GEOG 1 World Regional Geography Professor Dr JeanPaul

GEOG 1 – World Regional Geography Professor: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue Chapter 1: The European Realm Hofstra University, Department of Global Studies & Geography

• Mediterranean Ocean: the center from Antiquity to the Renaissance. • Atlantic Ocean: From the Renaissance to the mid 20 th century. Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation (2014)

Europe ■ Why begin with Europe? • Western extremity of Eurasia • 3% of the world’s land surface; 12% of the world’s population and 33% of its GNP. • Every part of Europe is close to the sea; moderate distances. ■ Significant global influence • • Economic transformations (industrial revolution). Social transformations (working class). Political transformations (modern nation-state / colonialism). Technological transformations (modern warfare). ■ High standards of living • The outcome of more than 200 years of modernization. • Social sophistication linked withofathe long cultural history. What are the major forms global influence of Europe?

Europe ■ Continental and maritime limits • Continental limits: • The Urals and the Caucasus. • Maritime limits: • • The Black Sea and Bosporus. The Mediterranean and Mediterranean islands (Malta, Cyprus? ). The Strait of Gibraltar. Iceland, Greenland (belongs to Denmark), and the Faeroes. ■ Numerous nation-states • East / West division: • Communist countries of the East and capitalist/socialist countries of the West. • Country size: • Small city-states such as Liechtenstein, Monaco, the Vatican and Andorra, to the continent-sized country of Russia.

Regional Complexity: The Case of the British Isles

Climates influenced by position windward of moist Atlantic air.

Europe Scandinavian Peninsula ■ A peninsula of peninsula • A peninsula of Eurasia. • Large exposure to the ocean. ■ Northern peninsulas Jutland Peninsula • Exposure to the Atlantic. ■ Southern peninsulas • Exposure to the Mediterranean. ■ Two major rivers • Rhine: covers 6 countries to the Atlantic. • Danube: covers 10 countries to the Black Sea. Iberian Peninsula Crimean Peninsu Italian Peninsula Balkan Peninsula

• Large and varied stores of raw materials. • Consequence of wide range of natural environments. • Helped fuel various stages of development. • Agricultural land, fishing waters & lumber. • Coal and mineral ores (industrial revolution). • Oil and natural gas.

Ancient Europe: Ancient Greece and Imperial Rome ■ Greece’s cultural and political foundations • The foundation of European civilization (science, politics, philosophy, arts). • City-states: small territories of cities and their hinterlands ruled by elected governments. • Lack of cohesion. ■ Rome’s political and urban system • Borrowed from Greeks, but expanded their empire and built a vast infrastructure network. • First metropolitan-scale urban center in Europe (likely exceeded 1 million inhabitants).

Ancient Europe: Triumph and Collapse ■ Roman political and economic spheres • System of rule over a vast area and peoples would continue as a European hallmark. • Local functional specialization: people in particular places concentrate on specific goods and services. • Spread of Roman culture: Romance languages, Christianity, and political practices. ■ Collapse in fifth century allowed influx of diverse groups from elsewhere on Eurasia • Germanic and Slavic peoples. • Moors in the Iberian peninsula. • Ottoman Empire from the 16 th century.

Roman Empire, c 125 AD

Early Modern Europe ■ European revival or Renaissance • • Began in fifteenth century after feudal turmoil of the Middle Ages. Monarchies laid foundations of modern states; frequent warfare. Science, discovery, and cultural innovations. Mercantilism driven by exploration led the way for competition-driven capitalism and colonialism. • Social revolutions between aristocratic and newly wealthy merchants challenged status quo. • Rapid growth of cities, industry & population. ■ The City-States of Early Modern Europe • Grew by agricultural output and expanding trade. • Dominated by merchant classes. • Found on the Mediterranean and Baltic coasts.

European Revolutions ■ Agrarian revolution • Began in Europe in the 1750 s. • Growth in markets and population created economic opportunities for European farmers: • From subsistence farming to forms of commercial farming. • Changed land ownership and farming practices. • Based on new agricultural innovations: • • Mechanization and fertilizers. Scientific and commercial agriculture. Crop rotation and complementarity. Declining food prices. • New crops (e. g. Potato, Tomato from Colombian Exchange). • Enabled increased food production. • Enabled sustained population increase.

European Revolutions ■ Industrial revolution • Developed in the UK between 1750 -1850. • Technical innovations that occurred in British industry: • • • Use of new materials (steel, iron, chemicals). Usage of thermal energy to produce mechanical energy. Substitution of machines to human and animal labor. Production (factory). Transportation (rail). Health (medicine). Proved to be a major catalyst towards increased urbanization. Freeing ever-larger numbers of people from the land to work in the cities. Improved considerably European power, particularly the British supremacy.

