AP Human Geography Models & Theories
1. Demographic Transition Model
2. Gravity Model
3. Rostow's Stages of Growth
4. Concentric Circle (Burgess)
5. Hoyt Sector Model
6. Multiple Nuclei Model
7. Central Place Theory (Christaller)
8. Weber Model of Industrial Location (least - cost> > theory)
9. Von Thunen's Agricultural Model
10. Epidemiologic Transition Model
11. Core Periphery Model
12. Domino Theory
13. Heartland and Rimland Theories
14. Neocolonialism
15. Thomas Malthus (Population)
16. Modernization & Dependency Theories
17. Sustainable Development
18. World Systems Theory
19. Bid-Rent Theory
20. Rank Size Rule
21. Views on Globalization
22. Agricultural/Cultural Hearths
23. Agricultural Revolutions
24. Language Trees
25. Universalizing Religions, Ethnic, etc.
26. Primary Economic Activities (primary sector, secondary, tertiary sector)
AP Human Geography Models & Theories
(Define, Compare/Contrast and provide examples)
1. Demographic Transition Model (Population)
a. Movement from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates
b. Shows 4 stages
1. Pre-industrial societies birth/death rates high
2. Improvements in health care reduce death rate, but birthrate remains high
because people are used to having many children
3. Population becomes urban
a. family size decreases
b. children in urban areas more
2. Gravity Model (Migration/Population)
a. Ernst Ravenstein’s proposal (1885)
b. 11 laws of migration
c. there is an inverse relationship between the volume of migration and the
distance between the source and destination
d. the model states the spatial interaction is directly related to the size of
the populations and inversely related to the distance between them
th
th
i. example: 19 & 20 century moves from Europe
ii. example: when European immigrants moved into cities in the eastern
U.S.
iii. example: African-Americans from south to north during WWI
(internal)
3. Rostow’s Stages of Growth (Economic Development)
a. Modernization theory
i. Economic prosperity is open to all countries
ii. Britain first to develop its industry
iii. Criticism of modernization
1. socialist countries
a. justification for capitalist system
b. justification to continue capitalist exploitation
一.
has not occurred in poor countries
一.
fails to recognize rich nations benefit from status quo
一.
causes of poverty lie entirely on poor societies themselves
一.
iv. Max Weber
一.
cultural environment in Europe favored change
一.
Wealth regarded as sign of personal virtue
一.
importance of individualism replaced kinship/community
1.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Modernization occurs in 5 stages
Traditional stage (LDC)
build lives around families, local communities, religious beliefs
lives similar to ancestors; very limited wealth
mostly subsistence farmers
100 yrs. Ago most countries in this stage, some still are
2. Preconditions to take off (LDC)
a. Primary Sector- still farming
b. Needs an elite group to start the take off
c. Development of water supply & transportation
3. take-off stage (LDC)
a. Often encourage by political leaders, people start to experiment with
producing goods not just for consumption, but for trade w/ profit
b. Country experiences something like industrial rev., sustained growth takes
hold
c. Urbanization increases, technological breakthroughs
d. Greater individualism, take risks, desire for material goods often at expense
of family ties and customs
4. Drive to technological maturity (MDC)
a. economic development widely accepted, focus on higher living standards
b. economy diversifies; people become more prosperous & afford luxuries
c. poverty reduced, materials goods common
d. cities grow, people leave farms, modernization evident in core areas of
country
e. population growth reduced, children require more yrs. Of schooling more
expensive to raise
f. International trade expands
5. high mass consumption (MDC)
a. economic development raises living standards and mass production encourages
consumption of industrial products
b. Items that use to be luxury now necessities as the society is structured
on expanding array of goods produced
c. Marked by high incomes, w/majority of workers involved in service sector
of the economy
4. Burgess’ Concentric Zone Model
The Burgess Urban Land Use Model In 1925, Burgess presented a descriptive urban land use model, which
divided cities in a set of concentric circles expanding from the downtown to the suburbs. This representation was
built from Burgess' observations of a number of American cities, notably Chicago, for which he provided
empirical evidence. The model assumes a relationship between the socio-economic status (mainly income) of
households and the distance from the Central Business District (CBD). The further from the CBD, the better the
quality of housing, but the longer the commuting time. Thus, accessing better housing is done at the expense of
longer commuting times (and costs). According to this monocentric model (see above figure), a large city is
divided in six concentric zones:






Zone I: Central Business District (called the "loop" in Chicago) where most of the tertiary employment is
located and where the urban transport infrastructure is converging, making this zone the most accessible.
Zone II: Immediately adjacent to the CBD a zone where many industrial activities locate to take
advantage of nearby labor and markets. Further, most transport terminals, namely port sites and railyards,
are located adjacent to the central area.
Zone III: This zone is gradually been reconverted to other uses by expanding manufacturing / industrial
activities. It contains the poorest segment of the urban population, notably first generation immigrants
living, in the lowest housing conditions.
Zone IV: Residential zone dominated by the working class and those who were able to move away from
the previous zone (often second generation immigrants). This zone has the advantage of being located
near the major zones of employment (I and II) and thus represents a low cost location for the working
class.
Zone V: Represents higher quality housing linked with longer commuting costs.
Zone VI: Mainly high class and expensive housing in a rural, suburbanized, setting. The commuting costs
are the highest. Prior to mass diffusion of the automobile (1930s), most of these settlements were located
next to rail stations.
According to Burgess, urban growth is a process of expansion and reconversion of land uses, with a tendency
of each inner zone to expand in the outer zone. On the above figure, zone II (Factory zone) is expanding towards
zone IV (Working class zone), creating a transition zone with reconversion of land use. Although the Burgess
model is simple and elegant, it has drawn numerous criticisms:




