Unit 4- Political Patterns / Political Organization of Space
Unit 4 Topics-
1. Introduction to Political Geography
2. Political Processes
3. Political Power and Territoriality
4. Defining Political Boundaries
5. The Function of Political Boundaries
6. Internal Boundaries
7. Forms of Governance
8. Defining Devolutionary Factors
9. Challenges to Sovereignty
10. Consequences of Centrifugal and Centripetal Forces
1. Introduction to Political Geography
2. Political Processes
3. Political Power and Territoriality
4. Defining Political Boundaries
5. The Function of Political Boundaries
6. Internal Boundaries
7. Forms of Governance
8. Defining Devolutionary Factors
9. Challenges to Sovereignty
10. Consequences of Centrifugal and Centripetal Forces
Unit 4 Vocabulary -
Annexation—incorporation of a territory into another geo-political entity
Apartheid—a social policy of racial segregation involving political and economic and legal discrimination against non-whites in South Africa
Balkanization—process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities; term comes from the name of the Balkan Peninsula, which was divided into several small nations in the early 20th century
Boundaries- invisible lines that mark the extent of a state's territory and the control that its leaders have.
Buffer state—territorial cushion that keeps rivals apart
Centrifugal forces—forces that divide a state
Centripetal forces—forces that unite a state
Choke point- is a narrow, strategic passageway to another place through which it is difficult to pass.
City-state—a sovereign state consisting of a single city and its dependent territories
Colonialism—the attempt by a country to establish settlements and impose political and economic control and principles
Conference of Berlin (1884)—regulated trade and colonization in Africa by the major powers of Europe at the time (Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Italy)
Core/Periphery—Core countries are countries with high levels of development, a capacity at innovation, and a convergence of trade flows; the periphery is made up of countries with lower levels of development and less wealth than the core countries
Demarcated boundaries- physical objects (like a fence or a wall) mark the boundary
Devolution--two meanings: the transfer of powers and responsibilities from the federal government to the states; the break-up of a country into smaller units based on ethnic groups
EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone)—generally a state’s EEZ extends to a distance of 200 nautical miles (370 km) out from its coast; the exception to this rule occurs when EEZs overlap (state coastal baselines are less than 400 nautical miles apart) then it is up to the states to delineate the actual boundary; usually any point within an overlapping area defaults to the most proximate state
Enclave—a small and relatively homogeneous group or region surrounded by a larger and different group or region or wholly lying within the boundaries of another country
Ethnic Cleansing- the central state ay attack ethnic groups and eliminate them or expel them from the country.
Exclave— an exclave is a part of a country that is separated from the rest of the country and surrounded by foreign territory
Federal state- power is held by regional units and a central power.
Unitary state- the central govern holds the power and creates internal regions to help carry out its plans- the smaller divisions have some degree of power but the central government is the supreme authority.
Forward capital—a symbolically relocated capital city usually because of either economic or strategic reasons
Frontier—a zone where no state exercises complete political control;
Geopolitics/Organic Theory—the state’s power to control space or territory and shape the foreign policy of individual states and international political relations; Freidrich Ratzel’s organic theory: the state acts as a living organism that needs to consume other territories to survive
Heartland/Rimland—the Heartland is the part of a region considered essential to the viability and survival of the whole, esp. a central land area relatively invulnerable to attack and capable of economic and political self-sufficiency; the Rimland is the land, often islands and coastal plains around the edge of an area; the area outside the zone of political power
Irredentism- attempting to acquire territories in neighboring states inhabited by people of the same nation.
Landlocked states- those states lacking ocean frontage and are surrounded by other states which gives them a disadvantage to trade, resources (fish), transportation, and communication.
Law of the Sea- Rules established by the United Nations determining territorial waters and EEZs
Rimland Theory—theory of Nicholas Spykman (countering the Mackinder’s Heartland Theory) that claimed that the domination of the coastal fringes of Eurasia (the rimland) would provide the base for world conquest (not the heartland)
State—politically organized territory administered by a sovereign government with a permanent population and recognized by the international community
Sovereignty- the ability of a state to carry out actions or policies within its borders independently from the interference either from the inside or the outside.
Supranational Organization.- is an alliance of three or more states that work together in pursuit of common goals
Nation—population bound by a sense of common identity
Multicore state: a state that has more than one dominant region in terms of economics or politics; the core of a state is the largest population cluster, the most productive region, and the area with the greatest centrality and accessibility
Multinational state: country with two or more nationalities within its borders
Multistate nation: nation that transcends the borders or two or more states
Peace of Westphalia—a number of treaties signed by many European states in 1648 which established the modern state system defined by sovereign states with specific borders instead of Empires
Political Geography- the study of the political organization of the planet- from the beginning of history humans have divided their living space into political units or territories.
Primate city- the largest chitin a country which far exceeds the next city in population, size and importance.
