regions

  • Autonomous Region:
    • Area within a state with significant autonomy.
    • Control over own rules and regulations.
  • Semi-Autonomous Region:
    • Area with a moderate degree of autonomy.
    • Limited opportunity for independent action.

Sovereignty

  • Authority of a state to govern itself.
  • Includes domestic and international affairs.
  • Challenges to sovereignty: No country operates in isolation.
    • Economic alliances, military alliances, etc.
    • Example: US sanctions on Russia, impacted by European reliance on Russian gas.

Self-Determination

  • Right or desire of a nation to govern themselves.
  • Control over domestic affairs, policies, and way of life.
  • Often to protect culture and identity.

Colonialism and Imperialism

  • Colonialism:
    • Occupying and exploiting an area economically by setting up a colony.
  • Imperialism:
    • Exerting influence or power over another place without necessarily occupying it.

Boundaries

  • Defined: Fixed and set in place.
  • Delimited: Drawn on a map.
  • Demarcated: Physically marked with a wall, sign, etc.

Types of Boundaries

  • Relic:
    • Boundary that no longer functions but is still visible.
    • Example: Berlin Wall.
  • Superimposed:
    • Boundary created by a foreign state without regard for local cultures.
    • Example: Boundaries in Africa created during the Berlin Conference.
  • Antecedent:
    • Boundary drawn before the cultural landscape developed.
    • Example: Part of the Canada-US boundary.
  • Geometric:
    • Straight-line boundary.
    • Example: Many western US state boundaries.
  • Subsequent:
    • Boundary that develops along with the cultural landscape.
    • Example: Many Eastern European countries.
  • Consequent:
    • A subsequent boundary that divides based on ethnic, linguistic, or conflict reasons.
    • Example: India and Pakistan, Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Berlin Conference

  • European powers created African states, benefiting themselves.
  • Led to boundaries that didn't represent cultures.
    • States reliant on European counterparts for resource export.

Other Key Vocab

  • Territoriality:
    • Connection to culture, economic systems, and land, communicating ownership of an area.
  • Shatter Belts:
    • Region caught between external forces.
      • Example: Cold War Europe.
  • Neocolonialism:
    • Using political, cultural, and economic power to influence/control another country.
      • Multinational corporations exerting influence for cheaper labor.
      • Core countries influencing periphery countries. China using infrastructure investments to influence African countries.
  • Choke Points:
    • Strategic areas that must be passed to reach a destination.
      • Suez Canal, Strait of Gibraltar, Panama Canal, Hormuz Strait.

Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

  • Territorial waters.
  • Contiguous zone.
  • Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): 200 nautical miles.
    • Country controls resources within its EEZ.
  • International waters: Beyond the EEZ.
    • South China Sea: China's island-building to expand its EEZ, conflicting with other countries.

Internal Boundaries

  • Voting districts: Geographic areas for holding elections.
  • Redistricting: Redrawing voting districts, ideally to reflect population changes, done every 10 years due census.
  • Gerrymandering: Skewing districts to favor a political party with packing and cracking of voters.

Forms of Governance

  • Unitary:
    • Central government controls the majority of power with little power to regional governments.
    • Often in nation-states (homogeneous population).
  • Federal:
    • Power is shared between a central government and regional governments.
    • Often in multinational states to represent regional differences.

Devolution

  • Transfer of power from the national government to a regional government.
  • Can cause state failure or just transfer power.
  • Ethnic separatism: Identifying more with an ethnic group than the state.
  • Ethnic cleansing: Government attacks an ethnic group to push them out.
  • Irredentism: Reuniting parts of a nation across different states/borders (Russia & Ukraine, China & Taiwan).

Causes of Devolution

  • Physical geography causing cultural divergence.
  • Ethnic separatism and ethnic cleansing.
  • Terrorism.
  • Economic and social problems.
  • Irredentism.

Examples

  • Spain (Basques & Catalans):
    • Basques: Ethnic separatism, mountain ranges kept culture distinct, stateless nation.
    • Catalans: Economic factors, pay more in taxes.
  • Canada & Belgium:
    • Linguistic divides.
    • Belgium (Wallonia & Flanders).
  • Myanmar:
    • Rohingya state (ethnic cleansing).
  • Nigeria:
    • Ethnic and religious conflict & economic discrepancies.
  • Scotland and UK
    • Brexit

Disintegrating States

  • Breaking up into smaller parts (balkanization).
  • Democratization (Arab Spring).

Supranational Organizations

  • States give up some sovereignty to tackle bigger issues together.
  • Economic:
    • World Trade Organization (WTO).
  • Military:
    • North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
  • Environmental.
    • United Nations (UN).
  • African Union (AU).

Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces

  • Centripetal(Pull): Forces that unite people.
    • Shared culture or a common enemy.
  • Centrifugal(Force): Forces that divide people.
    • Contentious political election.

More Key Vocab

  • Ethnonationalism:
    • Nationalism defined in terms of ethnicity, can lead to conflict or unification.
  • Ethnic National Movement:
    • Cultural group wanting separation or control based on ethnicity.
  • Failed State:
    • Government no longer functioning, unable to control the area (Syria).