Political geographers study how people have organized the Earth’s land surface into countries and alliances. They look at the reasons for these observed alliances and the conflicts that result from the organizations. Political geography is more than just knowing location of current events, it is the study of the spatial aspects of power relationships at all scales (international, national, local).

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Territoriality is a country’s or more local communities sense of property and attachment towards it’s territory as expressed by its determination to keep it inviolable (incapable of being assaulted/destroyed) and strongly defended. So the question becomes…Are we territorial by nature? Or is this something that has come with the rise of modern societies?

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Some suggest that territoriality is innate (natural, we are born with it). The study of peoples sense of territoriality is part of the field of ethology (the science of animal behavior). This term is also used for the study of behavior of animals in their natural environment. Our personal sense of territoriality is a tempered one. For example we regard our homes as defensible, private domains, yet we open the door to innocent visitors (known or unknown, or those of private or official business).

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Some reject the fact that we should be compared to animals and say that territoriality is learned. An example is the Maori and Moriori. Both are from Polynesian descent but had opposite evolutionary courses due to their migration to different Islands. They migrated to New Zealand and the Chatham islands. The Maori settled in New Zealand (High Island). This was an area suitable for crops and could support larger populations. They developed advanced weapons and leadership. The Moriori settled on the low islands. Due to the topography they became hunter gatherers, had simple technology, lacked leadership and renounced war. The low islands did not support large populations.

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We all have personal space (how close or far away someone is from you). For example the territorial urge can be observed when people become frustrated because of overcrowding. They become stressed and in some circumstances begin to exhibit aggressive or deviant behaviors. Read the article “How is your personal distance”. A button link to the website article is located on my website. We determine our personal distance. It is cultural and not innate. The Russian sense of personal distance differed from our western view.

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We mark which is ours and put up protective signs and fences. In the United States especially, there is a division of urban space based on socioeconomic status. A gated community is a community that has controlled entrances.

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Groups can be territorial about their neighborhoods. We see this through t-shirts with zip codes; area code graffiti, etc.) This map shows the turfs of the bloods and crips in Los Angeles. A “turf” of a city gang or “territory” of organized crime are implied boundaries that are set by markers or symbols but never delineated (drawn) on a map or legal document. So, is this innate (natural, inborn) territoriality? Or is it a group that has been marginalized within a society asserting themselves in the only way they can?

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Graffiti can be used as a “marking” of territory. Police use maps like this to identify places that need more of a police presence.

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These images show distinctive markings as turf is claimed. Aggressive tagging is where one group marks marks over another groups.

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Some examples include gated communities (residents only), or the lack of sidewalks and public space (this can discourage outsiders to walk through or in the area).

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There are currently 195 countries (196 if you count Taiwan). As recently as the 1940’s the world contained only 50 countries compared to the 193 members of the United Nations. South Sudan became the 193rd country in 2011. Kosovo is not part of the UN as Russia would veto it. Taiwan was a member until 1971 when China was admitted. The Vatican City is an observer state.

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The term nation derives from the Latin term “natio” or birth (by blood).

Nations have a shared sense of identity based on historic ethnic, linguistic, and religious basis.

Examples: The Jewish nation refers to members of the Jewish culture and faith throughout the world regardless of their place of origin.

The U.S. had treaties with Indian Nations.

The Germans saw themselves as a nation before they came a country.

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A state is a politically organized territory with a permanent population, defined territory, and government. In order to be a state it must be recognized as such by other states. Some basic requirements of a state include land territory, permanent population, government, organized economy, transportation/communication.

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As our world becomes more interconnected globalization can have an effect on sovereignty of countries. For example why would the international community put pressure on countries such as Afghanistan? Terrorism has become globalized and some countries become places were terrorists find refuge.

Another example would be Apartheid in South Africa. The international community placed sanctions against South Africa in an attempt to pressure them to end their policy of Apartheid.

Other issues which might catch the international communities attention: child labor, child brides, and other human rights issues can cause the international community to put pressure on the governments.

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It was not until after WWI and Wilson’s Fourteen Points (this was his 14 points for achieving Peace in Europe following World War I) that the idea of a nation-state with self determination became the ideal.

The want to create a nation state has in many areas lead to conflict, especially where the political borders do not correspond to the distribution of an ethnic group.

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Quasi-states have established the apparatus of a state, but they do not have widespread recognition from the international community.

EX: South Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Western Sahara, Somaliland.

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Denmark is an example of a nation state because the territory occupied by the Danish ethnicity closely corresponds to the state of Denmark. Other examples include Japan and Poland. There are not many “pure” nation-states in the world today. For example Japan has migrants from Korea.

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EX: Palestinians (there is no country called Palestine), Kurds (there is no Kurdistan), Basques (there is no country named for the Basques), and other indigenous groups.

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Multinational states contain 2 (or more) ethnic groups that agree to coexist peacefully by recognizing each other as distinct nationalities. EX: The United Kingdom has the English, Scottish, Welsh, and some Irish (in the North part of Ireland).

Other examples: Canada, Yugoslavia

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Autonomy is having a degree of freedom from external authority. Some countries have granted autonomy to regions. Typically these have been regions that are geographically distinct from other areas or that have a majority minority group . For example the Basque region in Spain.

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City-states are a city and it’s surrounding territories. Some ancient city-states include Rome, and Athens. These city-states had their own government. Some modern city-states include Vatican City and Singapore.

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Mercantilism accompanied the formation of the modern state idea. Mercantilism led to the “accumulation of wealth through plunder, colonization, and the protection of home industries and foreign markets” (textbook page 214-215). Mercantilism developed as feudalism began to decline. It was used to unify and increase power/wealth of a nation. Mercantilism is an economic system in which a country attempts to gain wealth through trade with other countries. This was a policy used by Europe in the 16th to 18th Century.

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The European idea of state influenced the development of the modern state system.

Loyalty under feudalism was personal, it was to the imperial order rather than to a defined nation (it was based on the manor).

Merovingian kings from the 5th and 8th century were the “King of the Franks”…this later became the French Kings and eventually the King of France.

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Under the Roman Empire the Roman Catholic church was organized into dioceses (territory or churches subject to the jurisdiction of the Bishop). The Roman Empire collapsed but the system of territorial political organization survived.

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Diocese boundaries did not coincide. They did not have clearly defined boundaries for political entities outside the Roman Catholic church. What they did have was more like frontiers. Frontiers are areas not yet fully integrated into a politically organized area.

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The crucial political issue was order and stability. The territorial state provided better security, it was easier to defend.

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In 1517 Martin Luther wrote the 95 theses in Wittenberg.

There was a 30 years war. It was religious wars between Catholics and Protestants.

With the Peace of Westphalia states were free to direct religion within their own territory (they had fixed boundaries) as determined by the prince of the realm. The spiritual became subordinated to the political.

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The French revolution started with the “Declaration of the Rights of Man” in 1789. It was “The principle that all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation; no body or individual may exercise any authority that does not proceed directly from the nation”.

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In 1868 Japan the Meiji Restoration returned authority to the Japanese emperor and borught an end to a series of military governments that had dominated Japan since 1185.

The concept of state was an abstraction for many in Africa. Tribal affiliation was much more important than allegiance to a country. This became especially problematic with the superimposed boundaries in Africa. (A superimposed boundary is a boundary that are forcibly drawn by outsiders without reference to cultural patterns)

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