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Political Political GeographyGeography
Unit 4 – Part 1Unit 4 – Part 1
• Political Geography-the study of political activity in a spatial context.
• Over 200 countries and territories in the world
• Great inequality of size, relative location, population, resources and potential
• Some are landlocked or have little coastline
• Some are surrounded by hostile nations
• In the last several decades-the collapse of empires has added to the number of independent states.
• Many newly independent nations have problems
States or Countries,States or Countries,Nations, Stateless Nations, and Nations, Stateless Nations, and
Nation-StatesNation-States
StateStateState – a politically organized territory with a permanent
population, a defined territory, and a government. To be a state, an entity must be recognized as such by other states. Exceptions: Colonies and Protectorates
The StateThe State• A state provides services for
its citizens.• It demands taxes• It demands adherence to the
laws.• It demands military service• Periods of adversity can
increase a sense of nationalism-but can backfire
• A state is possible only if a national attitude or emotional attachment to the state develops.
NationsNations• Nation – a culturally defined group of people with a
shared past and a common future who relate to a territory and have political goals.
• People construct nations to make sense of themselves.
• Nations are “imagined communities” -Benedict Anderson
• imagined = you will never meet all the people in your nation
• community = you see yourself as part of it
Stateless NationsStateless Nations• Sovereignty-complete control
over a territory’s political & military affairs. Some nations do not have their own state-this can lead to conflict.
• Palestinians are the most well known example-a stateless nation in conflict with Israel over territory.
• Kurds-about 20 million people live in Kurdistan-which covers 6 states-since the 1991 Iraq War-Kurdish Security Zone has been virtually independent.
Multinational State – A state with more than one nation.Slobadan Milosevic, leader of Serbia launched 4 Balkan Wars that killed 250,000 & left 2.5 million homeless
The Former Yugoslavia
Multistate Nation – Multistate Nation – A nation with more than one state.
Transylvania – homeland for both Romanians and Hungarians.
Defining the Nation-StateDefining the Nation-State
• A Nation should have– A single language– A common history– A similar ethnic
background– Unity from a common
political system.
• Cultural homogeneity not as important as “national spirit” or emotional commitment to the state.
• A Nation-State has:– Clearly delineated
territory– Substantial population– Well-organized
government– Shared political and
cultural history– Emotional ties to
institutions or political systems or an ideology.
European European Boundary Boundary ChangesChanges
Fig. 8-13: Twentieth-century boundary changes in Europe, 1914 to 2003. Germany’s boundaries changed after each world war and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Defining the Nation-StateDefining the Nation-State
• The Four Pillars of Nationalism;– A population that
considers itself a nation– A substantial and well-
defined territory– A well-developed
organization– A measure of economic,
political and military power.