States & Nations

What is a State? Political Unit Sovereign government having ultimate governmental authority in an area States have the right to defend their borders (maintain territorial integrity) Defined political borders Internationally recognized Examples: United States of America Pakistan Japan Q1

So, why “United States of America?” History of our government systems Do we Americans have a sense of being a ‘nation’ of people? What is our common culture? We are a nation of Immigrants—complicates things…

What is a Nation? Culture Group Common culture—shared language, beliefs, customs “Imagined Community” Not sovereign No defined borders Examples: Kurds Palestinians Quebecois Q5

The Changing Map Conflict between states and nations may cause political borders to change WWI and WWII Cold War Colonialism Examples Czechoslovakia Yugoslavia Serbia / Kosovo Most of Africa Q2

History of Old States Origins traced to distinct kingdoms and empires going back over 2000 years Pre-1600s, sovereignty was held over people, not a defined territory Little agreement upon where political borders are located Q4

History of the Modern State Peace of Westphalia – 1648 – Ends the Thirty Years War Clearly defined political borders and guaranteed sovereignty based on territory Consolidation of estates by Kings formed the first ‘states’-- England, France, and Spain in the 17 th and 18 th C Later, Germany and Italy in the 19 th C Q3

Peace of Westphalia

The Rise of the ‘Nation – State’ Takes root in Europe It is the belief that a culturally similar group (a nation) should establish it’s own political sovereignty (be a state) Therefore, political borders of a state should be the same as the ‘borders’ between culture groups This belief becomes the basis for lots of conflicts A ‘state’ claiming control over area of similar people A ‘nation’ declaring independence, and fighting for it Q6

The Nation-State Exists when the perceived borders of a nation and the political borders of a state are the same Best example: Japan Why is this desirable? Fewer political differences Less likelihood of internal conflict Q7

Multinational state A state with many nations Ex. Canada Virtually every country in the world is a multinational state Q8

Multistate Nation A single nation that is dispersed and predominant in two or more states. Ex. Arab Nation Q8

Notice that Iran is not an Arab nation. Iranians are Persian.

Multistate Nation Another example is the Korean nation of people, split between two states

Stateless nation A people (nation) without a state and are not dominant in any state May be seeking political sovereignty (statehood) May function like a state in some ways (political organization, militias) Ex. Kurds Q8

Diffusion of the Nation-State Waves of European (and US) colonialism spread the notion of dividing territory with borders  N-S Post-colonialism: government and economic ideas remain Borders also remain Q9

Enclaves and Exclaves Enclave – a group of people or land that exists within the boundaries of another Example: Native American Reservations (Within the US) Exclave – a part of a country or people separated from the main part, surrounded by foreign territory Example: Kaliningrad (From Russia) Q10, 11

Enclave

Exclave Kaliningrad – Russian exclave Russia – main territory

Korea A colony of Japan for many years Divided into two occupation zones after WW II (USSR-North, U.S.-South) Country divided along the 38 th parallel N. Korea invaded S. Korea in 1950 This started a 3 year war. Border stayed the same as before the war.

Korea Both countries want to reunite. Talks ceased with N. Korea development of nuclear power. In 1992 both countries were admitted to the UN as separate countries.

China and Taiwan: One state or two?

China and Taiwan Is the Island of Taiwan a sovereign state? Until 1999 both agreed that Taiwan was part of China Civil War fought in late 1940’s between Communists and Nationalists. Nationalists lost, fled to Taiwan.

China and Taiwan Until 1971, the U.S. recognized the Nationalists as the official govt. of China Taiwan is the most populous state not in the United Nations

What is the largest landmass not part of a sovereign state? Antarctica

Antarctica: National Claims Fig. 8-2: Antarctica is the only large landmass that is not part of a state, but several countries claim portions of it.