Introduction
1. We take for granted the division of our planets
surface into a collection of spaces
2. Power is gained through connections among states for
economic reasons
3. There were only about 50 countries in the 1940s; 192
today
4. State – An area organized into a political unit and
ruled by an established government.
5. Sovereignty – Independence from the control of its
internal affairs by other states
6. Country – Synonym for state
Problems of Defining States
1. Korea – one state or two?
a. Divided at 38 north after WW II
b. Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea (north) invades the south in
1950
c. Korean War lasts 3 years – border
is the same as the beginning of the
war
d. Both Koreas want to reunite,
agreed to family visits in 2000
e. North Korea’s commitment to
nuclear weapons?
Problems of Defining States
2. China & Taiwan: one state or
two?
a. According to China, Taiwan
is not a sovereign state
b. Taiwan disputed this in
1999
c. US recognized the
Nationalist Party living in
Taiwan as the real govt. until
1971
d. Taiwan is the most
populous state not in the UN
Problems of Defining States
3. Western Sahara or
Sahrawi Arab Democratic
Republic
a. Considered by most
Africans as a sovereign
state
b. Morocco claims it and
built a wall around it
Varying Sizes of States
1. Russia is the largest 6.6 million square miles; 11% of
world’s land area
a. 4,300 miles east to west
2. Followed by China, Canada, USA, Brazil, and
Australia
3. Monaco is the smallest at .6 square miles – microstate
Development of the State Concept
1. Idea develops in Europe but traced back to the
Fertile Crescent
2. City-states had walls to clearly define border;
protected by countryside as well
3. Rome would create 38 provinces using the
same laws as its capital
a. Rome collapses due to attacks on the
frontier
b. Plus, Rome was fragmented among
competing dukes, kings, barons, etc.
Colonialism
1. To establish or impose political, economic, and cultural
principles on territory
a. Promote Christianity, provide resources, indicator of
power
b. Three Gs – God, Gold, Glory
Colonialism, cont.
2. Europe turns to imperialism
of Africa after W. Hem
declares independence
a. UK would have a colony
on every continent
b. France would become the
2nd largest overseas
territory
c. Germany colonized
Africa to disrupt
communications of their
rivals
Colonialism, cont.
3. France tried to assimilate colonies into their culture
4. Britain used decentralization to preserve diversity
5. As such, British transitions to independence were peaceful
6. Most African and Asian colonies would become independent
after WW II
a. 15 before the war, 106 in 2007
7. The most populous remaining colony is Puerto Rico – can’t
vote, no members of congress
a. Least populated is Pitcairn Island (UK) – 47 people
Five Basic Shapes of States
1. Compact – shorter distance from the
center to borders
a. Ideally shaped like a circle
with the capital at the center
b. Shorter boundaries to defend
c. Better communications
d. Does not mean peacefulness
e. Examples – Kenya, Rwanda
Prorupted
Compact state with large projecting region
a. Provide a resource to a country – Congo or
Namibia
b. Separate two states from sharing a boundary
– Afghanistan
Elongated
3. Long narrow shape
a. Creates isolation, poor
communications
b. Chile is 2,500 north to
south and 90 miles east to
west
c. Gambia – 300 miles E-W,
15 miles N-S and surrounded
by Senegal
Fragmented
4. Several pieces of discontinuous areas
a. All states that have islands are fragmented
b. Indonesia has 13,677 islands across 3,000 miles
c. Russia’s Kaliningrad is 250 miles away near Lithuania
d. Tin Bigha, India – corridor from India only measures 600
feet by 300 feet
1. Divided by Britain according to religion
e. Panama used to be fragmented until the canal was returned
Tin Bigha, India
Perforated
5. A state that completely surrounds another state
a. South Africa surrounds Lesotho
Landlocked States
1. States surrounded by other
states – no access to water
a. Africa – 14 of the 54 are
landlocked
2. Access to the sea is critical
for international trade
a. A state must arrange to
use another country’s
seaport
b. What if you disagreed
with South Africa?
Zimbabwe?
Types Of Boundaries
1. Frontier – an area where no state exercises complete
political control
2. Usually replaced by boundaries – Saudi Arabia/Iraq,
Yemen/Oman.
