CHAPTER 14 (n) CHAPTER 25 (0) Class Notes POLITICAL CULTURE AND THE EVOLVING STATE
POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY – study of the political organization of the planet ??? POLITICAL CULTURE – Governing Ideal shared by the community
How We Divide the World Land divided into about 200 states Modern State system from European Roots (pg. 207) Key facets…
People who share common historic, ethnic, cultural, religious views NATION – People who share common historic, ethnic, cultural, religious views Belong to community Perceptual Element involved Nation exists cause you think it does
STATE – A sovereign politically organized area (internationally recognized borders) Very few true Nation-States WHY???
The “Nation-State” The aspiration of Governing elites Nation and state occupy the same area SOVEREIGNTY – final authority of a state’s political, social, economic, military affairs rests with that state
See the Difference FRANCE – State > Identified political area Nation > Most people in France ID as French Other Examples: Iceland, Japan, Poland YUGOSLAVIA – State > ID’d political area NOT A NATION > ID’d selves as Croatian, Serbian, etc.- Not as Yugoslav
Stateless Nations Until 1948, Jewish nation had no state Palestinians a nation, but have no state Kurds in N. Iraq – nation of people, call land “Kurdistan” – But officially in Iraq / Turkey (see map pg. 200)
Switzerland Bucks the Trend Strong state, but many different people (French, German, Belgian, Italian) hard to ID as Swiss Twist on Nation-State concept: community committed to common political culture (the state ideal) – forgoes cultural assertion USA
SPATIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF STATES No state exists without territory Territorial Morphology – Size, Shape, Relative location of States Study dis / advantages of states / features
I. SIZE Big countries – USA > advantage USSR > disadvantage Microstates – Extremely small states - Liechtenstein, Andorra, San Marino, Singapore
II. SHAPE 1. COMPACT – (Most) Geometric center to any border point pretty even
FRAGMENTED – State in 2 or more pieces
3. ELONGATED – Thin, narrow, stretched out
4. PRORUPT (Protruded) – Extension out of compact core
5. PERFORATED – Country with another separate state within it
What Shape???
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