1. Political Geography
Chapter 8

2. United Nations Members
Fig. 8-1: The UN has increased from 51 members in 1945 to 191 in 2003.

3. Political Geography-the study of political activity in a spatial context.
Over 200 countries and territories in the world
Great inequality of size, relative location, population, resources and potential
Some are landlocked or have little coastline
Some are surrounded by hostile nations
In the last several decades-the collapse of empires has added to the number of independent states.
Many newly independent nations have problems

4. Political Culture
Some state systems separate church & state while others are theocracies-governments led by religious leaders.
Robert Sach coined the term human territoriality to describe the way political space is organized.
Robert Ardrey compares human territoriality to the instinct of animals to control & defend territory.
Land ownership-some societies have communal ownership while others emphasize individual ownership. (Africa-imperialism, Indians of N. America).
Challenges to political territory provides a strong motivation for warfare.

5. Nation-State
Earliest rulers “regnum” ruled over a group of followers-not fixed territories.
Medieval concept of the Nation-State began with the Roman Catholic Church-that created “dominium” rule over a defined territory.
Merovingian Kings 5th-8th cent. Called themselves “Kings of the Franks”, later Capetian Dynasty 10th - 14th cent. Called themselves “Kings of France”.
Rise of the modern nation-state saw the development of distinctive territory.
Picture at right-is King Alfred of the West Saxons (Wessex) in early Medieval England.

6. Rise of the Modern State
European Model of the state diffused from Ancient Greece & Rome.
Middle Ages-fragmentation, on mainland, Dynastic rule & strong leaders led to greater national cohesion, Norman invasion ended the fragmentation of England.
Muslim invasion repelled. New technology-horseshoe, stirrup, horse collar, wheel barrow & wind mill introduced.

7. Rise of the Modern State
Renaissance-political nationalism & economic nationalism in the form of mercantilism developed-concept of diplomacy developed in Italy.
Mercantilism-states should acquire wealth through-colonization, plunder, protection of home industries & markets, a favorable balance of trade.
Dutch trading vessels of the 17th century.

8. Rise of the Modern State
Reformation-brought a religious split Roman Catholic versus Protestant-led to a series of wars. Monarchies benefited from the Church’s loss of political power.
Age of Absolutism-emerged with Louis XIV of France as a prime example. Monarchies became the focal point of national awareness-ended regionalism and aristocratic local control

9. Rise of the Modern State
Powerful dynasties-Habsburgs, Bourbons, Tudors & Stuarts struggled for power.
Thirty Years’ War began as a religious struggle-but ended as state & dynastic struggle for control of Europe.
Peace of Westphalia 1648 ended the war-created defined boundaries & guarantees of security-Modern Europe emerged.
Battle during the Thirty Years’ War
Spain, Dutch United Provinces, France and the Holy Roman Empire achieved regional stability.
The growth of the economy and the rise of the merchant class or bourgeoisie, the growth of cities in power and importance helped to end Absolutism.
Land became less important in political struggles-thus landed gentry had less influence.

10. The states we perceive as “natural” and “always existing” are relatively recent phenomena.
In 1648, Europe was divided into dozens of small territories.

11. Rise of the Modern State
The French Revolution of 1789 was the first major political upheaval in Europe.
It was followed by the Napoleonic Wars that spread the Enlightenment ideas of equality and the French concept of nationalism.
1830 and 1848 another wave of revolutions swept over Europe
State Provides Services for people
Demands taxes
Demands adherence to laws
Demands service in the military

12. State
State – a politically organized territory with a permanent population, a defined territory, and a government. To be a state, an entity must be recognized as such by other states.

13. Nations
Nation – a culturally defined group of people with a shared past and a common future who relate to a territory and have political goals.
People construct nations to make sense of themselves.
Nations are “imagined communities”
-Benedict Anderson
imagined = you will never meet all the people in your nation
community = you see yourself as part of it

14. State and Nation
State from the Latin word “status” or “standing”-a political entity-used interchangeably with country.
Nation-an ethnic or cultural group with similar language, religion, customs and territory-historic connection.
Berlin was a divided city between 2 states-West Germany and East Germany-but it was a nation split by divisions of the Cold War
Berlin top-in the 1970s when the wall divided the city
Berlin-top with only the vestiges of the wall remaining-such as the East German watchtower.
Political Geographers prefer the term “state”.
If it is capitalized it refers to internal divisions like the State of Illinois.
Yugoslavia-once a state, but never a nation-a collection of Slovenes, Serbs, Croats, etc.-broke apart in the 1990s

15. Defining the Nation-State
A Nation should have
A single language
A common history
A similar ethnic background
Unity from a common political system.
Cultural homogeneity not as important as “national spirit” or emotional commitment to the state.
A Nation-State has:
Clearly delineated territory
Substantial population
Well-organized government
Shared political and cultural history
Emotional ties to institutions or political systems or an ideology.
Switzerland is a good example of national spirit-a state with French, German, Italian and Romanish languages yet had endured because of its peoples’ commitment to the state.
Livy stated that what makes a society strong is the well-being of its people—basic justice, basic opportunity, a modicum of spritual reward—the people’s conviction that “the system” is set up to produce it. As Livy wrote, “An empire remains powerful so long as its subjects rejoice in it.”

16. European Boundary Changes
In Europe France is the best example of a nation-state
Others-Germany before World War I, Hungary, Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Sweden.
NOT nation-states-Bosnia, Moldova, Slovakia, Belgium and Latvia
Revolution and Evolution took place in Europe-absolute rule died out and was replaced by democracy
Some states abolished monarchy-France and Italy
Others retained monarchies as figure-heads; Britain, Netherlands, Belgium, etc.
Fig. 8-13: Twentieth-century boundary changes in Europe, 1914 to Germany’s boundaries changed after each world war and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

17. The State A state provides services for its citizens. It demands taxes
It demands adherence to the laws.
It demands military service
Periods of adversity can increase a sense of nationalism-but can backfire
A state is possible only if a national attitude or emotional attachment to the state develops.
US Vietnam War split the nation
Canada-Quebec controversy
Argentina-Falklands crisis brought down the government

18. Defining the Nation-State
The Four Pillars of Nationalism;
A population that considers itself a nation
A substantial and well-defined territory
A well-developed organization
A measure of economic, political and military power.

19. European Colonialism & the Diffusion of the Nation-State Model
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:

20. Dominant Colonial Influences, 1550-1950
This map shows the dominant influence, as some places were colonized by more than one power in this time period.