Along the coal and iron ore fields

Modern Historical Geography: The Industrial Revolution ■ Industrialized society • Urban and population explosion. • Industrial cities became backbone of Europe’s population cluster. ■ East-west industrial axis remains major feature of Europe’s population geography Is there a relationship between physiography and population clusters and what else explains the pattern of population

Modern Historical Geography: Political Revolutions ■ A Fractured Map • Legacy of feudal and absolutist periods. • Territories were controlled by force, taxes, and tribute. • Marriages, alliances, and wars further complicated the situation. ■ State and Nation • Created form of political-territorial organization. • Nation-state: • State was embodied by its cultural distinct population, or nation. • Linked with ethnicity, religion and language. • Very few states today embody such an ideal.

European Revolutions ■ Political revolutions • Creation of the modern Nation – state: • Created form of political-territorial organization. • The concept of nationalism (19 th century). • Common identity for groups of humans; the state. • Democracy / Parliamentary systems: • Rebellion against absolute political power (monarchy); the French Revolution (178995). • Separation between the State and the Church. • Communism: • Identity based on social groups; oppressors (bourgeoisie) versus oppressed (working class). • Assets belong to the collective (state). • State decides the allocation of resources (labor, housing, raw materials, etc. ). • National socialism: • Identity based on nation/race/ethnicity. • Private property allowed.

The Output of Capitalism versus Communism BMW 850, West Germany 1989 Trabant, East Germany 1989

European Revolutions ■ Colonialism • Territorial development strategy where a territory is occupied by a foreign government. • Using military power to acquire foreign territories and resources. • Organization according to objectives related to resource acquisition and market expansion. • Political / religious / cultural drive. • Existed throughout history; a common practice of civilizations. • European colonialism (1400 -1945) • 1400 -1800: Spain, Portugal, Holland, France and England were the main colonial powers. • After 1800: England had a dominance over others.

European Control of the World, 1500 -1950 1800 (37%) 1878 (67%) 1913 (84%)

Contemporary Europe: A Dynamic Realm: Cultural Diversity ■ Diversity of ancestries and languages • Most belong to the Indo-European language family. • English as lingua franca. ■ Religious strife • • • Historically between Catholics and Protestants. Northern Europe mostly Protestant. Southern Europe mostly Catholic. Eastern Europe mostly Roman Orthodox. Today with the rise of Islam in major urban areas.

Contemporary Europe: A Dynamic Realm: Spatial Interaction ■ Europe is unified as an enormous functional region • Operates based on two principles: • Complementarity: as one area produces a surplus of a commodity that is required by another area. • Transferability: ease with which a commodity can be transported by producer to consumer. ■ Creates a highly interdependent economic realm • Mitigate the economies of scale problem attributed to small country size.

Urbanization ■ City • A political designation. • Refers to a municipal entity that is governed by some kind of administrative organization. • The largest cities (especially capitals) are: • The foci of the state. • Complete microcosms of their national cultures. ■ Primate city • A country’s largest city. • Always disproportionately larger than the second largest urban center -more than twice the size. • Expressive of the national culture (major cultural institutions). • Usually (but not always) the capital. • Examples: Paris, London, Athens.

Contemporary Europe: A Highly Urbanized Realm ■ The European metropolis, or central city plus suburban ring, has a long history: • Location at the first river crossing along the Thames. • Focused on the central business district (CBD), as the oldest commercial part. • Wide and dense residential sectors radiate outward. • Public transportation is welldeveloped.

A Changing Population ■ Negative Natural Population Growth • Shrinking population and below-replacement fertility. • Impacts workers whose taxes pay for social services. ■ Immigration • • • Partially offsetting population decline. Changing once-homogenous nation-states. Growth of Muslims clustered in cities and unassimilated. Restriction of immigration and cultural differences. Massive influx of political and economic migrants from Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.

A Changing Population ■ Syrian refugee crisis of 2015 -16 • 6 million internally displaced within Syria; over 4. 8 million are refugees outside of Syria (more than 6. 1 million according to UN). • 2. 7 million moved to Turkey, 1. 5 million to Lebanon and 2. 5 million to Saudi Arabia. • 10% moved to Europe, including half a million in Germany. ■ Part of a wider refugee perspective • From Africa, Middle East and South Asia. • Instability in North Africa (e. g. Libya) and the Middle East (Syria, Iraq) has opened new smuggling routes.

