2. Political Geography
Study of human political organization of the Earth at various levels
Studied at three scales
Supranational scale
Ex. United Nations
Country/nation scale
How government is organized
Sub-national (local) scale
Boundaries for voting districts
Political geographers also study the changing role of the country in the world’s political affairs
Geopolitics
The state’s power to control space or territory and shape international political relations

3. During the 20th century, the collapse of large political federations such as existed in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) led to the understanding that countries should have common economic goals to solidify connections between their governments. These goals should overcome their resistance to work together because of ethnic conflicts.
Political Geography
Geographic concepts helps us to understand the changing political organization of Earth’s surface
Can use geographic methods to examine the causes of political change and instability and to anticipate potential trouble spots throughout the world
When looking at earth, it’s easy to distinguish places
What we cannot see are boundaries
One of Earth’s most fundamental cultural characteristics is the division of our planet’s surface into a collection of spaces occupied by individual countries

4. When a nation undergoes political turmoil such as a revolution, its population tends to disperse into neighboring countries. This leads to the potential for more ethnic diversity in countries that surround the nation that is experiencing political problems
Political Geography
Today Globalization means more connections among states
Individual countries have transferred military, economic, and political authority to regional and worldwide collections of states
Power is exercised through connections among states created primarily for economic cooperation

5. The act of locating environmental hazards close to regions or neighborhoods that are mainly populated by minorities, accomplished via political representation, has been termed environmental racism. This practice disadvantages certain groups because of their race and ethnic origin.
Human Territoriality
Territoriality is creating ownership over a defined space
Territoriality can apply to your bedroom or an entire country
Often evokes emotional response
Ex. Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait triggered the Gulf War
Ex. Germany’s invasion of Poland triggered WWII
Personal Space
Territoriality can also be applied to personal space
Personal space is the area we claim as our own territory into which others may not enter without our permission
How much is personal varies

6. A country that contains distinct environmental zones that encourage different ways of life is more likely to be home to a population that sees itself as socially and politically divided.
Sovereignty
Definition:
Internationally recognized control a place has over the people and territory within its boundaries
Nearly 200 countries on earth with sovereignty
Disputes
Sovereignty of Taiwan
Sovereignty of Kurdistan
Sovereignty of Kosovo
Oceans

7. State refers to: Nation refers to:
When two states compete with one another economically, they are likely to become political antagonists. Economic competition encourages political competition. A state that wants to reach the same markets and utilize the same resources as another state is likely to develop political concerns about the actions of its competitor
State refers to:
Arguably most powerful institution in globalization
To be a state:
Political unit with permanent population
citizenship
Territorial boundaries that are recognized by other states
Effective government
Working economy
Sovereignty
Nation refers to:
a group of people who share a common culture and identity as a cohesive group
Needed:
Language
Religion
Shared history
Territory (not always)
Example: Jewish nation

8. A nation-state is most often defined by its twin attributes of sovereignty and ethnic homogeneity. A nation-state is a country in which the population is ethnically uniform, which allows for a shared language, cultural heritage, and religion
Stateless nation
When a nation does not have territory to call its own
Assyrian Christians of Iraq
Kurds of Iraq, Turkey, Iran
Ughirs of Western China
Multinational state
Country that includes more than one nation within its borders
Ex. Soviet Union
Nation-state
State with only one nation in its borders
Ex. Japan, Iceland

9. History of Nation-State Concept
Humans have organized political space in different forms throughout their existence
Early humans organized into clans
When conquered became kingdoms and empires
Ancient Greeks and Romans created city-states
Political space revolved around a central city and surrounding farmland
After fall of Roman Empire, Western Europe was divided into a feudal structure
Mainly based on religion
Eventually faded, strong monarchies emerged
Stronger monarchies led to more internal cohesion and rise of nation-states
More cohesive group of people linked to their territory through a shared government and common goals
Pattern diffused throughout Europe
Goal of WWII
Idea of linking people who share strong send of unity a way to prevent ethnonational violence

11. The Peace of Westphalia, signed in 1648, was a set of European peace treaties that ended different conflicts between Spain and the Dutch Republic. These treaties did not lead to peace in western Europe but allowed the heads of nations to meet and agree that each country held sovereign powers

14. Ethnonationalism and Conflict
Definition
A powerful emotion attachment to one’s nation that occurs when a minority nation within a state feels different from the rest of the state’s people
When a minority feels that they do not have enough self- determination, or the power to control their own territory and destiny, ethnonationalism can lead to conflict
Example
The Chechen people comprise a minority nation that live in Russia and have a strong sense of ethnonationalism that has led to violent conflict with the Russian government.

15. A political leader might use popular media to push for the idea of a united, relatively homogenous and shared national culture. The traditional concept of a nation-state involves the population of the country having cultural solidarity and remaining resistant to change from outside
Irredentism
Members of a nation do not always live in just one place
The Serbs are a nation, but they exist in several countries, not just the land that is considered Serbia
Conflict can arise when a nation’s homeland is spread into the territory of another state or several states
Definition
A movement by a nation to reunite its parts when they have spread across other borders
Ex. Irredentism occurred when Hitler believed that the German nation had spread into Czechoslovakian territory, he wanted to take control of that land to reunite Germans into one state

16. Examples of Ethnonational Conflict
Place
Conflicting Parties
Reason
South Asia
India and Pakistan
Two parties are fighting over control of Kashmir
Palestine,
Southwest Asia
Jewish Israelis vs Muslim Palestinians and Arab allies
The stateless nation of Muslim Palestinians and their Arab allies are warring against the Jewish-controlled state of Israel for autonomy
Southeast Asia
Mainland China and Taiwan
Taiwan founded in the 1940s. China does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state
Former Yugoslavia
Serbs vs all the other nationalities that were once part of “Yugoslavia”
In the 1990s different nations in the multinational state of Yugoslavia warred to break away from the Serb-dominated government in Belgrade.
Russia
Russia vs Chechnya
Chechnya is a state in the Russian republic, governed by Moscow.

