Political Political GeographyGeography

Unit 4 – Part 1Unit 4 – Part 1

• 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

States or Countries,States or Countries,Nations, Stateless Nations, and Nations, Stateless Nations, and

Nation-StatesNation-States

StateStateState – 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. Exceptions: Colonies and Protectorates

The StateThe 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.

NationsNations• 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

Stateless NationsStateless Nations• Sovereignty-complete control

over a territory’s political & military affairs. Some nations do not have their own state-this can lead to conflict.

• Palestinians are the most well known example-a stateless nation in conflict with Israel over territory.

• Kurds-about 20 million people live in Kurdistan-which covers 6 states-since the 1991 Iraq War-Kurdish Security Zone has been virtually independent.

Multinational State – A state with more than one nation.Slobadan Milosevic, leader of Serbia launched 4 Balkan Wars that killed 250,000 & left 2.5 million homeless

The Former Yugoslavia

Multistate Nation – Multistate Nation – A nation with more than one state.

Transylvania – homeland for both Romanians and Hungarians.

Defining the Nation-StateDefining 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.

European European Boundary Boundary ChangesChanges

Fig. 8-13: Twentieth-century boundary changes in Europe, 1914 to 2003. Germany’s boundaries changed after each world war and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Defining the Nation-StateDefining 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.