Todayweexaminetheforcesthataffecttheevolu7onanddevelopmentofstates.Ofspecialinterestaretheforceslikena7onalism,ins7tu7onsandtheruleoflawthateitheratcentripetally,keepingstatestogether–orcentrifugally,pullingstatesapart.

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Underamercan7listeconomicsystem,goldismoneyandgoldispower.Stateswerefocusedonacquiringasmanycoloniesaspossible,toactascap7vemarketsforthemothercountry’sfinishedgoodsandasacheapsourceofrawmaterials.SuperiorEuropeantechnologymadeiteasierforEuropeanstatestotaketheleadinacquiringcoloniesinAsia,AfricaandtheAmericas.Mostofthe1700’sand1800’scanbecharacterizedbythisscrambleofEuropeanstatestogaincolonies.

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APerWorldWarII,asthegoldstandardgavewaytofiatcurrencies,therewasnomoreadvantagetocontrollingacolony.Beginningin1945,formercoloniesweremadeindependentstates,separatefromtheirmothercountries.Wheneverpossible,na7onsthathadbeenpartofamul7-na7onstateorempire,foughtforandgainedtheirindependence.Thenumberofstatesincreasedfromseveraldozentojustunder200.Bytheway,ChinadoesnotrecognizeTaiwanasastateandclaimstheirterritoryasitsown,sodependingonwhoyoutalkto,Taiwanbothisandisn’tanindependentstate.

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Asthecostsofglobaltravel,communica7onanddistribu7onhasdropped,anAmericanbrandofpopularculturehasspreadaroundtheworld.Anotherimpactoffallingtransporta7onandcommunica7oncostsistheriseofthemul7-na7onalcorpora7on.TakeAppleforexample–theyarephysicallybasedinCalifornia,theyhavetheirfinancialheadquartersinIreland(forthelowcorporatetaxes)andtheydomostoftheirmanufacturinginChina.ForacompanylikeApple,statesareahindrance,notahelp.

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Migra7onhasalsogo]eneasierwithdecliningtransporta7oncosts.AndtheInternetmakesitpossibleformigrantstostayintouchwiththeirhomecountry.Thisreducesthepressuresonmigrantstoassimilate.Also,itisusuallythebestandbrightestthatmigrate,leavinga“braindrain”intheirsourcecountry.Thiscandestabilizethesourcecountryover7me.Further,unstablecountrieshaveunstablecurrencies.Some7mesanunstablestatewillgiveupitsowncurrencyandswitchen7relytothestabledollar.Thisisknownas“dollariza7on”.

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Manystateshaveaclearly-recognized“core”regionwhichisrecognizedasthesourceofthestate’scultureandthecenterofitseconomicac7vity.ThinkRomeforItalyorParisforFrance.Ifastatehasaclearly-recognizedcoreandastrongcentralgovernmentbasedinthecore,wecallsuchastate“unitary”.Occasionally,statesmayhavetwoareaswithequally-validclaimstobengthecore(example:HanoiandHoChiMinhCityinVietnam).Thisisamul7-coreunitarystate.

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Moststateshaveasysteminwhichpowerissharedbetweenthena7onalgovernmentandregionsorprovinces.Wecallsuchasystem“federalism”.Here,thecapitalsarepickedforpoli7calreasonsandthecapitalsareoPennotacoreforthestate.WashingtonDCisagreatexample–theloca7onwaspickedbecauseitwasageographicalcompromisebetweentheNortherncoloniesandtheSouthernones.Australia’scapitalCanberrawaschosenasasimilarcompromisebetweenitstwodominantci7esofSydneyandMelbourne.

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Insomefederalstates,thedecisiononwheretoplacethecapitalisnotacompromise,butacalculatedstrategytounifyacountryinwhichthecoremaybeontheborderofthestate,notnearitscenter.Forexample,thehistoriccoreofTurkeyhasalwaysbeenIstanbul(Constan7nople)butthiscityislocatedontheextremewesternborderoftheTurkishstate.Todemonstratethegovernment’scommitmenttotheinteriorregions,theTurksmovedtheircapitaltoAnkara,locatedinthemiddleofAsiaMinor.

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Some7mesastatemaydevolvemorepowerontosomeprovinceswhencomparedtoothers.IntheUnitedKingdom,Wales,ScotlandandNorthernIrelandaregivenmorepower,morecontrol,moreautonomyfromtheBri7shgovernmentwhencomparedtootherregions.Thiscreatesanasymmetryinthewaypowerissharedbetweenthefederalgovernmentandtheregionalgovernmentsandthus,isknownasasymmetricfederalism.ItisoPendonetoacknowledgestrongfeelingsofna7onalismintheaffectedregionandisseenasacompromisethatallowstheregiontoenjoymoreself-controlwhiles7llkeepingthefederalstateintact.

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Inphysics,centripetalforcespullyoubacktowardsacenterwhilecentrifugalforcespushyouawayfromthecenter.Onhumangeographyandpoli7calscience,centripetalforcesarethosethatacttokeepthestatetogetherandstrengthenit,whilecentrifugalforcesworktotearastateapart.Thesameforcecanbeeithercentripetalorcentrifugaldependingonthesitua7on.

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Manyfederalstatescreateapopular,massculturethateveryoneinthestatecanbeapartof.TheUnitedStatesisagoodexample.Weusetheiconographyofourflagtouniteaverydiversegroupofculturesbehindonesharedconsensusculture.Thisunifyingna7onalismcanbeacentripetalforceasithelpsholdthestatetogether.Sharedexperiencesinpublicschoolsorinthemilitary(especiallyviathedraP)cangivenci7zensacommongroundandhelpcreatetheconsensusculture.

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Goodroadsandinfrastructurecanhelppeoplemoveawayfromeconomichardshipandtowardseconomicopportunity,reducinggeographically-basedincomeinequalityandhelpingtoholdastatetogether.Incorruptstates,thecourtsonlyexisttohelptheelitesincontrol.Inacountrywiththeruleoflaw,thejus7cesystemistransparent,impar7al,reliableandfair.Afairjus7cesystemreducesinequalityandhelpsholdthestatetogether.

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Thecurrentbrandofna7onalism,exemplifiedbytheAlt-RightandtheirfrogmascotPepe,isacentrifugalforce,tearingthestateapart.Currentna7onalistsiden7fyfellowci7zensfromdifferentculturalbackgroundsandiden7fythemasundesirables.WhenDonaldTrump,in2016,infamouslysaidthatMexicanimmigrantsdidnotrepresentthebestandbrightestofMexicoandclaimedthatmanyimmigrantswererapistsandkillers,hewastappingintothistypeofna7onalism.InEuropetoday,organizedgroupsofethnicGermansorethnicFrenchrallyforreducingimmigra7on,especiallyfromMuslimcountries.TheBrexitvoteinJuneof2016isrepresenta7veofthistypeofcentrifugalna7onalism.

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Poorroads,poorinfrastructuremakesmovementwithinastatedifficultandcancreateaclassofpeoplepermanentlyboundtoaneconomicallydepressedregion.Corruptins7tu7onscanincreaseinequalityandactasacentrifugalforceonastate.If,asinthecaseofEgypt,thearmedforcescontainprimarilymembersfomonlyonepoli7calsubgroup,thenins7tu7onslikethemilitarycanalsobecomecentrifugal.

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