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Political Geography Forces Acting on States

Political Geography Forces Acting on States. AP Human Geography Mr. Hensley. Evolution of States. Recall that under mercantilism , the only way to expand your economy was to get more gold (conquest, colonies) Empire-building and colonialism were effective

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Political Geography Forces Acting on States

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  1. Political GeographyForces Acting on States AP Human Geography Mr. Hensley

  2. Evolution of States • Recall that under mercantilism, the only way to expand your economy was to get more gold (conquest, colonies) • Empire-building and colonialism were effective • Driven by technological asymmetries (Cortez) • In 1776, only 35 states!

  3. Wallerstein World Systems Theory Developed in the 1970’s, it divides the world’s states into 3 categories: • Core: capitalist countries that control most of the world’s wealth and extract resources from the… • Periphery: poor nations rich in raw materials • Semi-periphery: nations transitioning towards the core (China, India)

  4. Core-Periphery Flows

  5. Timeline of State Evolution • By end of World War I, there are 70 states • Today, there are 196 states (Taiwan counts?) • Increase in nation-states, and a decrease in stateless nations • Driven by nationalism • Shift away from colonialism, end of mercantilism

  6. Trends: Globalization • Globalization of the economy and culture work against the formation of new states • Multi-national corporations benefit when borders can be minimized or ignored • Supranational (UN, EU, IMF, World Bank)

  7. Trends: Migration • Migration coupled with easy communication means that migrants can resist assimilation into their new state • And who migrates? Best and brightest leaving causes “brain drain” • Poor countries get poorer, rich get richer • “Dollarization” of local economy

  8. Core-Periphery at the State Level • A unitary state has a centralized government, a strong sense of national identity and a core area (the capital)– move away from the core and population, economic activity all decline • Nation-states are usually unitary states • Ex: North Korea, France • Multicores: Vietnam, Nigeria

  9. Federal States • Federalism is the sharing of power between national and regional governments • In federal states, capitals are created, they are not cores (ex: USA, AUS, Canada) • Choice of capital made for political reasons

  10. Federal Capital Decisions • Turkey: a “forward-thrust” capital in Ankara • Another forward thrust example is Brasilia • USA: compromise between multicore • Canada’s capital relocated six times (Toronto vs. Montreal) • Same in Australia

  11. Asymmetric Federalism • If some regions have greater power or autonomy than others, we call this asymmetric federalism • UK is good example: Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland all have special status, devolution of power (but not poor Cornwall) • Spain recognizes Catalonia and Basque homelands, Canada and Quebec

  12. Centripetal versus Centrifugal • Analogy from physics • Centripetal forces work to hold a state together • Centrifugal forces work to tear a state apart • Useful as a model, not meant to be precise • The same force (nationalism) can be either centripetal or centrifugal depending on circumstance

  13. Centripetal: Nationalism and Institutions • Most states are multicultural, thus nationalism unites diverse groups behind a common consensus culture • Iconography: flags, holidays, rituals used to build national awareness • School, church and military traditions can unify a state’s people

  14. Centripetal: Rule of Law, Networks • A dependable, transparent and universally-applied legal system can increase support for the state • Connecting areas economically through roads, communication can strengthen national identities • Mass media, mass distribution, production >> popular, mass culture

  15. Centrifugal: Nationalism (!) • Multicultural states can tear apart when one culture demonizes (and dehumanizes) another • Alt-right in USA, EU wants to stop migration • Minority groups fight back by demanding self-determination or full separation • Ex: Chechnya, Moros (Philippines), Tamils (Sri Lanka)

  16. Centrifugal: Institutions (!) • Institutions like the church or the military can support regional cultures with separatist goals • Inequality (political and economic) can be reinforced by corrupt government institutions • Poor connectivity between core and periphery will also increase inequality

  17. Terrorism in History • Terrorism is the calculated use of violence against civilian or symbolic targets designed to promote a cause, intimidate a civilian population and affect the conduct of gov’t • One “terrorist” is another’s “freedom fighter” – French Resistance during WW2 • USA: Weathermen

  18. Types of Terrorism • International terrorism transcends national boundaries (9-11) • Domestic terrorism is directed at their own gov’t (Weathermen, IRA) • If a country sponsors terrorist groups and tactics, this is state terrorism (Iran)

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