The model is too simple and limited in historical and cultural urban context that prevailed up to the 1950s.
It is a product of its time.
The model was developed when American cities were growing very fast in demographic terms and when
motorized transportation was still uncommon as most people used public transit. Expansion thus involved
reconversion of existing land uses. This concept cannot be applied in a contemporary (from the second
half to the 20th century) context where highways have enabled urban development to escape the
reconversion process and to take place directly in the suburbs.
The model was developed for American cities and has limited applicability elsewhere. It has been
demonstrated that pre-industrial cities, notably in Europe, did not at all followed the concentric circles
model. For instance, in most pre-industrial European cities, the center was much more important than the
periphery, notably in terms of social status. The Burgess concentric model is consequently partially
inverted.
There were a lot of spatial differences in terms of ethnic, social and occupational status, while there was
low occurrence of the functional differences in land use patterns. The concentric model assumed a spatial
separation of place of work and place of residence, which was not generalized until the twentieth century.
However, the Burgess model remains useful as a concept explaining concentric urban development, as a way to
introduce the complexity of urban land use and to explain urban growth in American cities in the early-mid 20th
century.
5. Hoyt Sector Model
Soon after Burgess generalized about the concentric zone form of the city,
Homer Hoyt re-cast the concentric ring model. While recognizing the value of
the concentric ring model, Hoyt also observed some consistent patterns in many
American cities. He observed, for example, that it was common for low-income
households to be found in close proximity to railroad lines, and commercial
establishments to be found along business thoroughfares. In 1939, Hoyt modified
the concentric zone model to account for major transportation routes. Recall
that most major cities evolved around the nexus of several important transport
facilities such as railroads, sea ports, and trolley lines that emanated from
the city's center. Recognizing that these routes (and later metropolitan
expressways and interstate highways) represented lines of greater access, Hoyt
theorized that cities would tend to grow in wedge-shaped patterns, or sectors,
Emanating from the CBD and centered on major transportation routes. Higher
levels of access translate to higher land values. Thus, many commercial
functions would remain in the CBD, but manufacturing activity would develop
in a wedge surrounding transport routes. Residential land use patterns also
would grow in wedge-shaped patterns with a sector of lower-income households
bordering the manufacturing/ warehousing sector (traffic, noise and pollution
making these less desirable locations to live) and sectors of middle- and
higher-income households located away from industrial sites. In many respects,
Hoyt's sector model is simply a concentric zone model modified to account for
the impact of transportation systems on accessibility. Example: Cities growing
in the era of rapid transportation systems technology, pre-WWII.
6. Multiple Nuclei Model
By 1945, it was clear to Chauncy Harris and Edward Ullman that many cities
did not fit the traditional concentric zone or sector model. Cities of greater
size were developing substantial suburban areas and some suburbs, having
reached significant size, were functioning like smaller business districts.
These smaller business districts acted as satellite nodes, or nuclei, of
activity around which land use patterns formed. While Harris and Ullman still
saw the CBD as the major center of commerce, they suggested that specialized
cells of activity would develop according to specific requirements of certain
activities, different rent paying abilities, and the tendency for some kinds
of economic activity to cluster together. At the center of their model is the
CBD, with light manufacturing and wholesaling located along transport routes.
Heavy industry was thought to locate near the outer edge of city, perhaps
surrounded by lower-income households, and suburbs of commuters and smaller
service centers would occupy the urban periphery. Examples: Rapidly-growing,
newer, modern cities, large land-area cities like Houston and Los Angeles
7. Central Place Theory (Christaller)
Central place theory is a spatial theory in urban geography that attempts
to explain the reasons behind the distribution patterns, size, and number of
cities and towns around the world. It also attempts to provide a framework by
which those areas can be studied both for historic reasons and for the locational
patterns of areas today.
The theory was first developed by the German geographer Walter Christaller
in 1933 after he began to recognize the economic relationships between cities
and their hinterlands (areas farther away). He mainly tested the theory in
Southern Germany and came to the conclusion that people gather together in
cities to share goods and ideas and that they exist for purely economic reasons.
Before testing his theory however, Christaller had to first define the
central place. In keeping with his economic focus, he came to the conclusion
that the central place exists primarily to provide goods and services to its
surrounding population. The city is in essence, a distribution center.
Christaller's Assumptions
To focus on the economic aspects of his theory, Christaller had to create
a set of assumptions. He decided for example that the countryside in the areas
he was studying would be flat, so no barriers would exist to impede people's
movement across it. In addition, two assumptions were made about human behavior:
1) Christaller stated that humans will always purchase goods from the closest
place that offers the good, and 2) whenever demand for a certain good is high,
it will be offered in close proximity to the population. When demand drops,
so too does the availability of the good.
In addition, the threshold is an important concept in Christaller's study. This
is the minimum number of people needed for a central place business or activity
to remain active and prosperous.
This then brings in the idea of low-order and high-order goods. Low-order
goods are things that are replenished frequently such as food and other routine
household items. Because these items are purchased regularly, small businesses
in small towns can survive because people will buy frequently at the closer
locations instead of going into the city.
High-order goods though are specialized items such as automobiles, furniture,
fine jewelry, and household appliances that are bought less often. Because they
require a large threshold and people do not purchase them regularly, many
businesses selling these items cannot survive in areas where the population
is small. Therefore, they often locate in large cities that can serve a large
population in the surrounding hinterland.
Central Place Size and Spacing
Within the central place system, there are five sizes of
hamlet is the smallest and is a rural community which is too
considered a village. Cape Dorset (population 1200), located
Nunavut Territory is an example of a hamlet. The rank order of
is:
Hamlet, Village, Town, City
communities. A
small to be
in Canada's
central places
Regional Capital
Examples of regional capitals would include Paris, France or Los Angeles,
California. These cities provide the highest order goods possible and have a
huge hinterland.
Central Place Theory Geometry and Ordering
If visually imagined, the central place is located at the vertexes (points)
of equilateral triangles. They then serve the evenly distributed consumers who
are closest to the central place. As the vertexes connect, they form a series
of hexagons- the traditional shape in many central place models.
This shape is ideal because it allows the triangles formed by the central place
vertexes to connect and it represents the assumption that consumers will visit
the closest place offering the good.
In addition, the central place theory has three orders or principles. The
first is the marketing principle and it is shown as K=3 (K is a constant). In
this system, market areas at a certain level of the central place hierarchy
are three times bigger than the next lowest one. The different levels then follow
a progression of threes, meaning that as one moves through the order of places,
the number of the next level goes up three times. For example, when there are
two cities, there would be six towns, 18 villages, and 54 hamlets.
There is also the transportation principle (K=4) where areas in the central
place hierarchy are four times bigger than the area in the next lowest order.
Finally, the administrative principle (K=7) is the last system and here, the
variation between the lowest orders and highest orders increase by a factor
of seven. Here, the highest order trade area completely covers that of the lowest
order, meaning that market serves a larger area.
8. Weber Model of Industrial Location (least - cost> > theory)
In 1909 the German location economist Alfred Weber formulated a theory
of industrial location in his book entitled Über den Standort der
Industrien (Theory of the Location of Industries, 1929). Weber’s theory,
called the location triangle, sought the optimum location for the production
of a good based on the fixed locations of the market and two raw material sources,
which geographically form a triangle. He sought to determine the least-cost
production location within the triangle by figuring the total costs of
transporting raw material from both sites to the production site and product
from the production site to the market. The weight of the raw materials and
the final commodity are important determinants of the transport costs and the
location of production. Commodities that lose mass during production can be
transported less expensively from the production site to the market than from
the raw material site to the production site. The production site, therefore,
will be located near the raw material sources. Where there is no great loss
of mass during production, total transportation costs will be lower when located
near the market.
Once a least-transport-cost location had been established within the
triangle, Weber attempted to determine a cheap-labor alternate location. First
he plotted the variation of transportation costs against the
least-transport-cost location. Next he identified sites around the triangle
that had lower labor costs than did the least-transport-cost location. If the
transport costs were lower than the labor costs, then a cheap-labor alternative
location was determined.
9. Von Thunen's Agricultural Model
The Von Thunen model of agricultural land use was created by farmer and amateur
economist J.H. Von Thunen (1783-1850) in 1826 (but it wasn't translated into
English until 1966). Von Thunen's model was created before industrialization
and is based on the following limiting assumptions:

The city is located centrally within an "Isolated State" which is
self-sufficient and has no external influences.

The Isolated State is surrounded by an unoccupied wilderness.

The land of the State is completely flat and has no rivers or mountains to
interrupt the terrain.

The soil quality and climate are consistent throughout the State.

Farmers in the Isolated State transport their own goods to market via oxcart,
across land, directly to the central city. Therefore, there are no roads.

Farmers act to maximize profits.
In an Isolated State with the foregoing statements being true, Von Thunen
hypothesized that a pattern of rings around the city would develop.
There are four rings of agricultural activity surrounding the city. Dairying
and intensive farming occur in the ring closest to the city. Since vegetables,
fruit, milk and other dairy products must get to market quickly, they would
be produced close to the city (remember, we didn't have refrigerated oxcarts!)
Timber and firewood would be produced for fuel and building materials in
the second zone. Before industrialization (and coal power), wood was a very
important fuel for heating and cooking. Wood is very heavy and difficult to
transport so it is located as close to the city as possible.
The third zone consists of extensive fields crops such as grains for bread.
Since grains last longer than dairy products and are much lighter than fuel,
reducing transport costs, they can be located further from the city.
Ranching is located in the final ring surrounding the central city. Animals
can be raised far from the city because they are self-transporting. Animals
can walk to the central city for sale or for butchering.
Beyond the fourth ring lies the unoccupied wilderness, which is too great
a distance from the central city for any type of agricultural product.
Even though the Von Thunen model was created in a time before factories,
highways, and even railroads, it is still an important model in geography. The
Von Thunen model is an excellent illustration of the balance between land cost
and transportation costs. As one gets closer to a city, the price of land
increases. The farmers of the Isolated State balance the cost of transportation,
land, and profit and produce the most cost-effective product for market. Of
course, in the real world, things don't happen as they would in a model.
10. Epidemiologic Transition Model
Omran’s Epidemiological Transition theory –basics
Stage 1: Age of Pestilence and Famine
This period went from prehistory to about the 1750s, which is a period when the standard of living was low.
Demographically this was the pre-industrial period where population growth was low because there was no natural
increase, coupled with high rates of fertility and mortality. It was a period of war, famine, epidemics, and unsanitary
conditions. Epidemic infections such as phenomena, tuberculosis and parasitic dieses such as cholera, typhus, small
pox would wipe away populations. However, the leading cause of mortality rates being so high was famine and
severe malnutrition causing many deficiency diseases. Food was of poor quality in addition to it already being in
short supply. Life expectancy was very low varying from twenty to forty years, with infants and women dying more
than men. Generally though, once children and women got older the inverse trend was noticed and men had higher
mortality rates. This era was one with no health care and the reliance of healing was based on witch craft. (Omran,
1971)
Stage 2: Age of Receding Pandemics
This stage is referred to as the early industrial lasting a long period of time, almost from the 1750s to the
early 1920’s. It was a time of rapid population growth, with high rates of fertility and decreases in rates of mortality.
The average life expectancy rates were rising as well. This was the time when pandemic rates began to decrease and
at the beginning of this period improved health in society started to take place. Life expectancy on average was
changing around the world to thirty or forty years, combined with declines in mortality rates of pregnant women,
children, and infants. Outbreaks of tuberculosis peaked with industrialization especially in younger women. Closer to
the end of this stage it was seen that pandemics of infection, malnutrition, and plagues largely decreased or
disappeared (Omran, 1971). These were replaced with heart diseases and cancer beginning to appear and become
more significant. (Omran, 1971).
Stage 3: Age of Degenerative and Man Made Disease
The early 1920s to the 1960s is stage three of Omran’s theory, known as the modern urban industrial era.
This was a period when fertility rates finally became controlled; it went from fluctuating to low to moderate to
replacement levels. The mortality rates remained low but life expectancy rates got higher, in some areas almost 70
years or more. Therefore population growth had pretty much remained constant or decreased and become negative.
This was the period of dramatic rise in heart disease, cancer, and stroke, which were accredited as the leading cause
of death. Polio, scarlet fever, and smallpox became very rare to extinct during this period. This was the time when
nutrition became very important, but at the same time there was an increase in consumption of rich and high fat
foods creating metabolic diseases. Mental illness, addiction, accident, radiation hazards, environmental conditions,
degenerative and chronic illnesses all became more prominent. Health systems became more important and
oriented to preventive care but at the same time medical costs were very high. This was the time when privilege
became important and rich did better than poor because of medical access. (Omran, 1971)
Stage 4- The Age Delayed Degenerative Diseases
Olshansky and Ault added to the previous epidemiological model proposed by Omran to discuss the current
