Ethnicity Chapter 7 An Introduction to Human Geography The Cultural Landscape, 8e James M. Rubenstein Chapter 7 Ethnicity PPT by Abe Goldman

Issue 2 In Geography, we use the term “state” as a synonym for “country.” In Geography, we define a “state” as a territory organized into a political unit, ruled by a sovereign power who controls internal and external affairs.

Issue 2 Continued Remember when we looked at languages in chapter 5, when we looked at the language family tree, specifically the Altaic and Indo-European families and we saw languages like Kazakh, Turkish, Uzbek, German, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, and French and we thought that they looked a lot like countries? Is there a connection between languages and countries (or states)? Yes there is. Groups of people who speak the same language often group together to make a state.

Issue 2 Continued If we define Ethnicity as “identity with a group of people who share the cultural traditions of a particular homeland,” then isn’t language a part of that cultural tradition? Yes, language is a significant part of ethnicity. (Religion is too.)

Issue 2 Continued If language can be the basis of a country or a state, then ethnicity, which is even more broad, can certainly be the basis for a state, right? Yes. When an ethnicity shows nationalism, they can become a nationality and when they do that, they are close to becoming a state!

Issue 2 Continued To preserve and enhance distinctive cultural characteristics, ethnicities seek to govern themselves without interference. The concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves is known as self-determination. During the 19th and 20th centuries, political leaders have generally supported the right to self-determination.

Issue 2 Continued When one ethnicity achieves nationality in an individual state, they become what’s known as a nation-state. When two or more ethnicities make up a state, they are known as a multi-ethnic state. When two or more ethnicities SHARE power in a state, it is called a multination state. (It is still a multi-ethnic state b/c of multiple ethnicities).

Issue 2 Continued When ONLY ONE of those ethnicities holds power then it is still a multi-ethnic state, but it is NOT a multination state because power is NOT shared. It is not a nation-state either, although the ethnic group in power may act like it is. It’s a multi-ethnic state or just a state. When an ethnicity is divided amongst many states, they are known as a multi-state nation, which translates as a nation or ethnic group of people divided amongst multiple states.

Ethnicities into Nationalities Rise of nationalities Nation-states Multinational states Former Soviet Union Russia Turmoil in the Caucasus Revival of ethnic identity Ethnicity and communism Rebirth of nationalism in Eastern Europe

An Example of a Nation-State Denmark is a near-perfect nation-state because nearly all Danes speak the same language- Danish- and nearly all the world’s speakers of Danish live in Denmark

A Multi-Ethnic State Ethnicities can often combine cultural features for the formation of a single nationality, like in Belgium. (Both groups participate in government, however, so it is also a … multination-state)

A Multination State England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland all participate in the government of Great Britain, the multination state. Is it also a multi-ethnic state? Yes.

Multi-Ethnic v. Multination States Multination states are always multi-ethnic states. Multi-ethnic states are NOT always multination states. If one of the ethnicities in a state dominates government, then it is NOT a multination state, although it is still a multi-ethnic state.

How did the map of Europe change after WWI How did the map of Europe change after WWI? Does it reflect the principle of the nation-state?

Nationalism: Centripetal or Centrifugal? Nationalism is an important example of a Centripetal Force, which is an attitude that tends to unify people and enhance support for a state. However, nationalism can have a negative effect when the sense of unity is achieved through the creation of negative images of other ethnic groups.

Nationalism: Centripetal or Centrifugal? When those negative images pull apart a state, nationalism can work as a Centrifugal Force, which means to spread out from the center.

Republics of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union consisted of 15 republics that included the country’s largest ethnic groups. It was both a multi-ethnic state and a multination state. The ethnic groups all became independent countries in the early 1990s.

Ethnic Groups in Russia Fig. 7-12: Russia officially recognizes 39 ethnic groups, or nationalities, which are concentrated in western and southern portions of the country. The Soviet Union was a multinational state. It’s break-up created 15 new states, closely resembling nation-states.

Ethnicities in the Caucasus Does the region reflect nation-states, multi-ethnic states, or multinational states? If each ethnicity wants its own state, what might be the result? Fig. 7-13: The Caucasus region is extremely diverse ethnically. Ethnic groups are spread across several national boundaries and they would all probably like to have their own state.