Political Geography

Issues of Geopolitcs

• There are countless boundary disputes in the world
• Some are settled politically or through military action
• Self-interest and economic well-being play major roles in the creation of boundaries.
• Current disputes over boundaries are:
• The Kashmir region
• The Middle East

Ethnicity and Culture

Oppression of minorities:

• Forced segregation
• Ghettos
• Ethnic enclaves
• Ethnic conflict
• Ethnic cleansing
• Genocide
• Ethnic Diversity
• US: Latinos 17%, African Americans, 13%, Asian Americans, 5%

• Immigration:
• Because the US is a state of immigrants, acculturation has taken place.
• This involves the adaption to a new culture from an old culture
• This takes place in 3 generations: The 1st speaks little English, the 2nd speaks both, the 3rd speaks mainly English and knows little of the homeland
• This is the process of assimilation
• Most communities voluntarily segregate themselves based on language
• This creates ethnic neighborhoods

• Ethnicity is different to geographers
• It is defined as religion, language.
• Globalization is the movement toward one common culture across the world
• Cultural shatterbelt is an area where people are caught between the globalization or modernization of their culture and their traditional cultural identity
• Because of globalization, English is the world's lingua franca
• This led to cultural adaptions, the transition of a varied cultural environment into one culture

Boundaries

Impact of Political Geography

• Boundaries are a human invention to separate areas on earth
• Natural features can be used a natural break
• Political boundaries have been fought over for centuries
• Three primary factors for determining boundaries are:
• Latitude and Longitude (Geometric boundaries)
• Natural features (Physical boundaries)
• Cultural features (Ethnographic/Cultural boundaries)

• Political geography, called geopolitics, is needed in order to understand the world around us.
• Geopolitics is the study of human systems, which are in a constant state of organizing the land to fit human needs.
• This includes the distribution of resources as well as gender, and ethnicity.

Ethnographic Boundaries

Understanding Political Geography

• Ethnographic boundaries are the hardest to enforce and establish
• There are four main types of boundaries:
• Antecedent (existed before human settlement)
• Subsequent (develop along with the development of cultural landscapes)
• Superimposed (a political border that ignores the existing cultural organization)
• Relic (a relic on the landscape )

Physical Boundaries

Territorial Ownership

• Physical features can include rivers, lakes, mountains, deserts, and peninsulas.

• A state is an area with boundaries and sovereignty, while a nation is a group of people with common cultural characteristics. A nation-state occurs when a state's boundaries coincide with the cultural boundaries of a group.
• Iraq: a state divided among three nations
• The earth has been divided into 200 states. In the last 100 years, the number of states increased by 100.

• Some states extend through colonialism.
• A commonwealth is a territory that has established an agreement with another statefor the benefit of both parties.

Geometric Boundaries

Nations, Nation-States & Sovereignty

International boundaries are a prominent feature of the political geography of the contemporary world. In this exercise, you will explore the impact of a boundary on nationalist attitudes and behaviors. You will need to use The New York Times Index to complete this assignment. Using the United States-Mexico border as your key word, describe the range of issues that derive from this juxtaposition of two very different nations. Concentrate on a 5-year period, indicating which issues continue to have a consistent news profile throughout the period

• Created by latitude and longitude
• Straight lines on a map
• Much of the US and Canada are geometric boundaries and follows the 49th parallel
• Using latitude and longitude allow GPS to function better

• A nation is a group of people with common cultural characteristics
• The nation-state occurs when the cultural borders of a nation correspond with the state borders of a country
• Japan/Denmark
• The state regulates their own internal and external affairs, this is called sovereignty.
• Once a state has sovereignty it can determine its own taxs, laws, political structure.

Historical Geography of the United States

The Struggle for Sovereignty

• Some nations without a state have vowed to fight against their home countries until they have their own sovereignty
• The Kurds
• The Basques
• The Flemish
• The Zulu
• The Palestinians
• The Hmong

• Historical geography analyzes geographical patterns through history.
• The US is an immigrant state, a state comprised of mainly immigrants and their descendants.
• After gaining independence from Great Britain, the US became a unitary government-- when power lies with individual states

Historical Geography of the United States

• The US has a representative government
• With 100 senators and 435 representatives who serves their districts
• Districts are reapportioned every ten years
• Gerrymandering: the redrawing of political boundaries for political gain.

