Political Geography Chapter 8
A World of States State An area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government that has control over its internal and foreign affairs Sovereignty A state having control over its internal affairs without interference from other states
Ancient States Fertile Crescent - Mesopotamia City-state A sovereign state that comprises a town and the surrounding countryside Egypt - Ancient Greece European States Roman Empire: Controlled most of Europe, North Africa, and Southwest Asia from modern day Spain to Iran and from Egypt to England. Collapsed in fifth century because of attacks and internal disputes. European portion fragmented into estates.
Nation and Multinational States Self-determination The right of ethnic groups to govern themselves within sovereign states Nation state A state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality Multinational states Contain two or more ethnic groups with traditions of self determination Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
The Former USSR Three Baltic states Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania Three European states Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine Five Central Asian states Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan Three Caucasus states Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
Challenges in Defining States Korea: one state or two? Divided into two occupation zones after defeat of Japan in WWII. Two Korean Governments Democratic People s Republic of Korea (North Korea) Republic of Korea ( South Korea) Western Sahara (Sahrawi Republic) Considered a sovereign state Morocco claims the territory
Who owns Antarctica?
Who controls the seas?
Colonization Colony A territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than being completely independent European colonies Colonialism The effort by one country to establish settlements in a territory and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles on that territory European colonies: motives Promotion of Christianity Resource extraction Establishment of political power God, glory, and gold UK and France largest colonizers
Colonies then and now...
Are there still colonies? Remaining colonies 68 places globally (U.S. State Department) Entities not included as colonies by entities other than the State Department Greenland, Hong Kong, Macao Entities considered as colonies by other entities but not by the State Department Lord Howe Island (Australia) Ascension Island (Great Britain) Easter Island (Chile)
Shapes of States Elongated states: potential isolation States that have long narrow shapes Malawi Gambia
Shapes of States Fragmented states: problematic States that include several discontinuous pieces of territory Tanzania Angola
Shapes of States Prorupted states: access or disruption States with large projecting extensions Created because: Access to resources Congo To separate two states Namibia» Caprivi Strip
Shapes of States Compact states: efficient Distance from center to boundary in any direction does not vary by much Burundi Rwanda Uganda Kenya
Shapes of States Landlocked states No direct outlet to the sea Lesotho Zambia Botswana Zimbabwe
Shapes of States Perforated states: completely surrounded A state that completely surrounds another state South Africa and Lesotho
Boundaries of States Boundary An invisible line marking the extent of a state s territory Physical boundaries Deserts, Mountains, Water Cultural boundaries Geometric and Ethnic boundaries Frontiers A zone where no state exercises complete political control Historically, frontiers separated states.
Governing States National government Autocracy A country that is run according to the interests of the ruler rather than the people Anocracy A country that is not fully democratic nor fully autocratic Displays a mix of the two types of government
Local government Unitary state Allocates most power to the federal government Local governments have relatively little power Federal state Strong powers are allocated to units of local government
Gerrymandering Redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power
Cooperation Among States Military alliances North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Warsaw Pact Economic cooperation European Union COMECON Superpowers Balance of power A condition of roughly equal strength between opposing forces
Terrorism The systematic use of violence by a group in order to intimidate a population or coerce a government into granting its demands
State-sponsored terrorism State-sponsored sanctuary for terrorists Afghanistan and Pakistan Taliban Arabic for students of Muslim schools Providing supplies to terrorists Iran: The U.S. has accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons. Providing supplies to terrorists Iraq: The U.S. lead an attack against Iraq in 2003, in order to depose Saddam Hussein. 1991 Operation Desert Storm State-sponsored terrorist attacks Libya: Muammar el-qaddafi brutally attacked Libyan protesters.