© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Unit # 4: Political Geography The Cultural Landscape: An...

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Unit # 4: Political Geography

The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography


What is a STATE?

A politically organized territory * permanent population * a defined territory * government * recognized as such by other states:

•Came out of Europe •Diffused through:

– Mercantilism– Government control of foreign trade to benefit themselves– Colonialism


Peace of Westphalia• Ended 30 years war

• Laid foundation for Europe

• Agreed to by members of Holy Roman Empire


Define and give examples of countries:

• Nation – consists of a group of people with a common political identity, but might not have it’s own state.

• State - Country

• Nation State – defined sovereign state composed of citizens with common heritage, identity and political goal.

•Multi-nation State – country with two or more nationalities

•Multi-state Nation –nation that transcends the borders of two or more states


Nation-State• A politically organized area in which nation and state

occupy the same space (Ex. China is mostly Chinese)• Rare in practice• Origins in French Revolution

– Democracy: People as sovereign• Nationalism

– Strong sense of loyalty to the state on the part of its people

– Government that promotes the nation within the state


A. Multi-State Nation: Eg. Palestinians have no nation. They are spread over Israel, Jordan and Syria.

B. Nation State: Eg. Iceland is a country entirely comprised of Icelanders.

C. Multi-Nation State: Eg. Belgium is made up of Flemings (north) and Walloons (south). Canada can also be considered a Multi-Nation State.

D. Albanians live in Albania, but a number of Albanians also live in a new state called Kosovo (recently part of Serbia)

E. Most of Hungarians live in Hungary, but there is a group that lives in the middle of Romania.

F. Multi-Nation State: Eg. Russia has over 100 different nationalities. The USSR ceased to exist in part because a lot of these nationalities wanted their own country.

G. Eg. The majority of people in France are French but there are two small groups the Bretons and Basques.

H. Eg. There are two German states; Germany and Austria but 70% of Switzerland is German speaking.


Where Are States Located?

• Problems of defining states– Almost all habitable land belongs to a

country today• In 1940, there were about 50 countries• Today, there are 192 countries (as evidenced

by United Nations membership)

– Some places are difficult to classify• Korea: One state or two?• Western Sahara (Sahrawi Republic)• Claims to polar regions


United Nations Members

Figure 8-2


National Claims to the Arctic

Figure 8-5



• Varying sizes of states– State size varies considerably

• Largest state = Russia– 11 percent of the world’s land area

• Smallest state = Monaco– Microstate = states with very small land areas

» About two dozen microstates



• Development of the state concept– Ancient states

• The Fertile Crescent• City-state

– Early European states– sovereignty: ability of a state to govern its territory

free from control of its internal affairs by other states– Colonies

• Three motives: “God, gold, and glory”• Today = some remaining colonies


Africancolonies


• Imperialism- taking control of a territory that is already occupied by the indigenous people – After colonization ended these countries

established independence • There are a few left in the S. Pacific and the

Caribbean – Pitcairn Island- smallest colony only 54 residents,

only 2 square miles – founded by a British vessel Bounty, they sell stamps and fish in order to make a living


Colonial Possessions, 1914

Figure 8-8


Colonial Possessions, 2006

Figure 8-9


Why Do Boundaries Between States Cause Problems?

• Shapes of states– Five basic shapes

• Compact = efficient• Elongated = potential isolation• Prorupted = access or disruption• Perforated = South Africa• Fragmented = problematic

• Landlocked states

• What is the difference between a boundary and a frontier? What is a DMZ?


Shapes of States in Southern Africa

Figure 8-10


How Boundaries are made by:

1. Definition - Identify the boundary, as;- Physical Barrier – mountains, rivers etc.- Religious, Language, Ethnicity, Historical

event- War

2. Delimitation – Survey the boundary - Bordering countries have to agree

3. Demarcation – Build an actual marker – start drawing it on a map OR impose Fences, Flags, Pillars etc.4. Neighbouring countries have to agree and accept the new boundary5. Global Community (eg. UN) has to recognize it.6. Administration Defending – Border guards - Begin administering the area – impose rules and laws



• Types of boundaries:– Physical

• Desert boundaries• Mountain boundaries• Water boundaries

– Cultural • Geometric boundaries• Human features (language, religion, ethnicity)

• Frontiers


Some places were colonized by more than one power in this time period.

