Geography 200
3/19/14 – Political Landscape and Political Geography
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Political Geography
o The study of the organization and distribution of political phenomena from a geographic
perspective
 International relations – geopolitics is being the relationship between countries
 Domestic issues such as election and policies
Ukraine Crisis
o Very strategic location of Ukraine, former part of the Soviet Union
o Between European Union and Russia, Russia being a nuclear power
o Gas plays a key economic and political role in Ukraine
o Eastern part of Ukraine is dominated by Russians or Russian ethnicity while western part
is Ukraine and want to become part of the European Union. Have completely different
positions in the east and west.
Main Points
o Concept of political geography
o Geographic characteristics of countries
o Stability of states
o International relations and global issues
o Political geography of the US
State
o An independent political unit holding sovereignty over a defined territory and over all
the people and activities within it
o To be a state, an entity must be internationally recognized by other states
o Nation-state: a state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular
ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality
 South Sudan being the youngest country, 2011, civil war
Nation-states VS Multinational states
o There is no such things as a nation-state because the territory occupied by and ethnicity
never corresponds precisely to the boundaries of countries.
o Relatively speaking, some countries are considered as nation-states.
United Nations (UN) Members
Ethnic Division of South Asia
o Due to Hindus and Muslims not getting along
o Would migrate to country where they won’t be prosecuted
Changing World Political Map
o Since 1990, over 30 new countries have been created
o Balkan peninsula , former Yugoslavia broke into 7 countries
Geographic Characteristics of States
o Large states
 Greater chance for useful resources
 Vast areas that are sparsely populated and hard to integrate into the economy
and society
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 Longer boundaries to defend
o Small states
 More likely to have a culturally homogeneous population
 Easier to develop transportation system and easier to defend
Shapes of States
o Compact: circular or a geometric shape
 Zimbabwe
o Elongated: very long and narrow in width
 Chile, Norway
o Prorupted or protruded
 Nearly compact but possesses one or more narrow extensions
 Thailand
o Fragmented
 Separated and discontinuous
 Philippines & Indonesia & Japan – usually separated by oceans but can be
separated by other countries
o Perforated
 A state that completely surrounds another state
 South Africa surrounding the state of Lesotho
Advantages and Disadvantages
o Compact – easy communications and beneficial for smaller states
o Elongated – potential isolation for the frontier areas and poor internal communications
o Protruded – access or disruption
o Fragmented – difficult to govern and unite
o Perforated – accessibility prohibited
o Thailand, a protruded state, has a minority Muslim, ethnic Malay population
concentrated in its southern provinces
o Several states in the US have panhandles such as NY, OK, WV, & FL
3/21/14 – Political Landscape and Political Geography continued
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Elongate States
o An elongated such as Chile makes for difficult governance of peripheral areas in the
north and south from the central capital region near Santiago.
o Perforated: if there is hostility between the two nations, access to the surrounded
nations, access to the surrounded nation can be difficult.
o Italy is an elongated and perforated
Exclave and Enclave
o Exclave: a territorial outlier of one state is located within another state
o Enclave: a territory that is surrounded by another state like Andorra
Landlocked States
o About 1/5 of the world’s states are landlocked – lacking a direct outlet to the sea.
o To send and receive goods by sea, a landlocked country must arrange to use another
country’s port.
o Switzerland, Sudan
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Bolivia
o Like many other landlocked countries, Bolivia has gained access to the sea through
arrangements with neighboring states.
o Unlike most landlocked countries, however, Bolivia can access ports in two oceans.
