Warm Up – Day 4 – 2/12/13
• On your desk: ch. 8 packet and notes,
“Who Rules” worksheet
• Warm-up:
An Introduction to Human Geography
The Cultural Landscape, 8e
James M. Rubenstein
Chapter 8
Political
Geography
PPT by Abe Goldman
Let’s read the intro to Ch 8
together…
• What is Political Geography?
Is the idea of dividing up the
Is the term state (country) still relevant?
world into countries crumbling?
• Since the end of the Cold War, globalization
has increased.
• Power is increasingly exercised through
connections among states, companies, and
individuals
• Yet at the same time, local diversity has
increased in political matters as individual
cultural groups demand more control over
the territory they inhabit.
What was the Cold War, exactly?
• After WWII, two countries rose to global
domination:
• USA and USSR (United Soviet Socialist
Republics)
• USA=democracy/ market economy
• USSR= communism/ command economy
• The Cold War is the term for the tension
and competition between these two
superpowers.
Cold War
Events of the Cold War..
• Korean War
• Space Race, Sputnik, Apollo missions
• Nuclear competition
• Cuban Missile Crisis
• Vietnam War
End of Cold War
• 1980’s leader Mikhail Gorbachev began
to give Soviets more freedoms
politically and economically.
• 1991 official breakdown of the USSR.
15 countries created.
All countries became independent states.
Key Issue 1: Where Are States
Located?
• I. Problems of defining states
• Korea: one state or two?
• China and Taiwan: one state or two?
• Western Sahara
• Varying sizes of states
• II. Development of the state concept
• City-State, Empire, Kingdom, State
• Colonies
Problems
of
Defining
States
• State:
• Territory w/ recognized boundaries
• Population
• Government
• Sovereignty
• Disagreement over the number of
sovereign states
• North Korea
• Taiwan
• Western Sahara
• UN has 192 members– less than 200 countries
North Korea – Is it a state?
• History
• Colony of Japan for most of early 20th century
• Divided by US and USSR after WWII (1945)
• Both N and S committed to reuniting country
• Korean War (1950-1953)
• Only cease fire, still officially at war
• Both admitted to UN in 1992 as separate countries
• Today – slow movement toward increased cooperation.
China and Taiwan: One or
two states?
• History
• Civil War in 1930s and 1940s
• Communists, led by Mao Zedong, won in 1949
• Nationalists, led by Chang Kai-Shek, lost and fled to Taiwan
• Both claimed to be legitimate gov’t of China
• Turning point in 1971
• US recognized China as legitimate gov’t of China
• UN voted to turn “China’s” seat over to Communist led China
• Today
• China still considers Taiwan part of China
• Taiwan plays the US and China against each other for
investment and security
Western Sahara
or Sahrawi Republic
• Spain controlled territory until 1976
• Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
• Formed after Spain withdrew
• Seen by most African nations as a sovereign state
• Morocco claims the territory and built a series of
walls around it
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.
United Nations Members
Fig. 8-1: The UN has increased from 51 members in 1945 to 191 in 2003.
Something to Ponder: Why has the number of states grown since 1945?
• In principle, only sovereign states can
become UN members, and today all UN
members are fully sovereign states.
• Because a state can only be admitted by the
approval of the Security Council and the
General Assembly, some regions which may
call themselves sovereign states are not
members due to the fact that the UN does not
consider them to be sovereign states based on
the lack of international recognition or
opposition from certain members.
• Taiwan and Sahrawi Republic are examples.
States come in all sizes
• Largest states:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Russia
China
US
Canada
Brazil
Australia
• Smallest states – the
Microstates
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Monaco (smallest in UN)
Andorra
Vatican City
Antigua*
Kiribati*
Barbuda*
Barbados*
Bahrain*
Dominica*
Grenada*
Malta*
Maldives*
Palau*
What do the majority of microstates have in common?
So, how did the concept of “state”
develop?
• City-states
• Empires
• Kingdoms
• States
• There is a “kinda” chronology to this.
The Fertile Crescent
Fig. 8-3: The Fertile Crescent was the site of early city-states and a succession of
ancient empires.
Mesopotamian City-States c. 5000 BC
What might explain why
city-states developed here?
• Rivers for agriculture and
trade
• Crossroads b/t continents
• benefited from
diffusion of innovations
• benefited from being
on trade routes
Ancient Egypt c. 1450 BC
Greek City-States
c. 750 BC – c. 150 BC
Roman Empire c. 300
Byzantine Empire (476–1453)
The Eastern Orthodox
Church formally split from
the Pope and Roman
Catholicism in 1054
In your notes…
• Make a flow map of the evolution of
civilizations from city state modern
nation
Imperialism vs.
Colonization
If a country goes out and
conquers a region already
occupied and organized by
an indigenous society, then it
is imperialism.