stage of advanced societies. The addition was in the mid 1980’s and explained contrary to what Omran thought; the
decline in mortality did not stop. They had observed uninterrupted increases in life expectancy. This stage
consisted of continuously slow and fluctuating mortality rates. The main difference from Omran’s third stage is the
unexpected shift in the age pattern of mortality by the generative causes. The three characteristics of this stage
were: (1) rapid decline of death rates in advanced ages occurring equally in males and females; (2) the deaths by
degenerative causes are shifted progressively toward older ages and (3) the fast improvements in survival rates of
the advanced ages. They explain the source of this change in death especially to older ages is due to advances in
medical technology, health care programs for the aged and reductions in risk factors in communities. It can
generally be said this theory is based more on macro-level determinants for mortality rates such as health promotion
programs.
11. Core Periphery Model
The countries of the world can be divided into two major world regions
- the 'core' and the 'periphery.' The core includes major world powers and the
countries that contain much of the wealth of the planet. The periphery are those
countries that are not reaping the benefits of global wealth and globalization.
The Theory of Core and Periphery
The basic principle of the 'Core-Periphery' theory is that as general
prosperity grows worldwide, the majority of that growth is enjoyed by a 'core'
region of wealthy countries despite being severely outnumbered in population
by those in a 'periphery' that are ignored.
There are many reasons why this global structure has formed, but generally
there are many barriers, physical and political, that prevent the poorer
citizens of the world from participating in global relations. The disparity
of wealth between core and periphery countries is staggering, with 15% of the
global population enjoying 75% of the world's annual income.
The Core
The 'core' consists of Europe (excluding Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus)
, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and
Israel. Within this region is where most of the positive characteristics of
globalization typically occur: transnational links, modern development (i.e.
higher wages, access to healthcare, adequate food/water/shelter), scientific
innovation, and increasing economic prosperity. These countries also tend to
be highly industrialized and have a rapidly-growing service (tertiary)
sector .
The top twenty countries ranked by the United Nations Human Development
Index are all in the core. However, of note is the slowing, stagnant, and
occasionally declining population growth of these countries.
The opportunities created by these advantages perpetuate a world driven by
individuals in the core. People in positions of power and influence around the
world are often brought up or educated in the core (nearly 90% of world "leaders"
have a degree from a Western university).
The Periphery
The 'periphery' consists of the countries in the rest of the world: Africa,
South America, Asia (excluding Japan and South Korea), and Russia and many of
its neighbors. Although some parts of this area exhibit positive development
(especially Pacific Rim locations in China), it is generally characterized by
extreme poverty and a low standard of living. Health care is non-existent in
many places, there is less access to potable water than in the industrialized
core, and poor infrastructure engenders slum conditions.
Population is skyrocketing in the periphery because of a number of
contributing factors including a limited ability to move and the use of children
as means to support a family, among others. (Learn more about Population
growth and the demographic transition.)
Many people living in rural areas perceive opportunities in cities and take
action to migrate there, even though there are not enough jobs or housing to
support them. Over one billion people now live in slum conditions, and the
majority of population growth around the world is occurring in the periphery.
The rural-to-urban migration and high birth rates of the periphery are
creating both megacities, urban areas with over 8 million people, and hyper
cities, urban areas with over 20 million people. These cities, such as Mexico
City or Manila, have little infrastructure and feature rampant crime, massive
unemployment, and a huge informal sector.
Core-Periphery Roots in Colonialism
One idea for how this world structure came about is called the dependency
theory. The basic idea behind this is that capitalist countries have exploited
the periphery through colonialism and imperialism in the past few centuries.
Essentially, raw materials were extracted from the periphery through slave
labor, sold to core countries where they would be consumed or manufactured,
and then sold back to the periphery. Advocates of this theory believe that the
damage done by centuries of exploitation have left these countries so far behind
that it is impossible for them to compete in the global market.
Industrialized nations also played a key role in establishing political regimes
during post-war reconstruction. English and the Romance languages remain the
state languages for many non-European countries long after their foreign
colonists have packed up and gone home. This makes it difficult for anyone
brought up speaking a local language to assert him or herself in a Eurocentric
world. Also, public policy formed by Western ideas may not provide the best
solutions for non-Western countries and their problems.
Core-Periphery in Conflict
There are a number of locations that represent the physical separation between
the core and periphery. Here are a few:

The growing fence between the U.S. (core) and Mexico (periphery) to prevent
the entrance of unauthorized immigrants.

The Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea.

Air and naval patrols on the waters between Australia and Southeast Asia and
between the EU and North Africa to keep out unwanted immigrants.

The UN-enforced border separating the Turkish north and Greek south of Cyprus,
known as the Green Line.
The core-periphery model is not limited to a global scale, either. Stark
contrasts in wages, opportunities, access to health care, etc. among a local
or national population are commonplace. The United States, the quintessential
beacon for equality, exhibits some of the most obvious examples. U.S. Census
Bureau data estimated that the top 5% of wage earners made up roughly one-third
of all US income in 2005. For a local perspective, witness the slums of Anacostia
whose impoverished citizens live a stone's throw from the grand marble monuments
that represent the power and affluence of the Washington D.C.'s central
downtown.
While the world may be metaphorically shrinking for the minority in the core,
for the majority in the periphery the world maintains a rough and limiting
geography. Read more about these ideas in two comprehensive books from which
this article draws much from: Harm de Blij's The Power of Place, and Mike
Davis' Planet of Slums.
12. Domino Theory
The domino theory, which governed much of U.S. foreign policy beginning
in the early 1950s, held that a communist victory in one nation would quickly
lead to a chain reaction of communist takeovers in neighboring states. In
Southeast Asia, the United States government used the domino theory to justify
its support of a non-communist regime in South Vietnam against the communist
government of North Vietnam, and ultimately its increasing involvement in the
long-running Vietnam War (1954-75). In fact, the American failure to prevent
a communist victory in Vietnam had much less of a global impact than had been
assumed by the domino theory. Though communist regimes did arise in Laos and
Cambodia after 1975, communism failed to spread throughout the rest of Southeast
Asia.
ORIGINS OF THE DOMINO THEORY
In September 1945, the Vietnamese nationalist leader Ho Chi Minh proclaimed
Vietnam’s independence from France, beginning a war that pitted Ho’s
communist-led Viet Minh regime in Hanoi (North Vietnam) against a French-backed
regime in Saigon (South Vietnam). Under President Harry S. Truman, the U.S.
government provided covert military and financial aid to the French; the
rationale was that a communist victory in Indochina would precipitate the spread
of communism throughout Southeast Asia. Using this same logic, Truman would
also give aid to Greece and Turkey during the late 1940s to help contain
communism in Europe and the Middle East.
By early 1950, makers of U.S. foreign policy had firmly embraced the idea
that the fall of Indochina to communism would lead rapidly to the collapse of
other nations in Southeast Asia. The National Security Council included the
theory in a 1952 report on Indochina, and in April 1954, during the decisive
battle between Viet Minh and French forces at Dien Bien Phu, President Dwight
D. Eisenhower articulated it as the “falling domino” principle. In Eisenhower’s
view, the loss of Vietnam to communist control would lead to similar communist
victories in neighboring countries in Southeast Asia (including Laos, Cambodia
and Thailand) and elsewhere (India, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and even
Australia and New Zealand). “The possible consequences of the loss [of
Indochina],” Eisenhower said, “are just incalculable to the free world.”
THE DOMINO THEORY AND GROWING U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN VIETNAM
After Eisenhower’s speech, the phrase “domino theory” began to be used
as a shorthand expression of the strategic importance of South Vietnam to the
United States, as well as the need to contain the spread of communism throughout
the world. After the Geneva Conference ended the French-Viet Minh war and split
Vietnam along the latitude known as the 17th parallel, the United States
spearheaded the organization of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO),
a loose alliance of nations committed to taking action against “security
threats” in the region.
John F. Kennedy, Eisenhower’s successor in the White House, would increase
the commitment of U.S. resources in support of the Ngo Dinh Diem regime in South
Vietnam and of non-communist forces fighting a civil war in Laos in 1961-62.
In the fall of 1963, after serious domestic opposition to Diem arose, Kennedy
backed away from support of Diem himself but publicly reaffirmed belief in the
domino theory and the importance of containing communism in Southeast Asia.
Three weeks after Diem was murdered in a military coup in early November 1963,
Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas; his successor Lyndon B. Johnson would
continue to use the domino theory to justify the escalation of the U.S. military
presence in Vietnam from a few thousand soldiers to more than 500,000 over the
next five years.
THE DOMINO THEORY IN HINDSIGHT
In hindsight, the domino theory failed to take into account the character
of the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong struggle in the Vietnam War. By assuming
Ho Chi Minh was a pawn of the communist giants Russia and China, American
policymakers failed to see that the goal of Ho and his supporters was limited
to Vietnamese independence, rather than the spread of global communism.
In the end, even though the American effort to block a communist takeover
failed, and North Vietnamese forces marched into Saigon in 1975, communism did
