Political Geography
Political Geography- the study of the political
organization of the planet. Present day map is the
product of endless accommodations and adjustments
within and between human societies.
I. How is Space Organized. . . States &
Nations.
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Current world map
Shows over 200 states (countries), & territories
Inequality of countries in terms of size
Variety of shapes
Political boundaries
Thought of as natural, but is not!
Totally created by people and the thought of
owning land is also a factor
Robert Sack vs. Robert Ardrey
• Robert Sack – human territoriality
• Human territoriality seen as a key ingredient in the
construction of social and political spaces.
• Territoriality is not based on animal instinct, but rather
a better understanding of how and why different
territorial strategies are pursued at different time and
in different places
• Robert Ardrey – The Territorial Imperative
• Believes human territoriality is due to the instinct in
animals to control and defend territory.
Territoriality
• Different sizes and levels – villages, suburbs, cities
• Sovereignty tied up with territoriality
– Sovereignty says you have final word over what
happens on land socially, economically, & politically
– Says political authority should lie with legitimate
rulers
• Elected, not in office b/c of military or monarchy
• Challenges to existing territorial arrangements
remain a strong motivator for political and even
military action in the modern world
Rise of Modern State
• Governments represent people in
international arena – foreign policy, trade,
alliances
• Began with the Peace of Westphalia Treaty in
1648
• Ended the Thirty Years War & drew up official
plans of statehood, defined borders, &
guaranteed security
The European Model
• Greatest influence on modern state system
• Europe starting to see economic revival – foreign trade,
ports, technological innovations emergence of middle
class
• Western Europe – monarchies represented national
consciousness – economy focused on the capital city, broke
down regionalism, brought people together for political
and military pursuits. Renewed interests in the arts and
sciences
• Mercantilism accompanied the political state, which led to:
• Rivalry between countries in Europe because of
colonization, protection of home industries and foreign
markets
Continued. . .
• Towns and cities were devastated as well as
the political culture by powerful monarchs.
• The development of a wealthy middle class
proved to be the nobility’s downfall
• Economic factors became more importantmerchants, businessmen became powerful
politically & economically
• Many political upheavals – France- French
Revolution
State and Nation
• Country and state are used interchangeably
• Capitalize State when referring to internal
division within a county – State of Florida
• Nation, state, and country are not
interchangeable
• Nation is defined as culturally defined group of
people with a shared past and a common future
who relate to a territory and have political goals
• They say, “we have been through much together
& whatever happens we will go through it
together” b/c they have that much staying power
Stateless Nations
• Do not possess a national territory –
Palestinians, Kurds
• Some nations are stateless.
• The Kurds form the largest minority in Turkey.
• However relations between the 10 million
Kurds and the Turkish government are volatile.
• Without the consent of Turkey there will be
no Kurdistan.
Stateless Nation –
a nation without a state
The Nation-State
• A political organized area in which nation and
state occupy the same area
• Because Europe control so much of the world,
their concept of nation-state was adopted around
the world. Ex: Japan
• European state became the world model
• No true nation-states. Close examples – French
and Chinese. Bad examples – Yugoslavia, Ethiopia
• It does not refer to political areas.
• It does not refer to political areas.
• For example if you are Chinese speaking and
Chinese cultured but live outside China you will
still feel part of the Chinese nation.
• No true nation state with original definition of
nation
• Alternative definition for nation – a community
with a shared commitment to a common political
culture. Have more nation-states – ex:
Switzerland, Japan, France, China
Multinational
State –
A state with more
than one nation.
The Former Yugoslavia
Multistate Nation –
A nation with more than one state.
Transylvania – homeland for both Romanians and Hungarians.
• People may be apart of a nation without living in the
state – ex: Mexicans living in the US, Chinese living in
Taiwan
• A nation-state would have cultural homogeneity: the
people would share the same language, religion, share
a common sense of history, and be united by common
political institutions.
– An example would be Iceland, Portugal, Denmark, and
Poland, Japan, Uruguay, and Korea if it were not divided.
• Another way to look at a nation is to have a
heterogeneous state, but the people share a strong
sense of “national spirit”.
Antarctica: National Claims
Fig. 8-2: Antarctica is the only large landmass that is not part of a state, but
several countries claim portions of it.
