Political Geography

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Political Geography
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POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY

• Governmental units of the world can be described
  in either political or geographical terms
• State (Political term) Country

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We use the term state to describe an independent
unit that occupies a specific territory and has
full control of its internal and external
affairs.
State Spain
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Often the term country is used to mean state.
State Country India
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Political Geography

• Almost all of the earths land unit is included
  in such units.
• The only exception is Antarctica which has
  neither a permanent population nor an established
  government.
• However, parts of Antarctica are claimed by
  certain countries.

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Nation refers to a group of people with a common
culture living in a territory and having a strong
sense of unity.
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Political Geography

• As a result, nations share one or more important
  cultural traits such as religion, language,
  history, values and political institutions.
• Nations have an attachment to a particular
  territory and their identity is intimately
  associated with that territory.

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Nation-state this is when the territory of a
state is occupied by only one distinct nation or
people.In that case, there are no
importantminority groups.
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Political Geography

• Japan, Denmark, and Poland are examples of
  nation-states.
• Such an arrangement minimizes conflicts, and
  makes for strong states.
• On the other hand, there are strong states with
  sizeable minorities.
• The existence of such states is that the sizeable
  minorities have safe ways to express themselves.

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Many countries of the world are nation-states.
However, it is possible for a nation not to have
a territory. When that happens, the group without
a territory is called a stateless nation.
Palestinians live within the nation of Israel.
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Examples of stateless nations include
Palestinians, Kurds, and Basques.
Kurdish children living within the borders of
Iraq.
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Types of GovernmentsDemocracy or Republic
Citizens hold political power, either directly or
indirectly or through elected representatives.
Example the United States.
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Republic
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Monarchy A ruling family headed by a king or
queen holds political power and may or may not
share the power with citizen bodies. Example the
United Kingdom or Saudi Arabia.
Queen Elizabeth Of the United Kingdom
King Faud of Saudi Arabia
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Dictatorship An individual or group holds
complete political power. Example North Korea or
Afghanistan.
North Korea
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Communism In this government and economic
system, nearly all political power and means of
production are held by the government in the name
of all the people.
China
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Theocracy

• A government run by religious leaders.
• Government claims to be directed by God or
  divinely blessed.
• Examples
• ancient time Pharaohs in Egypt.
• Current Iran, Ayatollah

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Three geographic characteristics are very
important in describing a country. These
characteristics are 1) size, 2) shape, and 3)
relative location.
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The combination of these characteristics makes
each nation unique.
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You might assume that the physical size of a
country has much to do with its wealth and power.
However, this is not always true.
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For example, the political division of the
United Kingdom known as England once controlled a
significant empire of colonies around the globe.
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Even so, a larger nation, such as the United
States, China, or Russia, has the potential to be
more powerful because it has more resources and
people on which to build military or economic
power.
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Countries can be compact, such as Germany, or
long like Chile.
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Some countries are fragmented, like Japan, which
is made up of many islands.
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The shape of a country can have an impact on how
easily it can be governed, how goods are moved to
all areas of the country, and how it relates to
neighboring countries.
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The relative location of a country can be very
important. A landlocked country, one surrounded
by other land and with no direct outlet to the
sea, must find ways to build connections to the
rest of the world to get goods in and out of the
country.
AUSTRIA
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Bolivia is an example of a landlocked country.
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In contrast, the location of the tiny city-state
of Singapore in SW Asia gives it access to major
shipping lanes between East Asia and South Asia.
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The resulting trade brings great wealth to
Singapore ports.
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A nation surrounded by hostile neighbors must
deal with issues of protection and security.
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Boundaries or borders set the limits of the
territory controlled by a state.
North Korean Border
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Within its borders, the state can do such things
as collect taxes, set up a legal code, and
declare an official language.
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A state may claim all of the resources found
within its boundaries.
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Because so much is at stake, states are very
protective of their borders.
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The two basic types of national boundaries are
natural and artificial.
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A natural boundary is based on physical features
of the land, such as rivers, lakes, or chains of
mountains.
France Spain are separated by the Pyrenees
Mountains
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The Rio Grande River, for example, is a river
that forms a natural boundary between part of
Mexico and part of the United States.

• can present problems (what if a river shifts
  course?)

Mexico
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An artificial boundary is a fixed line generally
following latitude or longitude lines.
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The 49th degree latitude line that separates the
U.S. from Canada is an example.
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Sometimes a conquering country imposes boundaries
on lands it has taken over.
The United States declared a new boundary after
the War with Mexico.
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Countries often are divided into smaller
political units to make governing more efficient.
Individual States
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The most common local units of government are
cities, towns, and villages.
City of San Antonio, Texas
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Other types of political units might include
school districts.
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Here, too, there may be districts for providing a
service or product to an area that crosses
several political units. For example, the
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) regulates water
usage in a seven-state region.
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Smaller political units often combine to form
larger regional units, such as countries,
provinces, and states.
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LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT

• Local- smaller units direct contact with the
  people deals with issues narrow in scope (water,
  streets) cities, school districts, MUDs

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LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT

• State/Regional- larger units composed of smaller
  units less people contact than local but more
  than national deals with issues affecting all
  smaller units states, licensing bureaus

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LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT

• National- very large unit composed of many
  medium and small units little direct contact
  with the people deals with issues affecting the
  entire nation security, national trade,
  diplomatic relations

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Countries may join with each other to form
international, political, military, or economic
units.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
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Groups of states within a regional area may band
together to promote mutual goals. An example is
the European Union.
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The largest political unit is the United Nations,
which has nearly 200 members who work to improve
political, cultural, and economic conditions
across the globe.
United Nations building in New York City.