AP Human Geography Unit 4: Political Patterns and Processes

Ethnicity

Meaning

  • source of pride to people

  • like to ancestors and cultural traditions

  • history of discrimination by one ethnic group against another

  • identity w a group of ppl who share the cultural traditions of a particular homeland or hearth

  • interest in where they are distributed across space

  • derives from interplay of connections w other groups and isolation from them

Study of Ethnicity

  • important cultural element of local diversity

  • ethnic identity cannot be changed

  • no ethnicity attempting or aspiring to achieve global domination

  • strongest barricade fro preservation of diversity

Issue 1: Distribution Ethnicities

Ethnicities in US

  • clustering of ethnicities

  • AA migration patterns

Differentiating Ethnicity and Race

  • race in US

  • division by race in SA

Distribution of Ethnicities in the US

  • most ethnicities in US are AA, Hispanic / Latin, Asian American, American Indian

  • clustering can occur

  • AA clustered in Southeast, Hispanics in Southwest, Asian Americans in West, American Indians in Southwest and Plain states

AA Migration Patterns

  • 3 major migration flows

    • immigration from Africa in 18th century

    • immigration to northern cities during first half of 20th century

    • immigration from inner-city ghettos to other urban neighborhood second half of 20th century

Differentiating Ethnicity and Race

  • distinct from race

  • Asian is race, Asian-American is ethnicity

  • AA and Black can be considered different

  • hispanic / latin is NOT a race

  • race traits from parents to children

Ethnicity and Geography

  • ethnicity has characteristics from distinctive places on Earth

  • distribution of POC matter bc basis of how societies sort things out

Issue 2: Ethnicities into Nationalities

Rise of Nationalities

  • nation-states

  • nationalism

Multinational States

  • former Soviet Union

  • Russia

  • turmoil in Caucasus

Revival of Ethnic Identity

  • ethnicity and communism

  • rebirth of nationalism in Eastern Europe

Nation-States

  • concept that ethnicities have right to govern selves is known as self-determination

  • 19th and 20th centuries, political leaders supported right of self-determination, attempted to organized Earth into collection of nation-states (territory corresponds to particular ethnicity)

  • territory of state rarely corresponds to territory occupied by ethnicity

  • ethnicities to nationalities in Europe during 19th century

Nationalism

  • must hold loyalty of its citizens to survive

  • promotes senes of national consciousness that exalts one nation above all others

  • can have negative impact

    • sense of unity in one state can be at expense of negativity of other nation-states

Multinational States

  • multiply ethnicities contribute cultural features to form single nationality

  • some allow both ethnic groups to exercise self-determination and just coexist

Revival of Ethnic Identity

  • in Africa, loyalty to tribe more important than loyalty to nationality of new country

  • Europeans assumed ethnicity of AA left behind bc insignificant to them

Clashes of Ethnicities

Ethnic Competition to dominate nationality

  • ethnic competition in Horn of Africa

  • ethnic competition in Lebanon

Dividing Ethnicities Among More Than One State

  • dividing ethnicities in South Asia

  • dividing Sri Lanka among ethnicities

Ethnic Cleansing

  • ethnic cleansing in Central Africa

Ethnic Cleansing in Yugoslavia

  • creation of multi-ethnic Yugoslavia

  • destruction of multi-ethnic Yugoslavia

Political Patterns

Culture Regions

  • political culture regions

  • political diffusion

  • political ecology

  • politico-cultural integration

  • political landscapes

Independent Countries

  • some 193 independent countries

    • some provinces / districts enjoy level of autonomy w full independence

    • US occupies same amt of territory as Europe (46 independent countries)

    • Australia politically united

    • South America has 12 countries

    • Africa mainland 47 countries

Territoriality: tangible geographical expression of one of the most common human characteristics: to belong to a larger group that controls its own piece of Earth

  • territoriality is instinctive in humans (possibly)

    • product of animal brain

  • territoriality is learned

  • sense of “we” creates attachment to region / place

Distribution of National Territory

  • more compact the territory, the better

  • unfavorable distribution can inhibit national cohesiveness

Enclave: district surround by a country but not ruled by it

Pene-enclave: intrusive piece of territory with only the smallest of outlets free from the surrounding country

Exclaves: piece of national territory separated from main body of country by the territory of another

  • hard to defend

  • isolated population may develop separate feelings

  • shoestring countries can be difficult to administer

  • Island nations can cause problems

Boundaries

  • more recent boundaries became sharp lines, more of zones before called marchlands

Buffer state: independent but small and weak country lying between two powerful countries