States vary in many ways
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Size
Shape
Regime type
Resources
Development
Power
In order for state to succeed it must foster a
sense of legitimacy
• Provides services for the people through taxes
Territory
• No state can exist without territory – most of the time
• Size, shape, and relative location = territorial
morphology
Size
• Large the size = help- more resources (USA) and
hinder- more land to protect (Russia)
• Microstates – Liechtenstein (in between Switzerland
and Austria), Andorra (near northern Spain), small
does not equal poverty
Shape
• Compact – round shaped, easy to have sovereignty and protect
borders
• Fragmented – territory is in several parts
• Elongated – long and narrow, 6 times greater in length than
height
• Prorupt – narrow, land, extension leading away from the main
territory
• Perforated – territory is completely surrounded by another
state, interaction between countries is usually peacefully – Italy
is perforated by Vatican City and will protect Vatican city with its
military
– Challenges for landlocked countries – no access to the seas, must be
friendly with bordering countries in order to gain access to seas.
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Shapes of States
Figure 12.8
12-6
African States
Fig. 8-6: Southern, central, and eastern Africa include states that are compact,
elongated, prorupted, fragmented, and perforated.
India: The Tin Bigha Corridor
Fig. 8-7: The Tin Bigha corridor fragmented two sections of the country of
Bangladesh. When it was leased to Bangladesh, a section of India was
fragmented.
Colonialism
• Rule by an autonomous power over a
subordinate and alien people and place.
• Often established and maintained through
political structures
• Also creates unequal cultural and economic
relations.
• Height of colonialism during 18th and 19th
centuries
European Colonialism and the
Diffusion of the Nation-State Model
• Colonialism a physical action in which one state takes over control of
another, taking over the government and ruling the territory
as its own.
Two Waves of
European
Colonialism:
1500 - 1825
1825 - 1975
Continued
• British, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and
Belgians.
• The Germans and Italians were latecomers.
• Then there were Russia and Japan.
• European colonialism in Africa and South America
• Russia and Japan built major empires
• Russia – vast, and was contiguous, only overseas
territory was Alaska- sold to the USA in 1867
• Japan – major holdings in East Asia
Continued
• Colonial powers maintained control by virtue
of their economic, political and military
organization
• Ruthless control over their domains and
economic exploitation
• They all became powerful empires with lots of
raw materials
Long term impact of colonialism
• Advances in health care, literacy, and
sanitation
• Construction of a global order by great
differences in global and economic power
• European states dominated areas of the world
• Colonies were governed by European
migrants
• Europe emerged as centers of economic and
political power
Colonial Possessions, 1914
Fig. 8-4: By the outbreak of World War I, European states held colonies throughout
the world, especially throughout Africa and in much of Asia.
Colonial Possessions, 2003
Fig. 8-5: Most of the remaining colonies are small islands in the Pacific or Caribbean.
Two Waves of Decolonization
First wave – focused on decolonization of the Americas
Second wave – focused on decolonization of Africa and Asia
Economic Dimensions of Power
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Capacity of states to influence economic trends
To buy and sell strategic commodities (goods)
To control the assets and resources
Economic strength gives states an advantage in world
agreements
• If a state has economic strength, it can influence other
states through trade agreements and outbid on access to
resources.
• European countries, Japan and Russia became powerful by
colonialization
• Singapore, Switzerland and Australia did not have colonies
but became economically strong through their ties to
European countries with colonies
World –Systems Analysis
• Building on the work of Immanuel Wallerstein
• View world as an interlocked system of states
• Three basic tiers – a global economic core – developed
countries
• a periphery – which has little economic autonomy or
influence-developing countries
• a semi-periphery which keeps the world from being
polarized into two extremes- developing countries
that are in a better economic situation
• Countries can move within the tiers, however a group
of countries have dominated the core for much of the
last century
Three Tier Structure
Core
Periphery
Processes that incorporate higher
levels of education, higher
salaries, and more technology
* Generate more wealth in the world
economy
Processes that incorporate lower
levels of education, lower
salaries, and less technology
* Generate less wealth in the world
economy
Semi-periphery
Places where core and periphery
processes are both occurring.
Places that are exploited by the
core but then exploit the
periphery.
* Serves as a buffer between core
and periphery
II. Spatial Organization of
Government for States:
• Forces of Fragmentation and Cohesion
• The forces that promote unity with states are often
called centripetal forces. Here are some examples.