If a country goes out and
conquers a region that is
uninhabited or sparsely
inhabited, then it is
colonialism.
Do the people being taken
over see a difference?
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.
Pitcairn, part of the UK, is the world’s least populated colony.
Puerto Rico is the most populous colony.
Key Issue 2: Boundaries and
Boundary Problems of States
• I. Shapes of states
• Five basic shapes
• Landlocked states
• II. Types of boundaries
• Physical boundaries
• Cultural boundaries
• III. Boundaries inside states
• Unitary and federal states
• Trend toward federal government
• Electoral geography
Five Basic Shapes
Describe and give examples of the five basic
shapes and discuss the problems inherent in
each of these shapes.
(pp. 270-274)
• Compact
• Prorupted
• Elongated
• Fragmented
• Perforated
Which basic shape
are they?
Draw an example of
each in your notes.
2
1
Can you name the
country?
3
4
5
African States
Compact
Prorupted
Fragmented
Perforated
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.
Boundaries
• Various forms state boundaries take:
• Frontier
• Physical Boundaries
1. Mountains
2. Deserts
3. Water
• Cultural Boundaries
1. Geometric
2. Religious
3. Language
Frontiers in the Arabian Peninsula
Fig. 8-8: Several states in the Arabian Peninsula are separated by frontiers
rather than precise boundaries.
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 countries.
Europe after WWI in
1918
New Countries
created by the fall of
the Ottoman Empire
and AustrianHungarian Empire
-Czechoslovakia
-Austria
-Hungary
-Yugoslavia
Other new Countries
-Poland (its back)
-Estonia
-Latvia
-Lithuania
Division of Cyprus
Fig. 8-10: Cyprus has been divided into Greek and Turkish portions since 1974.
What type of boundaries divide the
U.S. and Mexico?
Grab an atlas…
• Find examples of each shape of state…
• Now find examples for each type of
boundary (physical, cultural (geometric,
language, religion)
• Put in your notes..
Boundaries inside of States
• Common political divisions
• Province, state**, territory, departments
• County, parish, district, commune
• City, town, village
• How much power each of these levels have
depends on how the state’s (country’s) govt is
organized.
• Many countries have had to restructure b/c
of increased demands for self-determination
by ethnicities
Two Types of Governmental
Organization for States
• Unitary System
• More power and
authority in national
gov’t
• Works best w/ N-Ss
• Common in Europe
• Multiethnic or
Multinational states
may use it as well
• Federal System
• National gov’t shares
power w/ local
gov’ts
• Local gov’ts possess
authority to adopt
their own laws (local
control)
• Good for very large
states
• WHY??
Recently, more states are moving toward a federal system to meet the
demands of competing nationalities.
So, are internal boundaries static
(unchanging)?
• Generally yes.
• Imagine if we changed
the eastern border of
Texas.
• What has changed:
• the power the gov’t of
Texas has compared to
the gov’t of the U.S.
• the influence of Texas
compared to other states
Why???
Electoral Geography:
Electoral College
• In a federal system, each region, province or
state, gets a set number of votes for president
• In US, this is what the electoral college is
used for.
• # of H members + # of Senators = # of electoral
votes
• Texas: 32 H + 2 S = 34 electoral votes
• Arkansas: 4 H + 2 S = 6 electoral votes
• Presidential candidate that wins most
electoral votes, wins the presidency.
Election of 2004
Bush (R) vs. Kerry (D)
Electoral Geography:
Electoral College (cont.)
• Following each census, each state is allotted a
particular number of Congressmen based on
its population
• A state may gain or lose a member in H of R
• Significance?
• Voice of each state in federal gov’t
• How candidates decide to campaign
• Issues of a region gain importance over another
Election of 2008
Obama (D) vs. McCain (R)
Electoral Geography:
Internal divisions w/in a state
• Refers to boundaries separating legislative districts
• Typically redrawn every 10 years to ensure each
district has approximately the same population
• In US, state legislatures in charge
• In Europe, independent commissions in charge
• Boundaries must be redrawn b/c migration results in
some regions gaining and others losing population
Where you draw the lines
determines who has the power.
Ideally, congressional districts
are compact.
Assumption is that people in a
similar geographical area will
have similar needs.
The reality is that the political party
in power in each state will draw
boundaries to help people from its
party get elected or stay in office.
Gerrymandering at its best?
Three types of Gerrymandering:
1. Wasted vote – spreads opposition supporters across many
districts, thus no majority
2. Excess Vote – concentrates opposition supporters in a few
districts, but still minority in whole region
3. Stacked Vote – links distant areas of like-minded voters
through oddly shaped boundaries
Rep. Lloyd Doggett
District 25
Lloyd’s
district in
2002
Lloyd’s
district in
2004
Michael McCaul
Key Issue 3: Cooperation among
States
•Political and military
cooperation
•The United Nations
•Regional military alliances
•Economic cooperation
•The European Union
Alliances: MILITARY
Cold War
• 1. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty
Organization)= USA, GB, Netherlands,
Portugal, Norway Denmark, Italy, Iceland
and Canada.