Geographic Characteristics of States
o Location
 Absolute: the exact position of a state in spatial coordinates of a grid system
 Relative: the position of a state in relation to other states
International Boundaries
o International Boundaries are perceived as lines without breadth on maps; actually they
are vertical interface between adjacent countries:
 International boundaries mark the outer limits of a state’s claim to land or water
 Boundaries are projected downward to the center of the earth
 States also project their sovereignty upward to include its airspace
Border Issue Over Resources
o First Gulf War: Iraq invaded Kuwait for natural resources
International Laws on Territorial Seas
o A country’s sovereignty extents to its territorial sea
 12 mile territorial sea
 US enforces American Law up to 24 miles
 200 nautical mile (370 km) – exclusive economic zone (EEZ)
Types of Country Boundaries
o Natural (physical) boundaries
 Those based on recognizable physiographic features
 Such as rivers and mountain ranges
o Cultural boundaries
 Boundaries between states coincide with ethnicity, languages or religions
 Geometric boundaries, such as those that follow parallels of latitude and
longitude
US/ Mexico Border
o To stem the flow of undocumented migrants entering California from Baja California,
the US, in 1993, constructed a fence 3 meters (10 ft) high along the border.
o Very difficult to completely seal the border
Why national boundaries are so straight in Africa?
o North America, Africa, and parts of the Middle East
o European colonies drew lines across a map to create new states without regard for
tribal or cultural considerations
o The proruption of Namibia disrupted communications between British colonies
Disrupted boundary between Argentina and Chile in the Southern Andes
o The treaty establishing the boundary between the two countries preceded adequate
exploration and mapping of the area, leaving its precise location in doubt
Regions seeking autonomy
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Although the Basques were granted a measure of self-rule for their region, militant
separatists in the Euskadi Ta Askatasuna want to see the establishment of an
independent state
3/24/14 Political Landscapes and Political Geography continued
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The Stability of States
o Centripetal forces – bind forces together
 National identity, tradition, language
o Centrifugal forces – tear a state apart
 Racial ethnic issues, religion, and culture
Centripetal forces
o Transportation and Communication
 Fosters political integration by promoting economic and social interaction
between areas
 Canada and the US developed independent railway systems connecting their
prairie regions with their national cores
Centrifugal Forces
o Organized religions: may compete with the state for people’s allegiance or oppose stae
policies
o Sub nationalism: primary allegiance is given to smaller traditional group or nations
Two types of states
o Unitary State: most powerful in the hands of the central government
 China
o Federal State: the central government shares power with subunits
 US
Traditional Rivals
o Poland and Germany
o England and France
o China and Russia
o China and Japan
o India and Pakistan
Cooperation among states
o United Nations (UN)
 An organization that exercises power over countries, to promote peace and
development
 US, UK, China, France and Russia
Regional alliances
o Economic alliances
 European union (EU): a bloc of European countries enjoying free trade and
committed to a full political union
 North American free trade agreement (NAFTA): unites Canada, US, and Mexico
in a regional free trade zone
 Asian pacific economic cooperation (APEC): countries along the both sides of the
pacific ocean
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European Union
o Is an intergovernmental and supranational union of 27 democratic member states
o Is the world’s largest confederation of independent states, established under that name
in 1992 by the treaty on European union
NAFTA
o Is a free trade agreement among Canada, US and Mexico
APEC
o Is to increase east Asia- pacific prosperity , stability and security through partnership
and cooperation
o Consists of 21 countries along the coastline of the pacific ocean
Political Geography of the US
Electoral Geography
o A state’s electoral system is part of it spatial organization of government
o In the US:
 Territorial representation
 Population representation
 Compromise between geography and people
Census and Reapportionment
o US constitution requires that a census be taken to count the population
 For the purpose of reapportioning the US house of representatives among the
50 states
o To ensure that the representations of each state in the US house of representatives
reflects the relative size of its population as compared with other states
Bi- camera legislature
o Each state has 2 senators (100 seats)
o Number of house of representatives is proportional to state population (435 seats)
 Each state has at least one seat
 385 are allocated based on state populations
President Election and Geography
o Electoral College votes for the new president. 538 total electoral votes
o Number of electoral votes = senator seats + seats in the house
o Winner take all- whoever receives the most votes in each state (and DC) gets all the
electors
o 270 to win
3/26/14 Political Geography of the US continued
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The geography of representation
o Reapportionment or redistricting
 The changing of electoral district/constituency boundaries in response to
periodic census results
o Gerrymandering
 The drawing of voting district lines in a way that include or exclude specific
groups of voters, to maximize political advantage
 Wasted vote – spreads opposition supporters
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Excess vote – concentrates opposition votes
Stacked vote – links distant areas of like-minded voters through oddly
shaped districts
Gerrymandering
o Drawing voting districts to benefit one group over another
o Majority-Minority: districts drawn so that the majority of the population in the district is
from the minority
Voting rights and race
o The irregularly shaped congressional voting districts represent a deliberate attempt to
balance voting rights and race.