Gerrymander—to divide a geographic area into voting districts so as to give unfair advantage to one party in elections
Shatterbelt—a region caught between stronger colliding external cultural-political forces, under persistent stress, and often fragmented by aggressive rivals
Stateless Nation- describes a people united by culture, language, history, and tradition but not possessing a state.
Suffrage—the right to vote
Territoriality- attempt by an individual or group to affect, influence, or control people, phenomena and relationships by delisting and asserting control over a geographic area.
Types of Boundaries- Antecedent, subsequent, consequent, superimposed, geometric, and relics
Apartheid—a social policy of racial segregation involving political and economic and legal discrimination against non-whites in South Africa
Balkanization—process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities; term comes from the name of the Balkan Peninsula, which was divided into several small nations in the early 20th century
Boundaries- invisible lines that mark the extent of a state's territory and the control that its leaders have.
Buffer state—territorial cushion that keeps rivals apart
Centrifugal forces—forces that divide a state
Centripetal forces—forces that unite a state
Choke point- is a narrow, strategic passageway to another place through which it is difficult to pass.
City-state—a sovereign state consisting of a single city and its dependent territories
Colonialism—the attempt by a country to establish settlements and impose political and economic control and principles
Conference of Berlin (1884)—regulated trade and colonization in Africa by the major powers of Europe at the time (Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Italy)
Core/Periphery—Core countries are countries with high levels of development, a capacity at innovation, and a convergence of trade flows; the periphery is made up of countries with lower levels of development and less wealth than the core countries
Demarcated boundaries- physical objects (like a fence or a wall) mark the boundary
Devolution--two meanings: the transfer of powers and responsibilities from the federal government to the states; the break-up of a country into smaller units based on ethnic groups
EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone)—generally a state’s EEZ extends to a distance of 200 nautical miles (370 km) out from its coast; the exception to this rule occurs when EEZs overlap (state coastal baselines are less than 400 nautical miles apart) then it is up to the states to delineate the actual boundary; usually any point within an overlapping area defaults to the most proximate state
Enclave—a small and relatively homogeneous group or region surrounded by a larger and different group or region or wholly lying within the boundaries of another country
Ethnic Cleansing- the central state ay attack ethnic groups and eliminate them or expel them from the country.
Exclave— an exclave is a part of a country that is separated from the rest of the country and surrounded by foreign territory
Federal state- power is held by regional units and a central power.
Unitary state- the central govern holds the power and creates internal regions to help carry out its plans- the smaller divisions have some degree of power but the central government is the supreme authority.
Forward capital—a symbolically relocated capital city usually because of either economic or strategic reasons
Frontier—a zone where no state exercises complete political control;
Geopolitics/Organic Theory—the state’s power to control space or territory and shape the foreign policy of individual states and international political relations; Freidrich Ratzel’s organic theory: the state acts as a living organism that needs to consume other territories to survive
Heartland/Rimland—the Heartland is the part of a region considered essential to the viability and survival of the whole, esp. a central land area relatively invulnerable to attack and capable of economic and political self-sufficiency; the Rimland is the land, often islands and coastal plains around the edge of an area; the area outside the zone of political power
Irredentism- attempting to acquire territories in neighboring states inhabited by people of the same nation.
Landlocked states- those states lacking ocean frontage and are surrounded by other states which gives them a disadvantage to trade, resources (fish), transportation, and communication.
Law of the Sea- Rules established by the United Nations determining territorial waters and EEZs
Rimland Theory—theory of Nicholas Spykman (countering the Mackinder’s Heartland Theory) that claimed that the domination of the coastal fringes of Eurasia (the rimland) would provide the base for world conquest (not the heartland)
State—politically organized territory administered by a sovereign government with a permanent population and recognized by the international community
Sovereignty- the ability of a state to carry out actions or policies within its borders independently from the interference either from the inside or the outside.
Supranational Organization.- is an alliance of three or more states that work together in pursuit of common goals
Nation—population bound by a sense of common identity
Multicore state: a state that has more than one dominant region in terms of economics or politics; the core of a state is the largest population cluster, the most productive region, and the area with the greatest centrality and accessibility
Multinational state: country with two or more nationalities within its borders
Multistate nation: nation that transcends the borders or two or more states
Peace of Westphalia—a number of treaties signed by many European states in 1648 which established the modern state system defined by sovereign states with specific borders instead of Empires
Political Geography- the study of the political organization of the planet- from the beginning of history humans have divided their living space into political units or territories.
Primate city- the largest chitin a country which far exceeds the next city in population, size and importance.
Gerrymander—to divide a geographic area into voting districts so as to give unfair advantage to one party in elections
Shatterbelt—a region caught between stronger colliding external cultural-political forces, under persistent stress, and often fragmented by aggressive rivals
Stateless Nation- describes a people united by culture, language, history, and tradition but not possessing a state.
Suffrage—the right to vote
Territoriality- attempt by an individual or group to affect, influence, or control people, phenomena and relationships by delisting and asserting control over a geographic area.
Types of Boundaries- Antecedent, subsequent, consequent, superimposed, geometric, and relics