POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY
Introduction
POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY
 The spatial analysis of political phenomena and processes.
 Political geographers use the spatial scale to study political
systems at all geographic scales, from local governments to
international political systems.
TWO PERSPECTIVES:
PAUL KNOX AND SALLIE MARSTON
 First perspective:
 Focuses on the impacts of economic,
cultural, and physical geography on
political systems
 Second perspective:
 Views political systems as the driving
force behind different countries'
economic and cultural systems
TERRITORIALIT Y
 Creating ownership over a defined
space.
 Often invokes an emotional response.
GIVE EXAMPLES
OF YOUR
“TERRITORY”
STATES AND NATIONS
STATE (FORMAL TERM FOR COUNTRY)
 A politically organized territory that is administered by a
sovereign government and is recognized by the international
community.
 Fundamental unit in political geography
 U.N.= 193
 U.S. Department
of State= 195
196 countries is
probably a better
count.
SOVEREIGNT Y
 Internationally recognized control of a state over the people
and territory within its boundaries.
NATION
 Tightly knit group of individuals sharing a common language,
ethnicity, religion, and other cultural attributes.
 Quebec
 Scotland
 Navajo
NATION-STATE
 Refers to a geographically -defined sovereign state composed
of citizens with a common heritage, identity, and set of
political goals.
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Japan
Sweden
Portugal
Costa Rica
Iceland
Poland
Korea
MULTINATIONAL STATE
 A state with more
than one nation
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Russia
Canada
Cyprus
Former Yugoslavia
STATELESS NATION
 Some nations exist as communal identities without the
benefit of an internationally recognized, cartographically
recognized state.
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Palestinians
Kurds
Quebecois
Basque
Assyrian Christians of Iraq
Ughirs of western China
 What are some problems associated with stateless nations?
PART-NATION STATE
 Cultural identity over many countries
 Arab Nation
QUIZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:-0
RISE OF THE
MODERN STATE
EARLY HUMANS ORGANIZING POLITICAL
SPACE
 Clans
 Tribes
 Villages
 Kingdoms
 Empires.
 City -states
RISE OF THE IDEA
 Prior to the 1500s, European political
organization was loosely organized and
not centralized.
 Strong monarchies emerged in England
and France- replaced feudal structure.
 Led to the idea of the nation -state
 Cohesive group of people linked to their
territory through a shared government and
common goals.
 The now universal idea of the modern state was developed by
European political philosophers in the 18 th century
 Advanced the concept that people owe their allegiance to a state and
the people it represents rather than its leader or king.
 This led to “national” feelings.
 The new concept coincided in France with the French
Revolution (to be followed by the American Revolution) and
spread throughout western Europe to England, Spain and
Germany. DIFFUSION!
EUROPE, 1648
 This idea of state was passed on to much of Africa, Asia and the
Americas during the European Expansion in the 17 th , 18 th , and
19 th centuries.
THROUGH WHAT
MECHANISM?????
COLONIALISM. duh.
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
MERCANTILISM
 Economic system that arose from colonialism.
 A state acquires colonies to provide it with raw materials to
ship back home and use in making products for the
population in the mother country.
IMPERIALISM
 Process of establishing
political, social, and
economic dominance
over a colonized area.
 Europeans acculturated
dominated areas.
COLONIZING AFRICA
 Indigenous people had
their own organized used
of space.
 Europeans ignored the
existing cultures and
political structure and
“CARVED” Africa.
 Post-independence,
many former colonies
have maintained the
idea of state and the
borders established by
Europeans.
DOMINANT COLONIAL INFLUENCES,
1550-1950
TWO WAVES OF DECOLONIZATION:
First wave – focused on decolonization of the Americas
Second wave – focused on decolonization of Africa and Asia
 The idea of separate statehood grew slowly at first.
 In 1800 there were 35 countries in the world.
 By 1939 there were 70 countries
 After World War II, the end of the colonial era brought a rapid
increase in the number of sovereign states.