Asylum Applications, 2008 -2017 1, 400, 000 1, 200, 000 1, 000 800, 000 600, 000 400, 000 200, 000 0 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 EU 28 2013 Germany 2014 2015 2016 2017

Main Migration Routes to Europe (c 2016)

European Unification ■ Forces at work • Centrifugal forces contribute to social and political divergence that may break-up a state. • Centripetal forces help to politically unify as a cohesive and stable entity. ■ European integration and unification • Triumph of centripetal forces. • Proceeded after WWII. • Effort to maintain stability, prosperity, and security.

European Unification ■ Primary motive: rapid postwar economic recovery • Led by the United States with interest in: • Reopening European markets for U. S. goods. • Securing Europe as a buffer against the USSR. • European political considerations: • Close political cooperation was necessary for peace. ■ Fall of the Soviet Union and Berlin Wall in 1989 • Reunification of Germany (1990). • Division of Czechoslovakia into two countries (1993). • The collapse of Yugoslavia into 7 countries (1989 -1992). ■ Changing motives • Open market to compete globally with U. S. and Asia. • Maintain stability in an increasingly diverse society.

The Division of Former Yugoslavia

The European Union (2018): Supranationalism Member state Candidate Potential candidate

European Union Schengen Area: Freedom of movement, right to work in any EU country for member’s citizens.

Consequences of Unification: One Market ■ Free movement of workers and goods • Requires harmonization of member state laws. • Reduces legal barriers and remove internal borders. ■ Introduction of a single bank and currency: Euro • Agreed in 1999 (locked exchange rates) and banknotes introduced on January 1 st 2002. • Signals strengthening unity in Europe. • Helps to counter the global power of the U. S. dollar. • 17 of the European Union's Member States. • Some members states chose to opt-out (e. g. England, Sweden, Denmark, Poland).

Single Currency: Eurozone

Consequences of Unification: A New Economic Geography ■ Reduced effect of national boundaries. ■ Some subnational regions have become powerful engines of growth. ■ Four Motors of Europe: • • 1. Rhône-Alps 2. Lombardy 3. Catalonia 4. Baden-Württemberg 4 1 3 2

Consequences of Unification: A New Economic Geography ■ Policies of subsidies • Development of less prosperous subregions. • Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) and farmers: • System of tariffs, quotas and subsidies for agricultural production. ■ Uneven development • Major differences persist between regions and within member states. ■ Supranationalism problems • • • Loss of autonomy, notably over currency and migration. Disparities in levels of economic development. Technical barriers; additional levels of bureaucracy. Cultural barriers. May lead to devolutionary pressures.

Consequences of Unification: Diminished State Power and New Regionalism ■ Devolution • Centrifugal forces of regions or people within a state that demand gain political strength at the expense of the state. • Devolution results when absolute sovereignty of the state over its territory erodes. • States respond in a variety of ways, from suppression to accommodation.

Defining Europe: Difficult Choices Widening or Deepening? ■ Widening: expand membership of the EU • Difficulty including uneven economies, disparate political systems, and greater cultural diversity. • Copenhagen criteria (eligibility for EU membership; stability, democracy, rule of law, market economy). • Negotiations with potential members (Balkans, Europe’s “Far East”, Turkey). • Cultural distinctions could impede membership. ■ Deepening: intensify policies and laws of the EU • Difficulty in maintaining and creating uniform laws. • Rising “Euro-skepticism” and public resistance to deepening. • The UK voted to exit the EU in 2016 (‘Brexit’).

Defining Europe: Difficult Choices: EU versus NATO ■ North Atlantic Treaty Organization • Mutual defense alliance created in postwar, Cold War context. • Partially overlaps with the EU, but includes non-EU, United States, Canada, and Turkey. • The collapse of the Soviet Union changed the scope of the alliance. • Eastward expansion of members. • Today’s security needs: • Terrorism. • Rogue states. • Cyber war.

Defining Europe: Difficult Choices: Impact of the Global Economic Crisis ■ Economic woes: • Growth rates are down • High unemployment rates. • Skyrocketing national debts • Eurozone bailouts. • Greek debt crisis. ■ Social-political consequences: • Polarization of national politics is difficult for EU activities. • Benefit of Union is widely questioned. • Unskilled, unemployed immigrants drive negative economic indicators & become scapegoats.

Regional Issue: How Desirable is Economic and Political Union? ■ IN SUPPORT OF UNION • Opportunity to overcome divisions. • Development and prosperity will be more equitable. • Union is more economically powerful. • Political unification will aid global competitiveness. ■ IN OPPOSITION TO THE EUROPEAN UNION • Not a true democratic choice, was decided by the elite. • Economic inequity: high prices and cheap immigrant labor. • Development subsidies are being squandered. • No such thing as Europe. Write a short essay about the future of the European Union in light of its challenges.