Political Geography

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Political Geography

• Where are states located?
• Why do boundaries between states cause problems?

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Ch 8 thesis statement

• Political geographers study how people have
• organized Earths land surface into countries and
  alliances,
• reasons underlying the observed arrangements,
• and the conflicts that result from the
  organization. p. 254

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Political Conflict Then and Now

• Then
• Past 20th century conflict centered around
  nation-states and Cold War alliances.
• WWI and WWII, Korea, Vietnam, etc.
• Ethnic and religious conflicts existed but were
  subordinate to Cold War.

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Political Conflict Then and Now

• Now
• Today threats are from extremist/ terrorist NGOs,
  and civilians are targets of war.
• Terrorism transcends political boundaries, but
  causes of terrorism relate to political geography

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Whats changed

• The global political landscape- the world used to
  be divided into two regions, one allied w/ USA,
  one w/ USSR
• The familiar division of the world into countries
  is crumbling

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Globalization vs. local diversity

• Globalization means more connections between
  states, as individual countries transfer
  political, economic, and military authority to
  global organizations (UN, World Bank, NATO,
  NAFTA, EU, etc.)
• Paradoxically, local diversity has increased in
  political affairs as individual ethnic groups
  demand more control over the territory they
  inhabit (breakup of countries)

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Defining States

• State- area organized into a political unit and
  ruled by a government that controls
  internal/foreign affairs.
• Sovereignty- independence from control of
  internal affairs by another state.

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Whats not a state?

• Antarctica is the only large landmass not part of
  a state. Several countries claim portions
• Treaty of Antarctica (59, 91) only allows
  scientific, no military or economic activity.
• No one knows the exact number of states

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Korea One state or two?

• Korea was a colony of Japan until WWII- split
  like Germany between US and USSR along 38th
  parallel
• Separate govts established- both claim whole
  country
• N. Korea invades in 1950- 3 yr war ends w/ cease
  fire along 38 N.

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Korea One state or two?

• Reconciliation between the two halted because of
  nuclear standoff
• N. Korea poor and isolated globally- thousands
  starving
• N. and S. admitted into UN as separate countries
  in 1992

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China one state or two?

• 1911 civil war between nationalists and
  communists
• Both sides united briefly to repel Japanese
  forces in WWII.
• Nationalists lose in 1949 and flee to Taiwan
• Both sides claim to be legitimate govt of China

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China one state or two?

• In 1971 the US officially recognized the
  communist govt of China but backed Taiwan-
  communists got UN seat
• In 1999 Taiwan claimed sovereignty, a move that
  almost caused war

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Western Sahara

• A colony of Spain until 1976
• Polisario front declared independence, recognized
  by most African states
• Annexed by Morocco
• UN cease fire in 1991, referendum delayed
• Morocco- two cities Spanish territory- Ceuta and
  Melilla

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Size of states

• Largest- Russia 17.1 million mi², 11 Earths
  land, 4300 miles E-W
• Followed by China, Canada, USA, Brazil, Australia
• Smallest microstate in UN is Monaco, .6 mi²

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Microstates like Tonga are usually islands, which
explains both their sovereignty and small size
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Concept of a State

• Before the 1800s, Earths surface was organized
  in other ways, like city-states, empires, and
  tribes.
• First city-states evolved in Mesopotamia, which
  is part of the Fertile Crescent
• Crossroads of communication between Europe, Asia,
  and Africa

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Concept of a State

• City-State- sovereign state made up of a town and
  the surrounding countryside
• Mesopotamia organized into many empires by
  Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, etc.
• Geographic interaction through war

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Concept of a State

• Nearby, Egypt 1 elongated empire from 3000 BC to
  4th century BC
• Geographic isolation prevented war
• Political unity in Europe reached its height
  under the Roman empire
• Collapse of Rome fractured unified Europe into
  warring feudal manors

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Concept of a State

• Kingdoms begin around 1100 as nobles consolidated
  neighboring estates under the control of a king
• England, France, and Spain emerged as large
  unified kingdoms. Germany/Italy remain fractured
  until 1800s.
• Colony- territory legally tied to a sovereign
  state- not independent.