• 2. Warsaw Pact ( Soviet Union, Albania,
Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany,
and Hungary)
• Europe divided into alliance
systems…sound familiar??? WWI??
Red= Warsaw Pact
Blue= NATO
COMECON
• Council for mutual Economic Alliance
• Communist countries
• Economic Alliance
Comecon: RED
European Union
•Economic Alliance of European
countries
• 1946
• Gradually increased membership each decade.
• Today
•:
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.
European Boundary
Changes
: Twentieth-century boundary
changes in Europe, 1914 to
2003. Germany’s boundaries
changed after each world war
and the collapse of the Soviet
Union.
European Union today
Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland
have voted not to join the EU
Former Yugoslavia:
Macedonia, Montenegro,
Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo
have applied for membership
Turkey
Has applied for membership,
BUT
EU members are debating
its membership
Concerned about
religious freedom
Human rights record
“Is it a European
country?”
Extent of the euro
•
Blue: use euro
•
Green: new to EU; in
transition to euro
•
Purple: use euro, but
not formal members of
EU
•
Red: will vote whether
or not to use euro in
2011
•
Brown: does not use
euro
ASEAN
• Association of Southeast Asian Nations
• Economic Alliance to boost and support
individual economies and businesses.
NAFTA = North American Free Trade
Agreement 1994
Economic Alliance to promote trade and boost
economies of US, Canada, and Mexico
Mercosur
• 1991 Latin American ECONOMIC
Alliance to promote free trade.
Key Issue 4: Why has
• What isTerrorism
terrorism? increased?
• Systematic use of violence by a group in order to
• 1. intimidate a population or
• 2. coerce a government into granting its demands.
• aimed at civilians
• Terrorism can be by individuals and organizations
American Terrorists
• Theodore Kaczynski “the Unabomber” sent
packages containing bombs by mail to
specific targets/agencies that were harming
the environment.
• Killed 3 and injured 23
• Timothy McVeigh- bombed an OK City
building in 1995 to speak out against
government policies.
• Killed 168 injured 450
• State support for terrorism
• Libya
• Afghanistan
• Iraq
• Iran
• Pakistan
State Support for Terrorism
• Three increasing levels of involvement:
• Providing sanctuary for terrorists wanted in other
countries
• Supplying weapons, money and intelligence to
terrorists
• Planning attacks using terrorists
Ethnic Groups in Southwest Asia
Fig. 8-14: Ethnic boundaries do not match country boundaries, especially in Iraq, Iran,
Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
• Why Libya?
• Military Coup takeover in 1969 led by
Muammar al-Gaddafi
• Involved in conflicts such as the Aouzou strip
and Palestinian/Israeli conflict
• Supports acts of terrorism by minority muslim
groups in Africa (and Israel)
• Munich massacre in 1972- Israeli olympians
kidnapped and murdered
• 1988 bombing of airplane over Scotland
• 1989- bombing of airplane over Niger
09-11-2001
• World Trade Center in NYC killed 3000
people.
• Responsible party• Al-Qaeda…
• What is Al-Qaeda?
• Let’s watch a Video
• Please take notes, jot down questions that you
have.
World Trade Center
Ikonos satellite images of the World Trade Center June 30, 2000, before the attack.
World Trade Center Site
September 15, 2001
Ikonos satellite images of the World Trade Center September 15, 2001, after the attack.
Iran
• US Iran relations deteriorated after 1979
assassination of the Shah (he was proUS)
• Iran-Iraq war 1980-1988
• Development of nuclear weapons
• Harboring Al-Qaeda
Afghanistan
•
•
•
•
•
1970’s a pro-Soviet government in place.
Afghan citizens rebelled.
(US supported)
1989 Soviet troops pull out of Afghanistan.
1995 takeover by the Taliban, an Islamicfundamentalist group.
• 2001 invasion by US troops ended Taliban
rule, but they have remained an insurgent
force ever since.
• What is the role of Israel in terrorist
activity?
Quiz Time
• On your own paper, answer the
following questions using information
and examples from your notes and
from class discussion.
• 1. Discuss economic and military alliances that began
because of the Cold War.
• 2. What is the EU, and how has it changed western
Europe?
• 3. What is NAFTA?
• 4. What are the 3 levels of State-sponsored terrorism?
• 5. Compare and contrast the US invasions of Iraq in
1991 and 2003.
• 6. Discuss the history of Al-Qaeda and Osama binLaden.