17. Ethnonationalism and Conflict
Shatterbelts
State or group of states that exists within a sphere of competition between larger states and is often culturally, economically, and politically fragmented and splintered
Eastern Europe
Existed as a sphere of competition between U.S.S.R. and western powers
Buffer States and Zones
A buffer state is an independent country located between two larger countries that are in conflict
Russia and China have warred over boundaries for centuries, but Mongolia, a buffer, has helped reduce direct confrontation between the two states
Satellite States
Countries controlled by another, more powerful state
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union worked to dominate the Eastern European buffer zone and install Communist satellite states there
Called the “Iron Curtain”

18. A nation-state is partially defined by its sovereignty
A nation-state is partially defined by its sovereignty. The state government’s most important responsibilities include defending the state from invasion and outside rule. The state government must also prevent conflicting populations within its borders from fragmenting the state
Geometric
Straight-line boundaries that do not related to the cultural or physical features of the territories involved
Ex. North/South Korea 38th parallel
Physical (or natural)
Separate territories according to natural features in the landscape, such as mountains, deserts, or rivers
Ex. France and Spain are divided by the Pyrenees
Three types of boundaries
Geometric
Physical
Cultural
Best boundaries are those to which all affected states agree, regardless of the rationale used to draw the line

20. A nation-state that experiences a large influx of immigrants is the most at risk to suffer a crisis of identity, which could fragment it politically and socially and lead to a nation no longer being a nation-state
Cultural Boundaries
Mark changes in the cultural landscape, such as boundaries that divide territories according to religion or language
Sometimes drawn according to geometric straight lines
Religious
Only a few cases where religion has been used to select the actual boundary line
Example:
South Asia, partition of India and Pakistan
Ireland and North Ireland
Language
Europe best example
Idea spread during 20th century
Versailles Conference

22. Cyprus “Green Line” Boundary
The leader of a nation-state would not be likely to agree with an intergovernmental action that mandated that her or his country exchange territory with another country. Nation-states tend to view the land of their country as nontransferable
Cyprus “Green Line” Boundary
Contains two nationalities
Turkish= north, eastern
18% of population
Greek= south
78% of population
Cyprus gained independence in 1960
Constitution guaranteed Turkish minority rights
Cyprus never peacefully integrated the Greek and Turkish nationalities
Series of Coups led to Turkish section declaring itself independent in 1983
no one except Turkey recognizes independence
Wall constructed between two areas
Buffer zone patrolled by UN
Accepted to EU in 2004

23. Gerrymandering involves redistricting a legislative territory to provide one party with an unequal advantage during the electoral process
Frontier:
Region where no state exercises complete and political control or boundaries are weakly developed
Antarctica
Saudi Arabia and Yemen
Tangible geographic area whereas a boundary is a infinitely thin, invisible, imaginary line
Frontier provides an area of separation but a boundary brings two neighbors into direct contact
A frontier area is uninhabited or sparsely settled by a few isolated pioneers
19th Century (1800s)
Vast amounts of frontiers
Australia
American West
Canadian North
Sub-Saharan Africa

24. The Arab League, an international organization of Arab countries, acts to coordinate free trade among member states and reduces each nation’s sovereign authority over its economic affairs
Boundary Creation
Several steps on the growth of boundaries into final form
Definition
Phase in which the exact location of a boundary is legally described and negotiated
De Jure or De Facto
Delimitation
Is the step when the boundary’s definition is drawn onto a map
Demarcation
Is the visible marking of a boundary on the landscape with a fence, line, sign, wall, or other means
Administration
Is the enforcement by a government or people of the boundary that has been created
Evolution
Another way to classify boundaries depends not on how they were created, but how they evolved over time
Antecedent boundaries
Existed before humans cultures developed into current forms
Subsequent boundaries
Grow to divide space as result of human interaction
Superimposed boundaries
Forcibly put on the landscape
Relict boundary
No longer functions has a boundary

26. Conflicts over boundaries are divided into different categories
The fragmentation of the Roman Empire that occurred between the first and third centuries BCE led to the destabilization of the empire’s outer frontiers. An empire’s political fragmentation is most likely to lead to instability in frontier regions. This is what occurred as the Roman Empire declined, especially in the areas that today composes France and Germany
Conflicts over boundaries are divided into different categories
Can include mix of categories
Type of Disputes
Definitional disputes
Fight over the language of border agreement in a treaty or contract
Japan and Russia
Locational disputes
Occur when conflicting parties agree on the definition but not on where the boundary exists on a map
Operational disputes
Conflicts over the way a boundary should operation or function
Allocational boundary disputes
Fights over resources that may by

27. Territorial Morphology
Devolution involves the distribution of powers formerly held by the central government to regional or state governments. Devolution may be temporary or can be a permanent arrangement, but the central government continues to hold most of the authority
5 basic shapes
Compact
Elongated
Prorupted
Perforated
Fragmented
Territorial Morphology
Relationship between a state’s geographic shape, size, relative location, and it’s political situation
Shape of states
Controls the length of its boundaries with other states
Shape affects potential for communication and conflict with neighbors
Shape is part of its identity
Shape can determine the difficulty or ease of internal administration and social unity