Political Geography Introduction

Political Geography The spatial analysis of political phenomena and processes. Political geographers use the spatial scale to study political systems at all geographic scales, from local governments to international political systems.

Two perspectives: Paul Knox and sallie marston First perspective: Focuses on the impacts of economic, cultural, and physical geography on political systems Second perspective: Views political systems as the driving force behind different countries' economic and cultural systems

GIVE EXAMPLES OF YOUR “TERRITORY” Territoriality Creating ownership over a defined space. Often invokes an emotional response. GIVE EXAMPLES OF YOUR “TERRITORY”

States and nations

State (FORMAL TERM FOR COUNTRY) A politically organized territory that is administered by a sovereign government and is recognized by the international community. Fundamental unit in political geography U.N.= 193 U.S. Department of State= 195 196 countries is probably a better count.

Sovereignty Internationally recognized control of a state over the people and territory within its boundaries.

Nation Tightly knit group of individuals sharing a common language, ethnicity, religion, and other cultural attributes. Quebec Scotland Navajo

Nation-State Refers to a geographically-defined sovereign state composed of citizens with a common heritage, identity, and set of political goals. Japan Sweden Portugal Costa Rica Iceland Poland Korea

Multinational state A state with more than one nation Russia Canada Cyprus Former Yugoslavia

Stateless nation Some nations exist as communal identities without the benefit of an internationally recognized, cartographically recognized state. Palestinians Kurds Quebecois Basque Assyrian Christians of Iraq Ughirs of western China What are some problems associated with stateless nations?

Part-nation state Cultural identity over many countries Arab Nation

QUIZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-0

Rise of the modern state

Early humans organizing political space Clans Tribes Villages Kingdoms Empires. City-states

Rise of the idea Prior to the 1500s, European political organization was loosely organized and not centralized. Strong monarchies emerged in England and France- replaced feudal structure. Led to the idea of the nation-state Cohesive group of people linked to their territory through a shared government and common goals.

The now universal idea of the modern state was developed by European political philosophers in the 18th century Advanced the concept that people owe their allegiance to a state and the people it represents rather than its leader or king. This led to “national” feelings. The new concept coincided in France with the French Revolution (to be followed by the American Revolution) and spread throughout western Europe to England, Spain and Germany. DIFFUSION!

Europe, 1648

THROUGH WHAT MECHANISM????? COLONIALISM. duh. This idea of state was passed on to much of Africa, Asia and the Americas during the European Expansion in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. THROUGH WHAT MECHANISM????? COLONIALISM. duh.

Colonialism A physical action in which one state takes over control of another, taking over the government and ruling the territory as its own. Two Waves of European Colonialism: 1500 - 1825 1825 - 1975

Mercantilism Economic system that arose from colonialism. A state acquires colonies to provide it with raw materials to ship back home and use in making products for the population in the mother country.

Imperialism Process of establishing political, social, and economic dominance over a colonized area. Europeans acculturated dominated areas.

COLONIZING AFRICA Indigenous people had their own organized used of space. Europeans ignored the existing cultures and political structure and “CARVED” Africa. Post-independence, many former colonies have maintained the idea of state and the borders established by Europeans.

Dominant colonial influences, 1550-1950

Two Waves of Decolonization: First wave – focused on decolonization of the Americas Second wave – focused on decolonization of Africa and Asia

The idea of separate statehood grew slowly at first. In 1800 there were 35 countries in the world. By 1939 there were 70 countries After World War II, the end of the colonial era brought a rapid increase in the number of sovereign states.