– Governments change the administrative structure of the
state either to strengthen central authority or to give more
power to provinces or regions. (India, Nigeria)
– Nationalism-an allegiance and loyalty that transcends
other feelings of attachment.
– Songs, traditions, and values taught in schools
– However often citizens feel a greater allegiance to their
own ethnic group. Tribalism in Africa is an example.
Centripetal Forces
• Leadership of a charismatic individual who
personifies the state. (Juan Peron, Charles de
Gaulle, Marshal Tito)
• A real or perceived external threat like an
aggressive neighbor.
• National ideology
• This can go wrong. An example is the Nazism
of Germany
Centrifugal Forces
• The opposite of the centripetal forces are
centrifugal forces. When centrifugal forces
outweigh centripetal ones the state is in
danger of collapsing.
• ethnic minorities’ challenges to the norms of
the modern state system
• new networks of communication and
interaction that cross state lines and bypass
government control.
Unitary States
• – strong central government over all parts of the
state, most of Europe is a unitary state
• In Europe many Unitary states developed
• These had primate cities with central areas for the
government.
• In newer states a federal state emerged.
• Federalism accommodated regional interests by
vesting primary power in provinces, States, or other
regional units over all matters except those explicitly
given to the National government.
• Ex: France, Spain, Portugal
Federal States
• the central government and regional governments
both make decisions
• Regional governments are the main decision makers
• Central government has specific powers
• A unitary state was not wanted in the New World
• Ex: United States, Canada, Australia, Switzerland,
India
• Tried this system in Africa, but have failed to stabilize
due to extreme regionalism
Nigeria’s Federal Government –
Allows states within the state to determine
whether to have Shari’a Laws
Shari’a Laws
Legal systems
based on
traditional
Islamic laws
The U.S. Federal Government –
Allows states within the state to determine “moral” laws such as
death penalty, access to alcohol, and concealed weapons.
Minnesota’s
concealed
weapons law
requires the posting
of signs such as this
on buildings that do
not allow concealed
weapons.
Devolution- movement of power from the central
government to regional governments
• Ethnocultural Devolutionary Movements
• Most come from distinct nations of people w/in a
state
• Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia each divided borders
based on ethnicities
• United Kingdom had Scotland and Wales vote for
devolution
• It was granted, giving greater power to the
regions of Scotland and Wales
• Does not lead to independence every time
Ethnocultural Devolutionary Movements
Scotland
rise in independence
movement is coupled
with:
- European Union
- Scotland’s oil
resources
Ethnocultural Devolutionary Movements
Eastern Europe
devolutionary forces
since the fall of
communism
Devolution Continued
• Economic
Devolutionary Forces
• Italy, France and others
have wanted more
regional power for
economic reasons
• Italy’s Northern Region
provides much of the
economy, wants more
devolutionary power
• Spatial Devolutionary
Forces
• Mainly happens when
an area is separated by
water, desert,
mountain, etc.
• Hawaii in the US is in
danger of this
Spatial
Devolutionary
Movements
Honolulu, Hawai’i
A history apart from the
United States, and a
desire to live apart in
order to keep traditions
alive.
Economic
Devolutionary
Movements
Catalonia, Spain
Barcelona is the center
of banking and
commerce in Spain and
the region is much
wealthier than the rest
of Spain.
Electoral Patterns
• Electoral geographers seek to understand how
the spatial configuration of electoral districts
and voting patterns that emerge in particular
elections reflect and influence social and
political affairs.
• They study church affiliation, income level,
ethnic background, education level, and
numerous other social factors to learn why
voters voted the way they did.
Electoral geography- is the geography of representation- final
key component to spatial organization of government.
• When there are a fixed number of seats for representation
such as congressional seats then there must be a fixed
number of electoral districts from which those
representatives are elected.
• Because it is based on population States must draw a map
of congressional districts.
• In 1812 Governor Elbridge Gerry designed a very oddly
shaped district with the purpose of helping his party.
• Gilbert Stuart called it the “salamander district” because of
its funny shape but it was later named a gerrymander.
• This term now refers to redistricting for advantage.
Gerrymandering: Florida and Georgia
Fig. 8-11: State legislature boundaries were drawn to maximize the number of
legislators for Republicans in Florida and Democrats in Georgia.