Dominant Colonial Influences, 1550–1950


Cultural Boundary

Figure 8-15


You can even classify how history plays a role in describing the boundaries in the following way:

Antecedent – The boundary was set up before a settlement – Land was surveyed first. Ontario and it’s Concession System.

Subsequent – The boundary was set up after the settlement established itself. Most of the borders in the world were established after the fact so to speak.

Superimposed – Another country puts down the boundary. Colonial powers. Most of Africa was done this way – this is one of the reasons why Africa has issues

Relict - Boundaries that are no longer there, but still exist in a cultural sense. French Canada is somewhat like this.



• Boundaries inside states– Unitary states: an internal organization of a

state that places most power in the hands of central government officials

• Example: France

– Federal states: an internal organization of a state that allocates most powers to units of local government

• Example: Poland• Globally, there is a trend toward federations


• Boundary Disputes: – Territorial (definitional)

• Defined political boundaries

– Functional (operational)• National security or help through boundaries

– Positional (locational) • Dispute among the boundary being written up

– Chile vs Argentina- Based their border on water sheds problems with new technology

– Resources (allocational) • Resources


Centrifugal Forces: Forces that Centrifugal Forces: Forces that divide up states…divide up states…

• Organized religionOrganized religion

• Nationalism (part-nation state/stateless Nationalism (part-nation state/stateless nations)nations)

• Regionalism (French Canadians)Regionalism (French Canadians)

• Devolution (Great Britain)Devolution (Great Britain)

• IrredentismIrredentism


• Devoluton (area in country that desires Devoluton (area in country that desires greater autonomy or independence.greater autonomy or independence.

• YugoslaviaYugoslavia

• Great Britain (Scotland, Wales, Great Britain (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) Northern Ireland)

• BasqueBasque



• Electoral geography– Boundaries within the United States are

used to create legislative districts– Gerrymandering

• Three types: wasted, excess, and stacked vote• Illegal (1985 U.S. Supreme Court decision)


Gerrymandering

Figure 8-18


Gerrymandering: Example

Figure 8-19


Why Do States Cooperate with Each Other?

• Political and military cooperation– The United Nations (est. 1945)– Regional military alliances

• Balance of power• Post–World War II: NATO or the Warsaw Pact

– Other regional organizations• OSEC (est. 1965)• OAS (est. 1962)• AU (est. 1963)• The Commonwealth

• Economic cooperation


Cooperation Among StatesCooperation Among States

• Supranationalism: Three or more Supranationalism: Three or more countries join forces to achieve a countries join forces to achieve a common goalcommon goal– United Nations (UN) (political)United Nations (UN) (political)– European Union (economic)European Union (economic)– NAFTA (economic)NAFTA (economic)– NATO (military)NATO (military)


Fig.9.22Fig.9.22


Fig.9.26Fig.9.26


Fig.9.27Fig.9.27


United Nations Member States (192)Non-member States

Taiwan (China)

Vatican City

Western Sahara (territory of Morocco)

Palestinian Territories

Tibet (China)

The United Nations System is based on five active principal organs UN General Assembly UN Security Council UN Economic and Social Council UN Secretariat International Court of Justice


Sample United Nations OrganizationsUNDP - United Nations Development Programme UNIFEM - United Nations Development Fund for Women UNV - United Nations Volunteers UNEP - United Nations Environment Programme UNFPA - United Nations Fund for Population Activities UNHCR - Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UN-HABITAT - United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund


Economic and Military Alliances in Cold War Europe

Figure 8-21


Why Has Terrorism Increased?

• Terrorism– Systematic use of violence to intimidate a

population or to coerce a government• From the Latin word meaning “to frighten”• Use of bombing, kidnapping, hijacking, and

murder to instill fear and anxiety in a population



• Terrorism by individuals and organizations– American terrorists– September 11, 2001, attacks– Al-Qaeda

• Jihad


Aftermath of World Trade Center Attack

Figure 8-23



• State support for terrorism– Three increasing levels of involvement

• Providing sanctuary• Supplying weapons, money, and intelligence to

terrorists• Using terrorists to plan attacks



• State support for terrorism– Examples

• Libya• Iraq• Afghanistan• Iran• Pakistan


Ethnic Groups in Southwest Asia

Figure 8-25


Major Tribes in Iraq

Figure 8-26


The End.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Unit # 4: Political Geography The Cultural Landscape: An...

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