The Political Organization of Space Political Geography

What is Political Geography? ► The study of how space is organized on multiple levels  Multi-state level  State level  Local level

State ► A defined area of space that includes four key features:  Internationally recognizes borders  Governing body  Permanent population  Sovereignty (governmental control of activities within the state) Nation ► A group of people who share common cultural traits and are unified based on those traits (language, ethnicity, religion, etc.) ► National boundaries can surpass political (or state) boundaries.

Nation-State vs. Multi-nation State ► Nation-states are states that share the same nationality throughout the entire political boundary  Japan, Portugal (w/o Azores) ► Multi-nation states are states that have several different “nationalities” within the political boundaries  United States, United Kingdom, Russia

Irredentism ► The desire to annex (or claim) territory currently occupied or governed by another state as one’s own due to current or historical similarities  Ethnic or cultural ties  Previous control of territory  Historic Diaspora Nationalism ► The ideology led by a population to unify based on a unified nationality ► Commonly used in revolutions, irredentist claims, or independence movements ► Purpose is usually centered around popular sovereignty and the idea that the citizens should be in control

Self Determination Theory (SDT) ► Edward Deci and Richard Ryan  People will naturally try to control their environment and the activities that take place within that environment  When others take control or determine the fate of a given area, SDT can lead to revolt, coup d’etat, or irredentism

Enclave and Exclave ► Exclave —a bounded (non-island) piece of territory that is part of a particular state but lies separated from it by the territory of another state ► Enclave —a piece of territory that is surrounded by another political unit of which it is not a part

Multi-state (International Level) ► The use of political boundaries to define international organizations or multi-state organizations  Soviet Union  European Union  United Nations ► These organizations share one or more common:  Political interests  Military interests (NATO)  Economic interests  Human interests  Cultural interests

European Union ► Shares common political structure including interstate laws, court systems, regulations, and borders ► The political boundaries around the EU is much more secure than those inside the state ► Transportation is improved between states to allow people to travel and/or work between states ► Common currency allows ease of inter-state commerce ► Many people work in other countries daily and commute to and from countries ► Common agricultural and resource management allows a shared stake in the success of each member state

United Nations

Creation of the United Nations ► League of Nations (created after WWI to prevent WWII…whoops! ► United Nations Conference on International Organizations in 1945 ► Agreed to allow Allied Powers and other sovereign nations to join in a shared diplomatic relationship to foster open communication between states ► Primary goals were:  World Peace (easy enough)  Open forum for international discussion  Prevent conflicts between member states and help deal with conflicts between non-member states

UN Achievements ► Human rights issues ► Economic development ► Decolonization ► Health and education ► Refugees ► Trade UN Weaknesses ► Military support is dependent upon the “Permanent Five”  China, U.S., France, U.K., Russia ► Sanctions and agreements are often not enforced or ignored by member states ► Rogue states can unravel years of UN work

Creating State Boundaries ► Boundaries were originally created to define areas of use or value ► Physical features and limitations defined these areas and ease of transportation regulated these boundaries ► Predicted that protection of boundaries stems from animalistic instinct to mark and protect one’s territory from others (which can include animals, people, or environment) – ROBERT SACK

Creating Political Boundaries ► Negotiated or compromised boundaries are agreed upon (definition) ► Mapping of boundaries or borders on paper/GIS (Remote sensing has helped with this process) (delimitation) ► The area is physically marked (demarcation)

Historic Context of Creating States ► Force Theory – states were created through forced movement and demarcation of an area ► Divine Right Theory – states were created through the ideology that people had a god-given right to a territory and they had to defend it ► Social-Contract Theory – states were a compromise of ideas, beliefs, and people agreed to be members of these states based on the shared beliefs ► Evolution Theory – states evolved from necessity and expansion of humans, differences in size and territory were dependent upon the evolutionary needs of the people

Colonialism vs. Neocolonialism ► Colonialism – sovereign state takes control over an uninhabited or uncontrolled parcel of land and claims it as their own ► Imperialism – sovereign state takes control over another sovereign state or group of people to impose political, cultural, and economic values on the people (Africa, Southeast Asia, United States) ► Neocolonialism – current dependence of former colonies on the previous colonizer (sub-Saharan Africa). Also based on globalization and capitalist claims to resources around the world

The Shapes of States ► Rivers, mountains, deserts, oceans, plateaus, and climate can shape the shape of states ► Some states are larger than others due to resources, needs, and colonization ► Russia ► Canada ► China ► U.S. ► Brazil