Electoral Geography Continued
• Presently there are rules to make sure states give fair
representation to the people; consider minorities.
• If a state is 80% white, 10% African-American and 10%
Hispanic you could have an electoral map where whites
were in the majority of every district.
• After the 1990 census, the US government instructed
all States with substantial minority districts to
construct so called majority-minority districts.
• Again because of population shifts these districts are
constantly being redrawn.
• Often the districts are strangely shaped due to the
majority-minority rule.
Gerrmandering – drawing voting districts to benefit one group
over another.
Majority-Minority
districts drawn so
that the majority
of the population
in the district is
from the minority.
III. How Do We Establish Boundaries,
and Why Do Disputes Occur?
• Evolution of Boundaries
• -A Boundary- between states is a vertical plane that
cuts through rocks below the subsoil and into the
airspace above.
• -These two areas have historically been the cause of
disputes.
• -Countries have argued as to who claims ownership of
resources below ground such as oil, natural gas, and
coal.
• -Controlling the airspace above a country is also a
cause for controversy. How high does the airspace
extend?
Boundary – a vertical plane that cuts through the rocks
below and the airspace above, dividing one state territory
from another.
Forming Boundaries
• 1. Agreement is reach on the rough positioning
of the border. Definition – drawing up of legal
documents and coming up with the exact
position.
• 2. Boundary is put on map – Delimitation
• 3. Demarcation – boundary is marked by visible
man made feature – steel post, wall, gate- too
expensive to mark all boundaries
European Boundary Changes
Fig. 8-13: Twentieth-century boundary changes in Europe, 1914 to 2003. Germany’s
boundaries changed after each world war and the collapse of the Soviet
Union.
Types of Boundaries
• May match long/lat lines, physical features,
ethnic or cultural groups
• Geometric boundary – political boundaries
that are straight lines, not related to any
cultural or physical landscape, Ex: Africa by
the Europeans
Aozou Strip: A Geometric Boundary
Fig. 8-9: The straight boundary between Libya and Chad was drawn by European
powers, and the strip is the subject of controversy between the two
Types of Boundaries Cont.
• Physical-political and natural-political boundaries –
coincide with prominent physical features – rivers, lakes,
mountains.
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The Rio Grande river which divides the U.S. and Mexico.
The Pyrenees between Spain and France
Four of the five great lakes of the U.S. and Canada
The great lakes of East Africa between the Congo and its eastern
neighbors.
– The Swiss Alps between Italy and Switzerland.-stable
– The Karakoram Range between India and China-not stable
• Cultural-political boundaries – coincide with cultural
breaks in the landscape such as religion, language and
ethnicity. Ex- Soviet Union
Division of Cyprus
Fig. 8-10: Cyprus has been divided into Green and Turkish portions since 1974.
Frontiers
• a frontier is not a boundary. It is a zone of
separation, an area between communities,
cluster groups, and states. They are often
natural such as swamps, wide deserts,
mountain ranges, or river basins.
Frontiers in the Arabian Peninsula
Fig. 8-8: Several states in the Arabian Peninsula are separated by frontiers
rather than precise boundaries.
Functions of Boundaries
• Serve as defensive functions and marks the limit
of state jurisdiction, symbols of state sovereignty,
provide services, taxes, nationalism, military
force, laws
• In the past boundaries were often walls that
helped keep out adversaries and also helped keep
inhabitants from leaving.
• A modern example is the border between
Mexico and the US.
• Today boundaries help to build a sense of
nationalism
Internal Boundaries
• Divisions within a state that are demarcated
on the map – US has States, Canada has
provinces
• Cultural division – division that are not
demarcated on the map- Belgium, Ethiopia
Boundary Disputes
• People become territorial when they believe their space has been violated
• Definitional Boundary Disputes- disputes focus on the legal language of
the boundary agreement – Ex: median line of river, river changes,
problems
• Locational Boundary Disputes – disputes center on the delimitation and
possible demarcation of the border. The definition is not the dispute, but
its interpretation is. Ex: too vague in their internal boundary definitions
on treaties – Africa when colonial powers left
• Operational Boundary Disputes – disputes involve neighbors who differ on
the way their boundary should function – Ex: limiting of migration,
smuggling of goods
• Allocation Boundary Disputes – disputes are over natural resources,
control of rivers – Ex: Iraq and Kuwait over oil, resources under sea level,
Tigris river, Nile river
Boundaries
often divide
resources, such
as oil between
Kuwait and Iraq
Ethnic Groups in Southwest Asia
Fig. 8-14: Ethnic boundaries do not match country boundaries, especially in Iraq,
Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
Geopolitics
• Friedrich Ratzel (1844-1904) was a German professor who
came up with the organic theory that a state was like a
biological organism with a life cycle from birth through
death.