o They have been called extreme examples of racial gerrymandering, however, at least in
part ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Geography of Development
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Concept of Development
o Improvement in a country’s economic and social conditions
 Sustainable VS non-sustainable
o Geography of development
 More developed country (MDC) VS less developed country (LDC)
 Regional disparities within countries
 Local level variations – within the same community
More and Less Developed Regions
o Less developed regions include Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, South
Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia
o More developed regions
 Anglo- America
 Eastern Europe
 South Pacific
 Western Europe
 Japan
o Less developed regions
 Latin America
 Southeast Asia
 South Asia
 East Asia
 Middle East
 Sub-Saharan Africa
Human Development Index (HDI)
o HDI – created by the UN to measure a country’s level of development
 Economic indicator – living standard
 Social indicators – education
 Demographic indicators – health or life expectancy
o Range between 0 -1 or 0 -100
Economic Indicators
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GDP is the value of the total output of goods and services produced in a country during
a year.
 Per capita GDP
 GDP purchasing power parity (PPP): based on the price for equivalent products
in different local currencies
o Gross National Product (GNP): the value of total output of goods and services produced
inside and outside a country.
Examples
o GDP in the US is currently about $14 trillion and its population is 300 million, so GDP
per capita is about $46,000
o GDP PPP (Purchasing Power Parity)
Regional Variations within Countries
o Virtually every country has a problem of regional variations in development level
 EX: China, Brazil, Mexico
o Wealth within countries is concentrated in large urban or metropolitan areas
Development varies by gender
o A country’s overall level of development masks inequalities in the status of men and
women
o Gender inequality exists in every country of the world
 Gender Inequality Index (GII): combines three measures including
empowerment, labor, and reproductive health
Economic structure: Primary activities
o Primary sector: the portion of the economy concerned with the direct extraction of
materials from earth’s surface
 Agriculture: growing crops or tending live stock
 Sustenance agriculture: in developing countries
 Commercial agriculture: found in more developed countries
 Mining, fishing and forestry
Secondary and Tertiary Activities
o Secondary Sector: the portion of the economy concerned with manufacturing useful
products through processing, transforming, and assembling raw materials.
o Tertiary Sector: includes public services, consumer services and business services.
Economic Transitions
o Subsistence societies depend on primary industries
o The secondary stage (industrialization): manufacturing expands as generator of
employment and national income
o In advanced societies (postindustrial), secondary activities are replaced by tertiary
activities as the main support if economy
Stages of Economic Development
o Traditional society: limited technology, dominated by agriculture
o Preconditions for take-off: commercial exploration of agricultures and extractive
industry
o Take-off: development of a manufacturing sector
o Drive to maturity: development of wider industrial and commercial base
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High Mass consumption: exploration of comparative advantages in international trade
Rostow’s Development Model (successive stages of development) the speeds are
determined by their resources endowments, their productivity, and the wisdom of their
people’s policies and decisions
Reshaping Economic Geography
o The World Development Report 2009 suggests that some countries are doing well
because they have promoted transformations along the three dimensions if economy
geography
 High Densities – the growth of cities
 Shorter distances, as workers and businesses migrate closer to density
 Fewer divisions as countries this their economic borders and promote
integration
 Cartogram: not a regular map, it is different. Can be made to show the
population and China would be the largest
BRIC
o Brazil, Russia, India and China
Divisions
o The width of border is proportional to border restrictions to flows of goods, capital,
people, and ideas
o Western Europe countries have much thinner borders than those in Africa
o World Trade Organization (WTO): promote free trade global wide
Global Tariff Rates