Geographical Characteristics of the State

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Geographical Characteristics of the State

• The Cultural Mosaic
• Fellman, and Notes from
• D.J. Zeigler of Old Dominion

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Vocab Review

• State
• Sovereignty
• Nation
• Nation-state
• Binational or Multinational
• Stateless Nation
• Nationalism

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Territoriality

• The modern state is an example of a common human
  tendency the need to belong to a larger group
  that controls its own piece of the earth, its own
  territory.
• This is called territoriality a cultural
  strategy that uses power to control area and
  communicate that control, subjugating inhabitants
  and acquiring resources.

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Shapes of States

• Compact States
• Efficient
• Theoretically round
• Capital in center
• Shortest possible boundaries to defend
• Improved communications
• Ex. Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Poland,
  Uraguay

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Shapes of States

• Prorupted States
• w./large projecting extension
• Sometimes natural
• Sometimes to gain a resource or advantage, such
  as to reach water, create a buffer zone
• Ex. Thailand, Myanmar, Namibia, Mozambique,
  Cameroon, Congo

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Shapes of States

• Elongated States
• States that are long and narrow
• Suffer from poor internal communication
• Capital may be isolated
• Ex. Chile, Norway, Vietnam, Italy, Gambia

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Shapes of States

• Fragmented States
• Several discontinuous pieces of territory
• Technically, all states w/off shore islands
• Two kinds separated by water separated by an
  intervening state
• Exclave
• Ex. Indonesia, USA, Russia, Philippines

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Shapes of States

• Perforated States
• A country that completely surrounds another state
• Enclave the surrounded territory
• Ex. Lesotho/South Africa, San Marino Vatican
  City/Italy

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Enclaves and exclaves

• An enclave is an area surrounded by a country but
  not ruled by it.
• It can be self-governing or an exclave of another
  country. Example-- Lesotho
• Can be problematic for the surrounding country.
• Pene-enclavean intrusive piece of territory with
  a tiny outlet such as Gambia.

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Exclave

• An exclave is part national territory separated
  from the main body of the country to which it
  belongs.
• Example Kaliningrad, separated from Russia.
• Very undesirable if a hostile power holds the
  intervening territory.
• Defense and supplies are problematic.
• Inhabitants may develop separatist ideas.
• Example Pakistan and Bangladesh.

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Distribution of territorygeographic
characteristics of states

• The more compact the territory, the easier it is
  to govern.
• Ideal shape is round or hexagonal.
• Types of shapes compact, prorupt, elongated,
  fragmented and perforated (which contains an
  enclave).
• The most damaging territorial distributions
  affect a countrys cohesiveness and stability
  enclaves and exclaves.

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Landlocked States

• No access to major sea or ocean
• Must negotiate rights to move resources through
  other countries problems exist when countries
  do not agree on fundamental policies

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Location

• Relative location Some states are landlocked.

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Boundaries

• Natural or Physical Boundaries
• Mountains
• Deserts
• Water rivers, seas, lakes, oceans

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Boundaries

• Cultural Boundaries
• Geometric Boundaries
• Consequent Boundaries
• Religious Boundaries
• Language Boundaries
• Subsequent Boundaries
• Antecedent Boundaries
• Superimposed Boundaries

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• Boundary definition determining the boundary by
  a treaty-like agreement through actual points,
  latitude/longitude, or landscape
• Boundary delimitation the boundary is drawn on
  the map
• Boundary demarcation the boundary is
  established by steel posts, concrete pillars,
  fences, etc. to mark the boundary on the ground

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Politics of Geography

Effect of place on politics Example Political
Borders
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Iguazu Falls, Argentina / Paraguay
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Mexico-Guatemala Border Region
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Spatial Organization of Territory--
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• How states organize their territory for
  administrative purposes.
• Governments decide where power is localized so
  there is a locus of power within the state.
• Power can be highly concentrated or widely
  diffused.
• The two basic ways governments are administered
  are unitary and federal.

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Unitary

• Countries where the capital is associated with
  the core, and all power is concentrated in a
  single place, the capital.
• Centralized governments, relatively few internal
  contrasts and a strong sense of national
  identity, little provincial power.
• Examples France, China and newly independent
  states developed out of former colonies.

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Federal

• Power is shared between a central government and
  the governments of provinces.
• Acknowledges and gives some powers to its
  constituent parts have strong regional
  government responsibilities.
• Examples the US, Canada, Germany, Australia.
• --One result of federalism is to lessen public
  support for something so radical as secession (as
  in Canada).

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Devolution

• The process whereby regions within a state demand
  and gain political strength and growing autonomy
  at the expense of the central government.
• Example the Soviet Union

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Regional or asymmetric federalism

• Gives some authority to subdivisions while
  keeping central authority in monetary policy,
  defense, foreign policy, etc. within the capital.
• Canada establishment of the self-governing
  Nunavut territory
• United Kingdom separate status for Scotland,
  Wales and Ireland.
• Spain Catalonia, Basque country.

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Capital moves

• The capital may be newly created or moved from
  another city Karachi to Islamabad, Istanbul to
  Ankara.
• Forward-thrust capital city One that is
  purposely placed in the interior of a country to
  show governments desire to encourage more
  uniform development
• Brazil moved its capital from Rio de Janeiro to
  Brasilia in the 1950s.

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Size a classification system
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Ministates
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Core-Periphery

• Many states have grown to their present shape
  over a long time, from an original core area,
  which had good resources and was easily
  defensible.
• This area usually contains the most economically
  developed base, densest population and largest
  cities, and most developed transportation and the
  resources that originally supported the economy.
• Core area often is where the capital is located.
  It becomes the node of a functional culture
  region.

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• The outlying area or periphery is directed toward
  the core, but friction can exist between the two.
• Countries which have developed from core areas
  are usually fairly stable countries.
• But the absence of a core can weaken a countrys
  national identity. Eg. Congo
• Countries with competing core areas, such as
  Spain, can have problems too.