• The state was nourished through the acquisition of
territories and their contents. Space is the state’s essential
life force.
• This concept spawned a subfield called geopolitics.
• One of Hitler’s associates was a political geographer and so
after WWII this was not a popular term.
• Now the term describes the study of the spatial and
territorial dimensions of power relationships past present
and future.
Geopolitics
• Geopolitics – the interplay among geography, power,
politics, and international relations.
The Heartland Theory –1904
• Sir Halford Mackiner wrote a paper called The
Geographical Pivot of History.
• He felt that a land based power not a sea based power (at
the time England was) would rule the earth.
• He felt that at the heart of Eurasia there lay a resource rich
pivot area which he called the heartland.
• Here are his key points.
– Who rules Eastern Europe commands the Heartland
– Who rules the Heartland commands the World Islands
– Who rules the World Islands commands the World
• This idea gained attention after WWII when Moscow
controlled much of Eastern Europe
Rimland Theory
• Rimland Theory – Nicholas Spykman, The
Geography of Peace – Sea based power will
control and dominate
– Who controls the Rimland rules Eurasia
– Who rules Eurasia controls the destinies of the world
• Spykman was a pragmatist, saw divided rimland
as the a key to world’s balance of power. Rimland
is still divided – China/Western Europe
Power and Influence
• 19th century, states seeking global influence
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United Kingdom, France, Germany
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Russia, US, Japan
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After WWII two newly strengthened powers
United States and Soviet Union
World now bipolar – capitalist and communist camps
Soviet Union dominated heartland
US proved other dominate areas
Not just Mackinder’s “world island of Eurasia”
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Mid 1990’s
Collapse of Soviet Union
US only surviving super power
After WWII, only the USA had nuclear weapons, now many
countries do:
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United States
Russia
China
France
United Kingdom
India
Pakistan
• 9/11 showed there are other forces wanting dominance
Critical Geopolitics
• The idea that intellectuals of statecraft
construct ideas about places, these ideas
influence and reinforce their political
behaviors and policy choices, and these ideas
affect how we, the people, process our own
notions of places and politics.
Us versus Them
Terrorists “come from diverse
places but share a hatred
for democracy, a fanatical
glorification of violence, and
a horrible distortion of their
religion, to justify the
murder of innocents. They
have made the United
States their adversary
precisely because of what
we stand for and what we
stand against.”
“They [the terrorists] stand
against us because we stand
in their way.”
“I’ve said in the past that
nations are either with us
or against us in the war on
terror.”
Us versus Them
Terrorists “come from diverse
places but share a hatred
for democracy, a fanatical
glorification of violence, and
a horrible distortion of their
religion, to justify the
murder of innocents. They
have made the United
States their adversary
precisely because of what
we stand for and what we
stand against.”
“They [the terrorists] stand
against us because we stand
in their way.”
President George W. Bush
“I’ve said in the past that
nations are either with us
or against us in the war on
terror.”
President George W. Bush
President William J. Clinton
Four potential foci of power on the
world islands
• 1. Russia – still in disarray after the breakup of
the USSR but still has military capabilities and
major resources
• 2. Europe – sustain drive toward integration and
unification (European Union)
• 3. China – economic growth among Eastern
provinces
• 4. US – highway of trade and diffusion
– World today – an unstable multipolar world with
much potential for conflict.
Unilateralism
• Unilateralism- United States has been
practicing this by having allies follow rather
than join the political decision making process
• Historically, unilateral or single polar worlds
have not had one country stay in power for
long
• Only time will tell if the US can maintain its
dominance on the world’s economy, politics,
& military
IV. What are Supranational Organizations, and
What is the Future of the State?
• Supranationalism – a venture involving three or
more national states involving political, economic
and or cultural cooperation to promote shared
objectives. Forge associations for mutual benefit
and pursuit of shared goals. Ex: European Union
• The more states participate in multilateral
associations, less likely they are to act alone in
pursuit of self interest.