not spread throughout the rest of Southeast Asia. With the exception of Laos
and Cambodia, the nations of the region remained out of communist control.
13. Heartland and Rimland Theories
Heartland Theory: (Halford Mackinder) early 20th c. theory that claimed
whichever state controlled the resource-rich “heartland” of Eastern Europe
could eventually dominate the world. It would suggest that not the United
Kingdom (an ocean-based empire), but Russia (which was becoming communist)
would be in a position to achieve this dominance. "Who rules East Europe
commands the Heartland; who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island
(Europe, Asia & Africa); who rules the World-Island controls the world."
Rimland Theory: (Nicholas Spykman) mid 20th c. theory that the domination
of the coastal fringes of Eurasia (the “rimland”) would provide the base for
world conquest (not the “heartland”).
According to Spykman, "Who controls the Rimland rules Eurasia, who rules Eurasia
controls the destinies of the world."
The Rimland, Halford Mackinder's "Inner or Marginal Crescent", was divided into
three sections:
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The European coast land;
The Arabian-Middle Eastern desert land; and,
The Asiatic monsoon land.
Rimland or inner crescent contains most of world's people as well as large share
of world's resources. Rimland is in between Heartland and marginal seas, so
it was more important than Heartland. It included Asia minor, Arabia, Iran,
Afghanistan, South East Asia, China, Korea and East Siberia except Russia.
All the aforesaid countries lie in the buffer zone that is between sea power
and land power.
Rimland countries were amphibian states, surrounding the Eurasian continents.
While Spykman accepts the first two as defined, he rejects the simple grouping
of the Asian countries into one "monsoon land." India, the Indian
Ocean littoral, and Indian culture were geographically and civilizationally
separate from the Chinese lands.
The Rimland's defining characteristic is that it is an intermediate region,
lying between the heartland and the marginal sea powers. As the amphibious
buffer zone between the land powers and sea powers, it must defend itself from
both sides, and therein lies its fundamental security problems. Spykman's
conception of the Rimland bears greater resemblance to Alfred Thayer Mahan's
"debated and debatable zone" than to Mackinder's inner or marginal crescent.
The Rimland has great importance coming from its demographic weight, natural
resources, and industrial development. Spykman sees this importance as the
reason that the Rimland will be crucial to containing the Heartland (whereas
Mackinder had believed that the Outer or Insular Crescent would be the most
important factor in the Heartland's containment).
14. Neocolonialism
The less developed countries are still dependent on the MDCs
-
-
investments
development
technology
15. Thomas Malthus (Population)
Thomas Malthus / 1800s
Relationship of population growth and food supply
Food supply grows arithmetically (1, 2, 3, 4)
Population grows exponentially (1, 2, 4, 8, 16)
The world population will outgrow the food supply . . . this lack of population will create a check on the
population!
Malthus was wrong . . . Green Revolution, hybrid seeds, GMOs, etc
16. Modernization & Dependency Theories
Modernization theory is a theory used to explain the process of
modernization within societies. The theory looks at the internal factors of
a country while assuming that, with assistance, "traditional" countries can
be brought to development in the same manner more developed countries have.
Modernization theory attempts to identify the social variables which contribute
to social progress and development of societies, and seeks to explain the
process of social evolution. Modernization theory not only stresses the process
of change but also the responses to that change. It also looks at internal
dynamics while referring to social and cultural structures and the adaptation
of new technologies.
Dependency theory is a body of social science theories predicated on the
notion that resources flow from a "periphery" of poor and underdeveloped states
to a "core" of wealthy states, enriching the latter at the expense of the former.
It is a central contention of dependency theory that poor states are
impoverished and rich ones enriched by the way poor states are integrated into
the "world system."
Some countries allow themselves to remain in poverty as a whole to obtain some
other type of economic power . . . usually for an elite class.
The leadership hoards economic resources for themselves .
-
Egypt
Libya
Yemen
17. Sustainable Development
.
.
Addresses issues of social welfare and environment
Protection within the context of capitalism and economic growth . . .
People living today should be able to meet their needs without prohibiting the
ability of future generations to do the same . . .
-
focus on use of renewable resources
promote ecotourism
organic farming
18. World Systems Theory
The world systems theory, developed by sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein, is
an approach to world history and social change that suggests there is a world
economic system in which some countries benefit while others are exploited.
Just like we cannot understand an individual's behavior without reference to
their surroundings, experiences, and culture, a nation's economic system
cannot be understood without reference to the world system of which they are
a part.
The main characteristics of this theory,are:

The world systems theory is established on a three-level hierarchy
consisting of core, periphery, and semi-periphery areas.