• After independence, the US expanded west.
• A frontier is an area that is not yet under control of a state
• Manifest Destiny was the belief that god allowed the US to control the land between the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean

Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces

• Forces that break up states are centrifugal force
• Centripetal forces unite states, in contrast
• Devolution is the process of giving power up by the central or federal governmental to different regions of the country
• Latvia, Lithuanian, Estonia, etc.
• Centripetal forces might be symbolized through art- this is called national iconography
• Flags

Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces

Supernationalism in the EU

• Religion and languages may be both centripetal centrifugal.
• Theocracies use religion, interwoven in the politics, to unite the state.
• Supernationalism is on the rise. Supernationalism extends state borders though the establishment of other organizations to further economic and political cooperation.

• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romaina
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden

• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Ireland
• Italy

Political Organization of Space

• During the Cold War, the Soviet Union set up satellite states
• Divided those states from the non-communist nations with the Iron Curtain
• Regions caught between the US and Soviet Union were called shatterbelt regions
• Buffer state: a country that is in between two other states but is neutral

• Humans have different ways of governing space
• Governments create organizations to assist with other countries
• The US has embassies, with representatives called ambassadors
• Humans have organizations all over the world to ease tensions
• NATO
• CENTO

Heartland Theory and Rimland Theory

The Domino Theory and Irredentism

• The heartland theory suggests that whoever owns Eastern Europe and Western Asia has political power and capital to rule the world
• Eastern Europe is one of
• The rimland theory states that it is necessary to form alliances to keep the Heartland in check

• The domino theory was adopted by the CIA in the 1960s-70s.
• It suggested that when one country experiences turmoil, it will led to a domino effect of political disunity
• "Fall like dominoes"
• Irredentism is an attempt to provoke coups in another country

Colonialism and Imperialism

• Colonialism is the practice of establishing political dominance over a people for economic, political, and territorial gain
• Imperialism is establishing control over an area that is already politically organized
• Europeans colonized the Western Hemisphere and imperialized Africa
• Organic theory: A state is constantly needing to grow to meet the demands of the people

Forms of Colonization

Impacts and Factors

• Religious Colonialism
• A tenet of the Christian faith to to save the unsaved. Colonization
• Religious freedom
• Search for Wealth
• Glory of Colonialism
• "The sun never sets on the British Empire" 1600s-1997

• Europeans were able to colonize due to military advantages, immunities, supplies, and materials.
• Self-determination: The power of a people to establish their own government.
• Democratization: the transition of an authoritarian regime (dictatorship) to representative

What is Political Geography?

Political Organization of Space

• There are five shapes to countries: compact, elongate, fragmented, perforated, and prorupted.
• Supernatural organizations, such as the European Union and UN, have strong influence on the world's political climate.
• Boundary disputes arise for various reasons. Some arise from demarcation of boundaries, while other arise from the allocation of resources along the border.

• A nation is a group of people with common cultural characteristics, whereas a state is an area with defined boundaries that has sovereignty within its borders. A Nation-state is a country whose political boundaries correspond with its cultural boundaries
• The heartland theory established by Halford MacKinder suggests that whoever owns the Heartland of Eastern Europe will control the world. Rimland theory devolped by Nicholoas Spykman suggests that sea power is more valuable&alliances will keep the heartland in check. The Domino theory was response to the spread of communism and suggest one country will fall to communism, the other countries around it will also fall.
• Colonialism has had a profound impact on the world. The major colonial powers were Great Britain, Portugal, Spain, France.
• Ethnicity is determined by race, skin color, language, religion, and other factors. Race=ethnicity

Borders and Conflict

Need to Know

https://www.wearemitu.com/mitu-world/families-separated-by-the-border-got-a-brief-moment-to-reconnect/

• Annexation is the formal act of acquiring something (especially territory) by conquest or occupation
• Allocational/resource boundary dispute: Dispute over location and resources
• There are two types of border landscapes, exclusionary and inclusionary. Exclusionary is meant to keep people out, such as the border between the U.S. and Mexico. Inclusionary is meant to facilitate trade and movement, such as the U.S.-Canada border

Political Powers

• A buffer state a small neutral state between two rival powers.
• Examples?
• Colonialism is the exploitation by a of weaker country by a stronger country
• In comparison, decolonization is the act of changing from colonial to independent status
• https://www.ted.com/talks/parag_khanna_maps_the_future_of_countries#t-178235

Political Geography

Based on Jim Harvey's speech structures