Satellite State: buffer state that falls under the domination of one of tis powerful neighbors and loses much of its independence

  • most boundaries are lines instead of zones now

Natural Boundaries: follow some feature of the natural landscape

Ethnographic Boundaries: based on a culture trait often religion or language

Geometric Boundaries: regular, often perfectly straight lines drawn without regard for physical or cultural features

  • some boundaries are of mixed type

Relic Boundaries: no longe exist as international borders

  • often leave behind trace in local culture

  • international borders can be very divisive

Spatial Organizations of Territory

  • independent countries differ greatly in way territory is organized for admin purposes

  • unitary gov

    • power central

    • little / no provincial authority

    • all major decisions from central gov

    • uniform policies throughout territory

  • federal gov

    • geographically expressive

    • acknowledge existence of regional culture differences

    • power diffused

Centrifugal and Centripetal Forces

Centripetal Forces: forces that promote national unity and solidarity

Centrifugal Forces: whatever disrupts internal order and encourages destruction of the country

Supranational Political Bodies

Supranational Organization: self governing countries form international associates for purpose of trade, military assistance, mutual security

Electoral Geographical Regions

  • when ppl vote in an election a political culture region created

  • attitudes reflection religion, ethnicity, ideology, etc.

  • voting tendency reveal deep-rooted electoral behavior regions

  • traditionalistic

    • lower south, hispanic borderland, diverse native groups

    • family and social class more important than sate / individual

    • best gov is least gov

    • order maintained through religion and fam not law

  • moralistic

    • zone influenced by New England Yankee culture and Scandinavian settlers

    • views gov as means to good society

    • public good above individual rights / benefits

  • individualistic

    • ‘dirty’

    • used to further personal rather than society

    • lobbying and monetary contribution to politicians

    • much of america heartladn

    • roots in independent family farm and german-american culture

Functional Electoral Regions

  • assist in redistricting after each US census

  • new voting areas established to try to equalize population

  • patterns of voting precincts or districts can influence election results

  • gerrymandering

    • districting w bias so certain party can have higher chance of winning

Political Diffusion

  • federal statutes permit to an extent laws to be adopted in individual functional subdivisions

Folk Fortresses

  • natural features in physical surroundings of country or its core areas that afford it protection from outside invasion

    • mountain ranges / deserts

    • bordering marshes or dense forests

  • more important before air / missile warfare

  • without natural defense, countries struggle to keep independence

  • ideal to have mountains and hills around edge and plains inside

  • undesirable arrangement of physical features may disrupt country’s internal utility

  • best borders can be seacoasts

Heartland Theory

  • Halford Mackinder

  • continent of Eurasia would be the most likely base from which a successful campaign for world conquest could be launched

  • overestimation of power potential of Eurasian interior

  • belongs to discredited doctrine of environmental determinism

Warfare and Environmental Destruction

  • everyone loses when modern warfare occurs bc of high tech weapons

  • world interconnected to its life-supporting ecosystem

Political Geography

  • subfield within human branch of geography

  • study of interaction of geographical area and political process

  • formal study of territoriality

Geography of Politics - Effects of Politics on Place

Imprint of Legal Code

  • laws regulating land-survey system can be noticeable

  • legal decisions made long ago by vanished gov can remain imprinted on landscape

  • can be seen in cultural landscapes

3 Types of Land Division

  1. French Long-lot

  2. English Metes and Bounds

  3. Township and Range

Political Geography and Ethnicity

  • economics supposedly eroding significance of borders

  • ethnic minorities feel they deserve states of their own

  • states under attack fro above (global economics) and from below (ethnic communities)

  • sates / gov still powerful and can respond

Devolution: the process whereby regions within a state demand and gain political strength and growing autonomy at the expense of the central government

Physical Properties of Boundaries

  • urban boundaries mark street gang territories

Political Geography

State

  • politically organized territory

  • admin by sovereign gov

  • recognized by significant portion of International community

  • must contain

    • permanent resident population

    • organized economy

  • state synonymous w country

Political Geography

Nation: refers to a reasonably large group of people with a common culture that occupy a particular territory

  • bound together by a strong sense of unity from shared beliefs and customs

  • nations share one or more than one important cultural traits

  • nations have attachment to particular territory

  • identity associated with that territory

Nation

  • country whose population possesses a substantial degree of cultural homogeneity and unity

Shape and Size

  • more compact the better

  • most desirable is round / hexagonal

  • shorter communication lines

  • shorter border to defend

Political Geography of Elections - Variation of Voting Districts and Voting Patterns

Reapportionment: allocating seats to a geographic area; normally done after ever census