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Political Culture
Political cultures vary Political ideas vs. religion or language Theocracies
Territoriality Key element of political culture
State and Nation
Terminology “State” vs. “country” A nation may be larger than a state
Nation has historic, ethnic and often linguistic and religious connotations
Stateless nations
Rise of the Modern State
The European model The Norman invasion & out of “Dark Age” Thirty Years’ War treaties
The Renaissance Mercantilism & religious wars Money vs. land
The Nation-State
Some democratic, some autocratic, and some parliamentary democracies Sovereignty remained with the nation—the people
European control Creation of “nation states” Are there real nation states?
Internal cultural diversity Heterogeneous states can share “national spirit”
Emotional commitment to the state and for what it stands e.g., Confederation Helvetica
Spatial Characteristics of States
Physical and cultural properties Size and population Needs legitimacy Boundaries: centripetal or centrifugal forces Four main features of the European model:
1. Clearly defined territory
2. Substantial population
3. Certain types of organizational structures
4. Some power
Territory
Territorial morphology Size, shape, and relative location Present opportunities and challenges
Size Large vs. small states
Shape Compact Fragmented Elongated Protruded Perforated
Land Boundaries
International boundaries Have a vertical plane cutting through the rocks
below, and the airspace above
Land Boundaries
How do we get boundaries? Three steps of boundary evolution
Define it Exact location established, via treaty-like legal
documents, describing (absolute or relative) actual points
Delimit it Officially put on a map, by a cartographer
Demarcate it Actual ground markers—fences, pillars, walls, etc.—if
desired Not all boundaries are demarcated
Land Boundaries Types of boundaries
Geometric boundary Straight-line boundaries Totally unrelated to any aspects of physical or cultural
landscapes
Physical-political boundary or natural-political boundary Outlined by a physiographic landscape features (river,
mountain ridge, etc.) Convenient, but nature & meaning might change over time
Cultural-political boundary Formerly “anthropogenic” boundaries Mark breaks in the human landscape
Land Boundaries
Origin-based classification Richard Hartshorne’s Genetic Boundary Classification
Antecedent boundary Existed before the cultural landscape emerged
Subsequent boundary Developed at the same time as the major elements of the cultural
landscape
Superimposed boundary Placed by powerful outsiders on a developed cultural landscape
Relic boundary Ceased to function, but its imprint is still on the cultural landscape
Frontiers A frontier is a zone of separation
Functions of Boundaries
Internal boundaries For administrative purposes
Examples: United States or Canada
Some culturally divided countries have internal boundaries that do not show on a map
Functions of Boundaries
Boundary disputes Four principal forms of boundary disputes
Definitional Focus on the “legalese” of the agreement
Locational Focus on the delimitation and/or demarcation of the border
Operational Focus on neighbors who differ over the way their boundary
should function
Allocational Focus on resources that straddle neighbors
Large-area Influenceson State Power
Economic dimensions of power Economic trends Understanding a country’s global economy World-System Analysis
View the world as an interlocked system of states Perspective ties political geography more closely to
economic geography
Large-area Influenceson State Power
Geopolitics Freidrich Ratzel
Organic theory of State Development
Sir Halford Mackinder Heartland theory
“Those that rule the land, rule the world…”
Nicholas Spykman “Rimland”
Recent Developments
The Character of State Territory
Population vs. territory size E.g., China Acquisition of colonial empires ½ world’s states < 5 million people Organizational capacity more important
Core areas Usually the original nucleus of a state Play an important role in a state's development No core area vs. Multicore states
E.g., Nigeria's three cores mark ethnic and cultural diverse areas of the state
The Character of State Territory
Capital cities Political nerve center Former colonies tried to imitate European model Primate cities
A capital city by far the largest and most economically influential
Common in agriculturally-dominant economies
Forward capitals Reunification and capitals
Internal Political-Geographic Structure
All states confront divisive forces The needs of a well-functioning state
Clearly bounded territory with adequate infrastructure
Effective administrative framework, a productive core area, and a prominent capital
Unitary & Federal Systems
Early European nation-states were unitary states The federal state arose in the New World Federalism accommodated regional interest by
vesting primary power in provinces Switzerland Location for a capital city challenging for
federations Britain and India Today’s divisive forces in Europe
Internal Political-Geographic Structure
US Electoral patterns Electoral geographers Electoral geography
Gerrymander
Maps of voting patterns often produce surprises