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Colonialism

• Colonialism- a country establishes a settlement
  and imposes its political, economic, and cultural
  principles.
• Motives
• Gold- colonies provided resources for Industrial
  revolution cheaply
• Glory- Europeans considered number of colonies as
  a mark of power- nationalism
• God- Missionaries promoted Christianity

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Colonialism / Imperialism

• Began in the 1400s
• After N/S America became independent, Europeans
  colonized Africa/Asia
• Imperialism is control of territory already
  occupied/organized by an indigenous society,
  while colonialism is control of
  uninhabited/sparsely inhabited territory
• African/Asian colonies independent after WWII

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Colonialism

• Most remaining colonies are islands in Pacific or
  Caribbean
• Puerto Rico is most populous colony today at 4
  million
• Pitcarin island has smallest population at 47.
  Mutiny on the Bounty.

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Shapes of States

• Boundary- invisible line marking the extent of a
  states territory.
• Boundaries result from natural physical features
  and cultural features (language, religion)
• Boundary locations create conflict

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5 Basic shapes of States

• Compact states (efficient)- distance from the
  center to any boundary does not vary
  significantly. Ideal is a circle. Ex Rwanda,
  Burundi, Kenya, Uganda
• Prorupted states (access or disruption)-
  otherwise compact with a large projecting
  extension. Created for 1. accessing a resource
  or 2. seperating 2 states that would otherwise
  share a boundary. Ex Namibia, Afghanistan

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5 Basic shapes of States

• Elongated states (potential isolation)- long and
  narrow shape. Extermities may suffer from poor
  communication at capital in center. Ex Chile,
  Gambia, Italy
• Fragmented states (problematic)- includes several
  discontinuous pieces of territory. Two kinds-
  separated by water, separated by another state.
  Ex Indonesia, Russia, USA, Angola. Tin Bigha
  Corridor

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5 Basic shapes of States

• Perforated states (South Africa)- A state that
  completely surrounds another one.
• States can have ocean access or they can be
  landlocked- completely surrounded by other
  states. Ex Bolivia, Lesotho, Afghanistan,
  Zimbabwe

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Types of Boundaries

• Landlocked states are economically dependent on
  good relations with their neighbors. Zimbabwe is
  a good example.
• Historically states were separated by frontiers-
  a zone where no state exercises complete
  political control.
• Frontiers are buffer zones, but borders are
  infinitely thin and bring states into direct
  contact

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Types of boundaries

• Only frontiers left include Arabian peninsula and
  Antarctica
• 2 types of boundaries physical and cultural
• Physical boundaries include mountains, deserts,
  and water
• Mountains are good boundaries because they are
  hard to cross, communication between sides is
  limited, they are sparsely inhabited, and theyre
  permanent.

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Types of boundaries

• Chile and Argentina almost went to war over their
  mountain boundary
• Deserts- good because theyre sparsely inhabited
  and hard to cross. Common in Africa and Asia
• Water- Oceans, rivers, lakes. Good because
  theyre relatively unchanging and highly visible.
  Common in E. Africa

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Types of boundaries

• Water boundaries can cause conflict. Rivers can
  change course, lakes can disappear, lake and
  ocean resources are hard to divide.
• All physical boundaries provide defensive
  positions
• Under the Law of the Sea (1983), a states
  territorial limit extends 12 nautical miles from
  the shore, and exclusive fishing rights 200 miles
  from the shore

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Types of boundaries

• Cultural boundaries are of two types ethnic and
  geometric.
• Ethnic boundaries divide languages or religions
• Geometric boundaries are simply lines drawn on a
  map.
• Much of the US/Canada border is a geometric
  boundary along the 49th parallel. 54.40 or
  fight!

