Political Geography Where are states located Why do

Political Geography Where are states located? Why do boundaries between states cause problems?

Ch 8 thesis statement § “Political geographers study how people have… § organized Earth’s land surface into countries and alliances, § reasons underlying the observed arrangements, § and the conflicts that result from the organization. ” –p. 254

Political Conflict: Then and Now § Then: § Past 20 th century conflict centered around nation-states and Cold War alliances. § WWI and WWII, Korea, Vietnam, etc. § Ethnic and religious conflicts existed but were subordinate to Cold War.

Political Conflict: Then and Now § Now: § Today threats are from extremist/ terrorist NGOs, and civilians are targets of war. § Terrorism transcends political boundaries, but causes of terrorism relate to political geography

What’s changed § The global political landscape- the world used to be divided into two regions, one allied w/ USA, one w/ USSR § The familiar division of the world into countries is crumbling

Globalization vs. local diversity § Globalization means more connections between states, as individual countries transfer political, economic, and military authority to global organizations (UN, World Bank, NATO, NAFTA, EU, etc. ) § Paradoxically, local diversity has increased in political affairs as individual ethnic groups demand more control over the territory they inhabit (breakup of countries)

Defining States § State- area organized into a political unit and ruled by a government that controls internal/foreign affairs. § Sovereignty- independence from control of internal affairs by another state.

What’s not a state? § Antarctica is the only large landmass not part of a state. Several countries claim portions § Treaty of Antarctica (’ 59, ’ 91) only allows scientific, no military or economic activity. § No one knows the exact number of states

Korea: One state or two? § Korea was a colony of Japan until WWIIsplit like Germany between US and USSR along 38 th parallel § Separate gov’ts established- both claim whole country § N. Korea invades in 1950 - 3 yr war ends w/ cease fire along 38 N.

Korea: One state or two? § Reconciliation between the two halted because of nuclear standoff § N. Korea poor and isolated globallythousands starving § N. and S. admitted into UN as separate countries in 1992

China: one state or two? § 1911 civil war between nationalists and communists § Both sides united briefly to repel Japanese forces in WWII. § Nationalists lose in 1949 and flee to Taiwan § Both sides claim to be legitimate gov’t of China

China: one state or two? § In 1971 the US officially recognized the communist gov’t of China but backed Taiwan- communists got UN seat § In 1999 Taiwan claimed sovereignty, a move that almost caused war

Western Sahara § A colony of Spain until 1976 § Polisario front declared independence, recognized by most African states § Annexed by Morocco § UN cease fire in 1991, referendum delayed § Morocco- two cities Spanish territory. Ceuta and Melilla

Size of states § Largest- Russia: 17. 1 million mi², 11% Earth’s land, 4300 miles E-W § Followed by China, Canada, USA, Brazil, Australia § Smallest microstate in UN is Monaco, . 6 mi²

Microstates like Tonga are usually islands, which explains both their sovereignty and small size

Concept of a State § Before the 1800 s, Earth’s surface was organized in other ways, like city-states, empires, and tribes. § First city-states evolved in Mesopotamia, which is part of the Fertile Crescent § Crossroads of communication between Europe, Asia, and Africa

Concept of a State § City-State- sovereign state made up of a town and the surrounding countryside § Mesopotamia organized into many empires by Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, etc. § Geographic interaction through war

Concept of a State § Nearby, Egypt 1 elongated empire from 3000 BC to 4 th century BC § Geographic isolation prevented war § Political unity in Europe reached it’s height under the Roman empire § Collapse of Rome fractured unified Europe into warring feudal manors

Concept of a State § Kingdoms begin around 1100 as nobles consolidated neighboring estates under the control of a king § England, France, and Spain emerged as large unified kingdoms. Germany/Italy remain fractured until 1800 s. § Colony- territory legally tied to a sovereign state- not independent.

Colonialism § Colonialism- a country establishes a settlement and imposes its political, economic, and cultural principles. § Motives: § Gold- colonies provided resources for Industrial revolution cheaply § Glory- Europeans considered number of colonies as a mark of power- nationalism § God- Missionaries promoted Christianity

Colonialism / Imperialism § Began in the 1400 s § After N/S America became independent, Europeans colonized Africa/Asia § Imperialism is control of territory already occupied/organized by an indigenous society, while colonialism is control of uninhabited/sparsely inhabited territory § African/Asian colonies independent after WWII

Colonialism § Most remaining colonies are islands in Pacific or Caribbean § Puerto Rico is most populous colony today at 4 million § Pitcarin island has smallest population at 47. Mutiny on the Bounty.

Shapes of States § Boundary- invisible line marking the extent of a state’s territory. § Boundaries result from natural physical features and cultural features (language, religion) § Boundary locations create conflict

5 Basic shapes of States § Compact states (efficient)- distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly. Ideal is a circle. Ex: Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda § Prorupted states (access or disruption)otherwise compact with a large projecting extension. Created for 1. accessing a resource or 2. seperating 2 states that would otherwise share a boundary. Ex: Namibia, Afghanistan

5 Basic shapes of States § Elongated states (potential isolation)- long and narrow shape. Extermities may suffer from poor communication at capital in center. Ex: Chile, Gambia, Italy § Fragmented states (problematic)- includes several discontinuous pieces of territory. Two kinds- separated by water, separated by another state. Ex: Indonesia, Russia, USA, Angola. Tin Bigha Corridor

5 Basic shapes of States § Perforated states (South Africa)- A state that completely surrounds another one. § States can have ocean access or they can be landlocked- completely surrounded by other states. Ex: Bolivia, Lesotho, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe

Types of Boundaries § Landlocked states are economically dependent on good relations with their neighbors. Zimbabwe is a good example. § Historically states were separated by frontiersa zone where no state exercises complete political control. § Frontiers are buffer zones, but borders are infinitely thin and bring states into direct contact

Types of boundaries § Only frontiers left include Arabian peninsula and Antarctica § 2 types of boundaries: physical and cultural § Physical boundaries include mountains, deserts, and water § Mountains are good boundaries because they are hard to cross, communication between sides is limited, they are sparsely inhabited, and they’re permanent.

