Forces of Fragmentation and
Cohesion:
Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces
Centripetal Forces
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Promoting State Cohesion
Nationalism
Unifying Institutions
Organization and Administration
Transportation and Communication
Supranationalism
Centrifugal Forces
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Challenges to State Authority
Less Nationalism
Devolution, Regionalism
Peripheral Location
Social and Economic Inequality
Devolution –
Movement of power from the central government
to regional governments within the state.
What causes devolutionary movements?
Ex.
Ethnocultural forces
Economic forces
Spatial forces
Ethnocultural Devolutionary Movements
Eastern Europe
devolutionary forces since
the fall of communism
Ex. Czechoslovakia and
Yugoslavia
Economic
Devolutionary
Movements
Catalonia, Spain
Barcelona, located in Catalonia, is
the center of banking and commerce
in Spain and the region is much
wealthier than the rest of Spain. It
produces 25% of Spanish exports
and 40% of its industrial exports.
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.
Supranational Organizations
A separate entity composed of three or more
states that forge an association and form an
administrative structure for mutual benefit in
pursuit of shared goals.
* How many supranational organizations
exist in the world today?
At least 60
United Nations
• Background: League of Nations – 1919, idea of Woodrow Wilson but, due
to isolationist Americans, U.S. never joined. League collapsed prior to
WWII (Italian invasion of Ethiopia). Prior to WWII, states created the
Permanent Court of International Justice. After WWII, states formed the
United Nations…
• Basics of the UN:
– Cooperate with internationally approved standards
– 193 members
– Aid: refugees, poverty, troops in peacekeeping operations,
human rights
Global Scale – The United Nations
Regional Scale - Europe
• Benelux, 1944: Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg
• Marshall Plan, 1948-’52: US aid to Western European
Countries
• Organization of European Economic Cooperation, 1952 (OEEC)
to
European Economic Community (EEC)
to
European Community (EC)
to
European Union, 1992 (EU)
Regional Scale - Europe
• European Union: domestic, military, and
certain sovereign policies that govern all
members
– 12 European Community (EC) members
established the EU – 1992
– Euro introduced in 2002
Original Members:
– Problems facing the EU?
Germany, France, UK,
• Bailouts to member countries
• To include Turkey or not?
Italy, Portugal, Spain,
Greece, Netherlands,
Belgium, Luxemburg,
Denmark and Ireland
Regional Scale – The European Union
(27 Current Members)
Supranationalism Elsewhere…
• NAFTA, ACS, APEC, CIS…
• Treaties to reduce tariffs and facilitate
trade
• None like the European Union