The core countries dominate and exploit the peripheral countries for labor
and raw materials.
The peripheral countries are dependent on core countries for capital.
The semi-peripheral countries share characteristics of both core and
peripheral countries.
This theory emphasizes the social structure of global inequality.
Core Countries
According to the world systems theory, the world is divided into three types
of countries or areas: core, periphery, and semi-periphery. Core
countries are dominant capitalist countries that exploit peripheral countries
for labor and raw materials. They are strong in military power and not dependent
on any one state or country. They serve the interests of the economically
powerful. They are focused on higher skill and capital-intensive production.
Core countries are powerful, and this power allows them to pay lower prices
for raw goods and exploit cheap labor, which constantly reinforces the unequal
status between core and peripheral countries.
The first core region was located in northwestern Europe and made up of England,
France, and Holland. Today, the United States is an example of a core country.
The U.S. has large amounts of capital, and its labor forces are relatively
well paid.
Periphery Countries
Periphery countries fall on the other end of the economic scale. These
countries lack a strong central government and may be controlled by other
states. These countries export raw materials to the core countries, and they
are dependent on core countries for capital and have underdeveloped industry.
These countries also have low-skill, labor-intensive production, or, in other
words, cheap labor. Periphery countries are commonly also referred to as
third-world countries.
Eastern Europe and Latin American were the first peripheral zones. An example
from today is Cape Verde, a chain of islands off the west coast of Africa.
Foreign investors promote the extraction of raw materials and the production
of cash crops, which are all exported to core countries.
Semi-Periphery Countries
Semi-periphery countries fall in the middle of the economic spectrum. These
countries share characteristics of both core and periphery countries. These
are core regions in decline or periphery regions attempting to improve their
economic position. These countries are sometimes exploited by core countries,
but they also may exploit periphery countries themselves. For example, India
is largely dependent on core countries for capital, but India has a growing
technology industry and an emerging consumer market.
19. Bid-Rent Theory
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The rent derived from certain land use will decrease as well as the land
uses will vary with increasing distance from city center.
(i.e. distant-decay function)
The land users who are willing to pay the rent must obtain the use of land
in a free market.
The bidder will be the one who will obtain the greatest returns from the
land.
a simple model to explain the general urban land use pattern.
it reflects the highly competitive bidding for sites among various urban
activities and
the differential ability of those activities to bid for sites at increasing
distances from the urban center.
In this model, a series of bid-rent curves is used to determine the basic
land use pattern.
So, what is a bid-rent curve?……..
A bid-rent curve is a line which indicates how much a person is prepared
to pay for a unit of a land at varying distance from the market / the city
center.
It describes the trade-off of cheaper land rents with higher transport
costs owing to increasing distance in traveling.
The shape of the curve depends on the transportation characteristics of
the product in the case of producers and preference for accessibility in
the case of householders.
Transport cost increases with increasing distance.
Such a bid-rent curve assumes that household incomes, product prices,
transport cost structures, etc., are kept constant.
20. Rank Size Rule
According to the rank-size rule, a rank 3 city would have ⅓ the
population of a country's largest city, a rank four city would have ¼ the
population of the largest city, and so on.
In 1949, George Zipf devised his theory of rank-size rule to explain the
size cities in a country. He explained that the second and subsequently smaller
cities should represent a proportion of the largest city. For example, if the
largest city in a country contained one million citizens, Zipf stated that the
second city would contain one-half as many as the first, or 500,000. The third
would contain one-third or 333,333, the fourth would be home to one-quarter
or 250,000, and so on, with the rank of the city representing the denominator
in the fraction.
While some countries' urban hierarchy somewhat fits into Zipf's scheme,
later geographers argued that his model should be seen as a probability model
and that deviations are to be expected.
21. Views on Globalization
Scholars David Held, Anthony McGrew, David Goldblatt and Jonathan Perraton
provide an overview of different perspectives on globalization dominant in the
1990s. They describe the general conceptual contours of each perspective and
note the limitations of each. The authors identify identify the perspective
as:
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