Types of boundaries § Chile and Argentina almost went to war over their mountain boundary § Deserts- good because they’re sparsely inhabited and hard to cross. Common in Africa and Asia § Water- Oceans, rivers, lakes. Good because they’re relatively unchanging and highly visible. Common in E. Africa

Types of boundaries § Water boundaries can cause conflict. Rivers can change course, lakes can disappear, lake and ocean resources are hard to divide. § All physical boundaries provide defensive positions § Under the Law of the Sea (1983), a state’s territorial limit extends 12 nautical miles from the shore, and exclusive fishing rights 200 miles from the shore

Types of boundaries § Cultural boundaries are of two types: ethnic and geometric. § Ethnic boundaries divide languages or religions § Geometric boundaries are simply lines drawn on a map. § Much of the US/Canada border is a geometric boundary along the 49 th parallel. “ 54. 40° or fight!”

Types of boundaries § Religious boundaries often coincide with national ones, but rarely has religion been the factor for deciding a boundary § Examples include India/Pakistan, and N. Ireland § Language boundaries are important in Europe. England, France, Portugal, Spain, Germany, and Italy all developed around language. Borders were redrawn according to language after WW 1. Europe continues to crumble along language boundaries.

Nation-States § A nation-state exists when the boundaries of a state match the boundaries of an ethnic group. Problems exist when the boundaries do not match. § The UN buffer zone on Cyprus is a cultural boundary. Cyprus has not yet reunified.

Boundaries inside states § Internal boundaries are sometimes drawn to separate different nationalities/ethnicities. Sometimes they are drawn to provide an advantage to a political party. § Unitary states- place most power in the hands of central government. § Federal states- allocates strong power to units of local government within the state.

Boundaries inside states § Unitary system works best for ethnically homogenous, small states with a strong sense of national unity. Common in Europe § Multinational states have adopted unitary system to impose the values of one nationality on the others. Ex: Rwanda, E. European countries under communism

Boundaries inside states § Federal system works best in very large, multiethnic states. Internal boundaries can be redrawn to correspond to ethnicity § Ex: Russia, Brazil, USA, Canada, India § Federal system increasingly dominates as ethnic groups demand more autonomy § Exceptions- China is unitary to impose values of communist party, Belgium is federal to accommodate two cultural groups.

Electoral Gerrymandering § After the census legislative districts are redrawn to ensure each district has the same population. Migration results in some districts gaining people while some lose population. § In Europe independent commissions try to create compact, homogenous districts w/o regard to voting preferences or incumbents.

Electoral Gerrymandering § In the US, the job is left to the state legislature. § The party in power tries to redraw lines to improve chances of that party winning more seats § Gerrymandering is the process of redrawing lines to benefit the party in power. Illegal. Named after MA gov. Elbridge Gerry

The original Gerrymander

Electoral Gerrymandering § Article Four, Section Three of the 1970 Illinois Constitution, "Legislative Districts shall be compact and contiguous and substantially equal in population. " § a district court found that the compactness requirement of Thornburg v. Gingles the ear muff shape was necessary in order to provide Hispanics with the representation that their population warranted without causing retrogression in African American representation. It held that the Fourth District survived strict scrutiny.

Illinois’ 4 th Congressional

“Crab” District

Types of Gerrymandering § Excess Vote- (Packing) Concentrates opposition supporters into as few districts as possible. § Wasted Vote-(Fracturing) is drawing district lines so that the minority population is broken up. Spreads opposition supporters among many districts but always in the minority. § Stacked vote- links distant areas of like-minded voters through oddly-shaped boundaries. Most recent gerrymandering has been “stacked vote”.

Congressional District 29 1992 1996

Louisiana Congressional District 4 1992 1996

Florida Congressional District 3 1992 1996

North Carolina Congressional District 12 1998

Gerrymandering § Gerrymandering ruled illegal in 1985 but not required to dismantle existing oddlyshaped districts § Because of Gerrymandering, only about 1/10 th of Congressional seats are competitive, making a shift of more than a few seats unlikely except in unusual circumstances

§ IMAGINE a state with five congressional seats and only 25 voters in each. That makes 125 voters. Sixtyfive are Republicans, 60 are Democrats. You might think a fair election in such a state would produce, say, three Republican representatives and two Democrats. § Now imagine you can draw the district boundaries any way you like. The only condition is that you must keep 25 voters in each one. If you were a Republican, you could carve up the state so there were 13 Republicans and 12 Democrats per district. Your party would win every seat narrowly. Republicans, five-nil. § Now imagine you were a Democrat. If you put 15 Republicans in one district, you could then divide the rest of the state so that each district had 13 Democrats and 12 Republicans. Democrats, four-one. Same state, same number of districts, same party affiliation: completely different results.