• Approximately 100 multilateral associations
International Sanctions
• Designed to induce states to change their
behavior
• Isolate a country that behaves in a way that is
deemed inappropriate by the international
community – trade sanctions
• Example- in 1980s sanctions on South Africa
to end apartheid
From League of Nations to United
Nations
• End of WWI – was the beginning of the supranational
movement
• League of Nations created in 1919
• Formed to try to prevent future aggression
• Only 63 states joined, US never joined (even though
Woodrow Wilson came up with the idea)
• The U.S. did not join because the Senate was opposed.
• Collapsed as WWII began
• Italy/Ethiopia – failed to act when Italy was about to
invade Ethiopia
• Initiated international negotiations on maritime boundaries
and laws of the sea
The United Nations
• After the end of WWII – formed to help with international security
and cooperation
• After WWII ended the United Nations was formed.
• The United States did join.
• A handful of states still do not belong but in 2002 the United
Nations had 191 member states.
• The UN has subsidiaries such as FAO (Food and Agriculture
Organization), UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization) and WHO (World Health Organization)
• Membership in the UN can not be revoked regardless of behavior
• Some states violate the standards in the UN charter (South Africa,
Iraq)
Peacekeeping Organizations
• Help with internal conflicts, monitor elections and care
for refugees
• The UN is not a world government; member states
participate voluntarily.
• Peacekeeping has become a costly and controversial
UN responsibility.
• The UN does not have its own army.
• All UN troops are made up of soldiers assigned to UN
duty by their member states.
• Often problems arise as to the leadership of the UN
peacekeepers.
United Nations Members
Fig. 8-1: The UN has increased from 51 members in 1945 to 191 in 2003.
Regional Multinational Unions and the
European Union
• Multinational unions are when states join together to
further their shared political ideologies economic
objectives and strategic goals.
• Benelux - the first experiments in interstate
cooperation were in Europe with the Netherlands,
Belgium and Luxembourg.
• After WWII when Europe was trying to rebuild a
committee representing 16 Western European states
worked with the US to create what became know as
the Marshall Plan. It gave Europe $12 billion to
rebuild. It helped move European states toward
cooperation.
European Union
• Out of the original committee
of 16 was born the
Organization for European
Economic Cooperation (OEEC).
In 1958 the European
Economic Community (EEC) or
Common Market was created.
Others joined and they
became the European
Community (EC) It was now
not only an economic union
but a step toward a United
States of Europe. The
European Union was created
in 1992 with the total
members numbering 15:
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–
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Germany
France
United Kingdom
Italy
Spain
Portugal
Greece
Netherlands
Belgium
Luxembourg
Denmark
Ireland
Austria
Sweden
Finland
• On January 1, 2002 the euro coins and notes
were introduced.
• Problems that arise in the EU
• Difficulty for integration because of the
diversity of the countries.
• Maintaining a balance of power
• As the EU expands eastward economically
weak and often unstable countries may wish
to join the EU such as Turkey and Bulgaria
EU Concerns
• Growing poorer countries
joining – Financial concern
• Germany’s strong pop. &
Financially – Concern about
Balance of Power
• Turkey – Disagree because
of TRNC, treatment of
Kurds, European enough?
Supranationalism Elsewhere
• The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
was created in 1994. It links Canada, the US and
Mexico in an economic community. Their goals are to
eliminate trade barriers, free movement of labor, a
centralized fiscal policy and a coordinated foreign
policy.
• Others: Caribbean Community(CARICOM) or
Association of Caribbean States (ACS), Andean group
and Southern Cone Community Market(MERCOSUR),
Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS), Asia-Pacific Economic Council(APEC),
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) which are
composed of former republics of the USSR.
The European Union and NATO
Fig. 8-12: NATO and the European Union have expanded and accepted new
members as the Warsaw Pact and COMECON have disintegrated.
Continued. . .
• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was a
formation of a military alliance. It led to the creation
of the Warsaw Treaty which combined the USSR and its
Eastern European satellites into an opposing military
alliance. It is now defunct.
• The African Union is said to be a cultural alliance to
promote shared goals. Another cultural organization
is the Arab League which is an alliance of Muslim
states in North Africa and Southwest Asia.
• Others are political, but without economic
underpinnings they tend to be short lived.