Love will keep us together or Breaking up is hard to

do?What makes states stay together or break

up

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

So...

What keeps relationships together or conversely, what breaks them apart?

What do you think?

The 3 “R’s”

1. Common Rules

2. Agreed-upon Roles

3. Rituals

Other

Having time for each other

Being together

Thanks, but how does this apply to Political

Geography?

The forces of Political Relationships

There are two forces that Political geographers use to describe what keeps countries together and what breaks them apart...

Centripetal: proceeding or acting in a direction toward a center or axis (Binding)

Centrifugal: proceeding or acting in a direction away from a center or axis (Breaking away)

Centripetal forces

Forces that promote unity and national stability... “keep states together”

What are they?

See if you can make Sherwin’s top 5 list...

It’s Partner up time...

1) promoting Nationalism

Same Language and Same Religion (unified)

(Holidays, Heroes, Olympics, Monuments, Flags, Songs)

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.”

Do intermarriages/relationships face challenges?

2) Unifying institutions

Schools: teach values

Television/media: esp if “state” controlled...less if there is freedom of the press (4th branch of govt)

ReligionDo you go to temple or church?Do you read or watch sports?

3) Common Enemy/Threat

Sept. 11th; Pearl Harbor

Government: declaring war (Vietnam or Iraq)... creating us vs them tension (Cold War)...

Angry Mother-in-law

Wag the Dog

Just interesting...

Wag the Dog is a 1997 film about a Washington spin doctor who distracts the people from a U.S. presidential scandal by hiring a Hollywood producer, played by Dustin Hoffman, to construct a fake war with Albania.

The scheme enlists the musician Willie Nelson (who creates a theme song for the 'war') in this film

4) Transportation and communication

Where roads are or aren’t (Can you get to me now?)

Only 8 RRs cross the boundary between the US and Canada-promotes national growth

Do relationships work if you don’t have time for

each other?

5) Geo friendly Land

No Islands

No Mts.

Nothing that isolates part from another part

Hawaii and Alaska in the US (DeBlij)

Again, do long distance relationships work?

Centrifugal forcesThe challenges to state authority

Centrifugal forces

Opposite of Centripetal

Bi/Multinational promotion

Bi/Multinational institutions

Poor trans/communication

Poor physical geo (separation)

Centrifugal forces can cause states to break-up...

It can happen right away or over time

devolution (Trial separation?)

Types of devolution...Ethnocultural, Economic,

Spatial

Devolution: The transfer of some powers, and the delegation of some functions,

from a central sovereign government to local government.

Definitions of devolutionary forces

Ethnocultural: sub-group (nation) that has identity (lang./relgion) and wants to have some control

sometimes called Subnationalism or Regionalism

Economic: a different region might have different economic goals; rich regions have more say

Spatial: Mts., islands, fragments might get more control because of distance

Ethnocultural

Spatial

Econo

mic

Ethnocultural DevolutionaryMovements

Eastern Europedevolutionary forcessince the fall ofcommunism

The Balkans are a _______ region

Ethnocultural DevolutionaryMovements

Scotlandrise in independencemovement is coupled with:

- European Union

- ScotlandÕs oil resources

Independence (poorer) vs.Dependence

(richer)

EconomicDevolutionaryMovements

Catalonia, SpainBarcelona is the center ofbanking and commerce inSpain and the region ismuch wealthier than therest of Spain.

EconomicDevolutionaryMovements

Catalonia, SpainBarcelona is the center ofbanking and commerce inSpain and the region ismuch wealthier than therest of Spain.

Same for Pandania (Northern Italy)Which leads me to think...

The Po Valley is in Pandania

Shouldn’t it be the Rich Valley?

SpatialDevolutionaryMovements

Honolulu, HawaiÕiA history apart from theUnited States, and adesire to live apart in orderto keep traditions alive.

Review

What are centripetal forces?

What are centrifugal forces?

What is devolution?

Types of devolution?