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Political Geography. Ideas manifest as places. Geography v . Politics. From a satellite things are visible. oceans, Landmasses Forests Deserts We can’t see the boundaries of place, but they are very real, and in some cases very visible if you look for the right context clues.
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Political Geography Ideas manifest as places.
Geography v. Politics • From a satellite things are visible. • oceans, • Landmasses • Forests • Deserts • We can’t see the boundaries of place, but they are very real, and in some cases very visible if you look for the right context clues.
Concept of State • 1940: 50 countries existed • 2009: 192 countries recognized by the United Nations • States are organized political units ruled by a government with established sovereignty. • States are synonymous with country.
Define • State: an area of land within a political boundary ruled by an organized government. • Nation-State (tied to national identity): a state whose territory corresponds to the area occupied by an ethnicity. • Nation: a place where people have a personal allegiance to land or space. • DO NOT USE THESE INCORRECTLY ON THE AP.
Supranationalism • Supranationalism is a group of sovereign nations who come together to form a political or economic alliance. • The EU is a supranational organization. • CARICOM: Caribbean Community • Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Devolution • Devolution is the granting of authority, economic or otherwise, to lower levels of government (either state or local level) • This differs from federalism because it is possibly temporary and is rarely considered the “sharing” of authority as in a federal system. • Examples include areas of Canada and Australia.
States in Dispute • Korea: a single peninsula housing two distinct governments and very different ways of life. • Originally a colony of Japan, after WWII it was divided between the Soviets and the Americans. • Shortly after WWII tensions arose between the communist north and capitalist south, eventually creating a permanent divide at the 38 parallel.
Korean War In 1950 the north invaded the south and sparked a 3 year dispute ending with a border once again on the 38th parallel. This is now known as the DMZ, or de-militarized zone.
Korean Unity • Both North and South Korea and committed to reunification and in 2000 they agreed to allow families that had been separated since 1950 to reunited. • This progress was halted when N. Korea decided to start a nuclear weapons program.
China/Taiwan • The world tends to view Taiwan as a sovereign nation and not a part of China. • China, on the other hand, Taiwan is not sovereign. • This conflict arose from a civil war that took place in the 1940s.
Nationalists/Communists • In 1949, after losing, the Nationalists fled to Taiwan, claiming that they still ruled China, and would until such time as they could defeat the Communist party, reside on Taiwan. • As late as 1999 the Nationalists argued that they were still an independent nation and should be regarded by China, and the world, as such.
UN • Despite losing the war, the Nationalists enjoyed the support of both the UN and the United States until 1971. • It was at this time that both recognized the Communists as the leaders of the country and finally transferred their seat in the UN to the rightful leaders. • Taiwan is the most populous country not in the UN today.
More disputed land • Morocco and Western Sahara (Sahrawi) • The North and South Pole • Antarctica is the largest landmass on earth that is not a state. It is claimed by many different states, including: • Norway, Australia, France, New Zealand, U.K., Chile, Argentina • Several countries do not recognize ANY state’s claim to Antarctica, including the U.S. and Russia.
Size Matters • Russia: 6.6 million sq miles; 11% of the world’s land. • Other states with more than 2 million sq miles: • Canada • United States • China • Brazil • Australia
Microstates • Microstates are states with very small land areas. • Monaco: 60% of a square mile. Less than 2/3 of a mile.
Other small states • Less than 1,000 sq kilometers • Andorra • Antigua and Barbuda • Bahrain • Barbados • Dominica • Grenada • Kiribati • Liechtenstein • Maldives • Malta • Micronesia • Nauru • Paulu • St. Kitts & Nevis • St. Lucia • St. Vincent & the Grenadines • San Marino • Sao Tome e Principe • The Seychelles • Singapore • Tonga • Tuvalu
Colonialism • Europe established colonies for three reasons. • Promoting Christianity • Resources & establishing captive markets • Relative power through the number of colonies. • Or…. • God • Gold • Glory
Imperialism • After the loss of their western hemisphere colonies Europe turned to Asia and Africa. • This is usually termed Imperialism because it was a takeover of land already ruled by indigenous people, rather than sparsely populated land. • The British had by far the largest empire, with colonies on every continent. “The sun never sets….”
Different Colonies/Different Styles • French colonies attempted assimilation to French culture, educating an elite group in order to control leadership. • British tended to have the easiest transition to independence. • Exceptions are found in the Middle East, southern Africa, and Ireland. • Boundaries of new states often coincide with with colonial boundaries.
Few Remain • The State Department lists 43 remaining colonies in the world. • Most are located in the Pacific Ocean or Caribbean. • Included are: • Puerto Rico • Pitcairn: least populated with only 48 residents.