3. Physical Boundaries
a. Mountains – difficult to cross, permanent, sparsely
populated
b. Desert – difficult to cross, sparsely populated
c. Water – easily visible on a map, usually don’t
change
4. Ocean “Law of the Sea”a. 12 nautical miles - right to marine life up to 200
miles
5. Cultural Boundaries
a. Religion – rarely used – Pakistan/India; Ireland
b. Geometric - Canada/US 49° Latitude
c. Language- Treaty after WWI used language for a
border
1. Most collapsed by 1990s – Yugoslavia
6. Cyprus – Turks 18% & Greeks 78% - accepted to EU
in 2004
Boundaries Inside States
1. Ethnicities in the minority may be content with control of a region
2. Unitary State – power is in central government
a. Works best in a state with few conflicts & national unity
b. Most multinational states use unitary to promote nationalism – China
3. Federal State – power distributed to local governments
a. United States – adopt their own laws
b. Larger states – national capital may be to far away or isolated
c. Belgium – Flemings and Walloons
4. Poland – switched from unitary (communist) to federal
a. Many elected didn’t the experience
Electoral Geography
1. 435 US legislative boundaries
redrawn every 10 years for equal
population
2. Gerrymandering – redrawing
boundaries to benefit party in
power
a. Wasted Vote – gives one party
a chance to win all districts (5-0)
b. Excess Votes – concentrates
opposition party into a few
districts (4-1)
c. Stacked Votes – oddly shaped
boundaries – links like minded
voters (3-2)
3. Recent gerrymandering has been
Stacked – just gain a simple
majority
4. Gerrymandering was ruled illegal
in 1985 by the US Supreme Court
Utah U.S.
Congressional
Districts
Utah State
House
Utah State House of Representatives
Utah House 25th District
Arizona U.S. District 2
Illinois 4th District
The United Nations
1. Created after WW II by the victorious Allies
a. Replaced League of Nations created after WW I
b. League could not stop aggression
c. US never joined even though their idea
2. 1945= 49 States; 2007 = 192
3. Rapid increase three times – 1955, 1960, early 1990s
a. 1955 – 16 countries – mostly European
b. 1960 – 17 countries – mostly former colonies in Africa
c. 1990s – 26 countries – end of communism and break up of Yugoslavia
4. Security Council – 5 permanent members
a. US, Russia, China, UK, France
b. Only takes one to veto peacekeeping missions
c. China, Russia, and France vetoed sending UN into Iraq in 2003
5. UN created a forum where all states of the world can meet w/o resorting to war
Regional Military Alliances
1. 1800s – eight superpowers – Austria, France, GB, Russia, Poland, Prussia,
Spain, Sweden
2. Pre-WW I – superpowers were Germany, Italy, Japan, US replaced last 4
a. Post-WW II – US and Soviet Union
3. Large number of superpowers meant no one state could dominate = balance of
power
4. Alliances were created to tip the balance of power = ally or satellite
a. Allies can be helpful or unreliable – use of airspace in US strike of Libya
5. US/Soviet Union used force to keep satellites in line
a. Hungary 1956, Czechoslovakia 1968, Afghanistan 1979
b. Dominican Republic 1965, Grenada 1983, Panama 1989
6. Satellites were used to set military bases to support conflicts abroad
Military Cooperation in Europe
1. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) 14 European
countries + US, Canada
2. Warsaw Pact – communist states in Europe – defend each other
if attacked
a. Used to stop anti communists in Hungary and Czechoslovakia
3. NATO – prevent Soviet Union from taking West Germany
4. Warsaw Pact provided buffer from a 3rd invasion from Germany
5. End of Cold War – NATO reduced, Warsaw Pact disbanded
a. NATO actually took on some Warsaw Pact countries
Economic Cooperation
1. The world has moved to a pattern of multiple superpowers
a. Economic power instead of military
b. Leading power is a union of states – European Union
2. 2004 – eight former communist states join EU
3. Goal – promote development through economic cooperation
4. Free trade – goods, services, capital, people move freely between
members
5. Common currency – eliminated different prices, interest rates
Increase in Terrorism
1. Aimed at ordinary people rather than military
targets
2. Pan Am Flight 103
3. 1993 World Trade Center
4. 1995 Oklahoma City
5. 1998 Tanzania and Kenya
6. 2000 USS Cole
September 11, 2001
1. United 93
2. al-Qaeda
3. Afghanistan – 2001
4. Iraq – 2003
5. Iran - ?
Supranationalism
1. Political, economic, and/or cultural cooperation among states to promote
shared objectives
2. States tend to give up political power to a higher authority to pursue
common objectives
a. Political, economic, military, or environmental goals
b. Ex. EU, NAFTA, UN NATO, Warsaw Pact, OPEC
Devolution
1. Granting of powers from central government to government at regional or
local level
2. Regions within a state demand and gain political strength at the expense of
the central government – breakup of a state - balkanization
3. Growing autonomy within a state
a. Ex. Yugoslavia, USSR, Czechoslovakia, British India
b. UK, Canada, Spain, India/Pakistan