Political States
Country = key unit in political geography
State
Connection that people, their culture, economics have to the land
How would you show your connection to the land?
Marked boundaries
Defending it from external threats
Control over people in certain area
Can be subject to conflicts if states exert territoriality beyond borders
Conflicts over borders, different practices, competing economic interests
Ex: disputes in South China Sea over Sparty Islands, Russia in Crimea, etc.
Territoriality
mountains, rivers, seas, lakes form boundaries
Ex: China – Nepal, USA – Canada (east), Romania - Bulgaria
Physical
When one ethnic group wants more political power as it is mistreated by majority ethnic group, especially if they have a history of self-rule
Results from: - ethnic discrimination in multiethnic state
- ethnic groups not integrating into majority society
Ex: - Flemish vs. Walloon in Belgium - Kurds in Middle East
- Abkhazia + South Ossetia v. Georgia - Tibet vs. China
Culture diversity/Ethnic Separatism
“people have stronger connection to their
their ethnic group than to their nation”
Subnationalism
Boundaries of national group homeland match boundaries of country
1 nation in a state = culturally homogenous (Ex: Japan, Iceland, Israel)
Often a result of historical or geographic isolationism, smaller countries
Nation State
“Practice of using own political, economic and cultural influence to control a different country indirectly to improve their own status”
More developed countries (MDCs) over less developed countries (LDCs)
Ex: Parent countries over their former colonies, China in Africa, etc.
Neocolonialism
“drawn before people lived in an area and
established a cultural landscape”
Antecedent Boundary
“Intentional removal or killing of particular ethnic group”
Results from - ethnic group not integrating well into majority society
- desire to create a nation-state?
Ex: - Bosniak genocide by Serbians in Srebrenica in 1995 (Yugoslavia)
- Armenian genocide by Turkey in 1915-1917, Uyghurs in China?
- Rohingya Muslims by Myanmar army in 2017, Holocaust, Rwanda
Cultural diversity 🡺 Ethnic Cleansing (genocide)
“creating organizations made up of min. three
countries trying to achieve a common goal”
Supranationalism
Country with more national groups who coexist within set borders
One group dominant & runs government, but all recognize each other
Ex: USA, Canada, Russia, Singapore, etc.
Multi National State
“Narrow geographic locations that you have to cross if you want to get to another geographic location” (often straits, canals, valleys)
Control over choke points 🡺 big political power for a country
Strait of Hormuz / Malacca / Bosporus, Suez Canal, Panama Canal,…
Choke Points
“no longer formally exist, but still have impact on
cultural landscape, economics, society, etc.”
Relict Boundary
“Use of violence and terror against civilians to achieve a political goal”
Usually non-state organizations, but can be “sponsored by state”
Terrorism
“Redrawing boundaries of districts in such way that would benefit the majority political party in future elections”
Boundaries cannot be drawn following race as determining factor
Gerrymandering
National group is spread over in few countries
Nation is minority and has limited / no political power in each country
Nation that misses one / more features to form a state (e.g. recognition)
Ex: Kurds, Catalonians, Basques, Navajo people, Palestinians, etc.
Stateless Nation
Region between 2 larger external political or cultural powers 🡺 more economic/political/cultural pressure put on them 🡺 prone to conflicts“
Ex: Vietnam, Korea, Central + Eastern Europe during Cold War, Kashmir
Shatterbelts
“drawn after cultural groups came to an area
🡺 reflect cultural diversity and respect it”
Subsequent Boundary
“Movement by a nation to unite other part of its nation that are spread over other borders”
Irredentism
Power centralized in national government 🡺 power of local governments determined by national government
Central government makes all laws, provides public services
Unitary State
Region inside a state that has high degree of power to govern itself 🡺 limited interference from central government
Ex: Tibet, Xinjiang in China, Native American reservations in USA
Autonomous Region
Group’s control over people, land and resources, even beyond borders
Expressed through: neocolonialism, shatterbelts and choke points
Political Power
“imposed by foreign states, often ignoring
cultural and physical features of a region”
Superimposed Boundary
Transfer of power from central government to regional governments
Can lead to balkanization
Result of people’s dissatisfaction with how central government deals with local issues
Devolution
Power divided between national and local governments, some powers shared 🡺 regional governments with limited sovereignty cannot be abolished
Some laws are the same nation-wide, others differ state by state
Public services provided locally
Federal State