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Types of boundaries

• Religious boundaries often coincide with national
  ones, but rarely has religion been the factor for
  deciding a boundary
• Examples include India/Pakistan, and N. Ireland
• Language boundaries are important in Europe.
  England, France, Portugal, Spain, Germany, and
  Italy all developed around language. Borders were
  redrawn according to language after WW1. Europe
  continues to crumble along language boundaries.

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Nation-States

• A nation-state exists when the boundaries of a
  state match the boundaries of an ethnic group.
  Problems exist when the boundaries do not match.
• The UN buffer zone on Cyprus is a cultural
  boundary. Cyprus has not yet reunified.

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Boundaries inside states

• Internal boundaries are sometimes drawn to
  separate different nationalities/ethnicities.
  Sometimes they are drawn to provide an advantage
  to a political party.
• Unitary states- place most power in the hands of
  central government.
• Federal states- allocates strong power to units
  of local government within the state.

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Boundaries inside states

• Unitary system works best for ethnically
  homogenous, small states with a strong sense of
  national unity. Common in Europe
• Multinational states have adopted unitary system
  to impose the values of one nationality on the
  others. Ex Rwanda, E. European countries under
  communism

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Boundaries inside states

• Federal system works best in very large,
  multiethnic states. Internal boundaries can be
  redrawn to correspond to ethnicity
• Ex Russia, Brazil, USA, Canada, India
• Federal system increasingly dominates as ethnic
  groups demand more autonomy
• Exceptions- China is unitary to impose values of
  communist party, Belgium is federal to
  accommodate two cultural groups.

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Electoral Gerrymandering

• After the census legislative districts are
  redrawn to ensure each district has the same
  population. Migration results in some districts
  gaining people while some lose population.
• In Europe independent commissions try to create
  compact, homogenous districts w/o regard to
  voting preferences or incumbents.

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Electoral Gerrymandering

• In the US, the job is left to the state
  legislature.
• The party in power tries to redraw lines to
  improve chances of that party winning more seats
• Gerrymandering is the process of redrawing lines
  to benefit the party in power. Illegal. Named
  after MA gov. Elbridge Gerry

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The original Gerry-mander
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Electoral Gerrymandering

• Article Four, Section Three of the 1970 Illinois
  Constitution, "Legislative Districts shall be
  compact and contiguous and substantially equal in
  population."
• a district court found that the compactness
  requirement of Thornburg v. Gingles the ear muff
  shape was necessary in order to provide Hispanics
  with the representation that their population
  warranted without causing retrogression in
  African American representation. It held that the
  Fourth District survived strict scrutiny.

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Illinois 4th Congressional
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Crab District
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Types of Gerrymandering

• Excess Vote- (Packing) Concentrates opposition
  supporters into as few districts as possible.
• Wasted Vote-(Fracturing) is drawing district
  lines so that the minority population is broken
  up. Spreads opposition supporters among many
  districts but always in the minority.
• Stacked vote- links distant areas of like-minded
  voters through oddly-shaped boundaries. Most
  recent gerrymandering has been stacked vote.

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Louisiana
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Florida

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North Carolina
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Gerrymandering

• Gerrymandering ruled illegal in 1985 but not
  required to dismantle existing oddly-shaped
  districts
• Because of Gerrymandering, only about 1/10th of
  Congressional seats are competitive, making a
  shift of more than a few seats unlikely except in
  unusual circumstances

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• IMAGINE a state with five congressional seats and
  only 25 voters in each. That makes 125 voters.
  Sixty-five are Republicans, 60 are Democrats. You
  might think a fair election in such a state would
  produce, say, three Republican representatives
  and two Democrats.
• Now imagine you can draw the district boundaries
  any way you like. The only condition is that you
  must keep 25 voters in each one. If you were a
  Republican, you could carve up the state so there
  were 13 Republicans and 12 Democrats per
  district. Your party would win every seat
  narrowly. Republicans, five-nil.
• Now imagine you were a Democrat. If you put 15
  Republicans in one district, you could then
  divide the rest of the state so that each
  district had 13 Democrats and 12 Republicans.
  Democrats, four-one. Same state, same number of
  districts, same party affiliation completely
  different results.

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