The Hyperglobalist perspective,
The Skeptical perspective,
The Transformationalist perspective.
HYPERGLOBALIST PERSPECTIVE
The authors describe the hyperglobalist perspective as an approach which
sees globalization as a new epoch in human history. This new epoch is
characterized by the declining relevance and authority of nation-states,
brought about largely through the economic logic of a global market. Economies
are becoming “denationalized.”
SKEPTICAL PERSPECTIVE
Held and his colleagues say that the skeptical perspective on
globalization views current international processes as more by fragmented and
regionalized than globalized. In fact, according to skeptical authors, the
“golden age” of globalization occurred at the end of the 19th century. Current
processes show, at best, a regionalization.
The authors say that skeptics also disagree whether old cleavages are becoming
increasingly irrelevant. The third world is not being drawn into a global
economy that destroys old lives of benefit and exploitation. Quite the contrary,
the third world, say skeptical authors, is becoming increasingly marginalized.
TRANSFORMATIONALIST PERSPECTIVE
Held and his colleagues say that the transformationalist perspective differs
fundamentally from the other two perspectives in that:
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
There is no single cause (that is, the market or economic logic) behind
globalization,
The outcome of processes of globalization is not determined.
So, even though transformationalist authors describe many of the same general
changes involved in globalization, their approach is considerably less certain
about the historical trajectories of these changes and less limiting of the
factors driving globalization.
For instance, hyperglobalist authors believe that the power of national
governments is waning. Skeptic authors argue that the power of national
governments is growing. Transformationalist authors, however, view the nature
of national governments as changing (being reconstituted and restructured) but
a description of this change as merely growing or waning is oversimplified.
22. Agricultural/Cultural Hearths
The seven original culture hearths are:
1) The Nile River Valley
2) The Indus River Valley
3) The Wei-Huang Valley
4) The Ganges River Valley
5) Mesopotamia
6) Mesoamerica
7) West Africa
These regions are considered culture hearths because such things as religion, the use of iron
tools and weapons, highly organized social structures, and the development agriculture started and
spread from these areas. In terms of religion for example, the area around Mecca is considered the
culture hearth for the Islamic religion and the area from which Muslims initially traveled to convert
people to Islam. The spread of tools, social structures, and agriculture spread in a similar manner from
the culture hearths.
Agricultural Hearths
Area
Earliest
Domestication
Representative Plants
Animals (later)
Middle East/SW
Asia
Wheat, barley, garbanzos, lentils,
peas, onions, sugar beets,
cabbage, lettuce, olive, date, flax
8500 BC
sheep, goat, pig ~
8,000 BC
cattle ~ 6,000 BC
horse ~ 4,000 BC
camel ~ 2,500 BC
China
rice, millet, soybeans, citrus,
7500 BC
pig, silkworm, cat,
cattle, chicken
New Guinea
sugarcane, banana, yams, taro,
7000 BC
none
Mesoamerica
corn, beans, squash, avocados
cotton
7000 BC
turkey
Ethiopia
coffee, okra, teff
?
none
Sahel
sorghum, African rice
5000 BC
guinea fowl
Andes and
Amazonia
potato, manioc, peanut, strawberry,
cotton
3500 BC
llama, guinea pig,
turkey
Tropical West
Africa
African yams, oil palm
2500 BC
none
Eastern US
sunflower, goosefoot, squash
2500 BC
none
Local Domestications Following Arrival of "Founder Crops" from Elsewhere
Area
Plants
Earliest
Domestication
Animals (later)
Indus Valley
sesame, eggplant,
cotton, mangoes, jute,
indigo
7000 BC
humped cattle
Egypt
sycamore fig, chufa
6000 BC
donkey, cat
Western
Europe
poppy, oat
6000 - 3500 BC
none
23. Agricultural Revolutions
The First Agricultural Revolution
The first agricultural revolution could best be described as the domestication
of plants. It was this discovery that formed the foundation of all other human
discoveries and yielded human civilizations. There are a few other factors that
may have led to the first agricultural revolution, namely, weather changes and
the discovery of the notion of withholding seeds for future crops. When the
Ice Age ended, the climate change in the world became much more hospitable for
agriculture. More attention could be placed on what the land yielded instead
of basic survival. When humans discovered that certain plants could be grown
and domesticated, they also learned that they could hold back seeds for future
seasons and store additional seeds for long-term use. Records of such practices
can be found in the Bible during the story of Joseph in Egypt. The basic foot
plow was also developed during this time, and it is one of the most important
agricultural implements in history.
The Second Agricultural Revolution
After the end of the classical era and the collapse of the Roman Empire, Europe
went into a period of time known as the Middle Ages or the Dark Ages. It was
during this medieval time that great advances were made in the use of water,
and the shape of the plow also evolved, forming implements that could be pulled
by animals. This resulted in the change of field shape from square fields to
larger rectangular fields to make it easier to plow the land. Ultimately, this
would culminate with the onset of the Industrial Revolution in Europe. As
farming techniques became industrialized, great advances were made in farming
technologies, crop rotation, and drainage. The development of the internal
combustion engine allowed for the invention of tractors, combines, and other
farm equipment that changed the way people approached their fields and vastly
increased productivity. Thus the second agricultural revolution paved the way
for the modern era.
The Third Agricultural Revolution
After the second agricultural revolution, farming techniques did not chang
significantly for many years. Though the machinery improved dramatically over
the years, many of the techniques remained the same. However, the third
revolution changed all that. From the beginning of agriculture, humans have
learned to breed different strains of plant life. Sometimes this was done by
grafting a limb from one tree into another tree. But during the 20th Century,
humans learned how to take more direct control over plants by manipulating them
on the genetic level. Crops were developed that could provide a much higher
yield, thrive in more hostile environments, and resist parasites and predators.
This revolution is widespread, as most of the world's crops are now genetically
modified in some way.
The gradual changes over the first and second agricultural revolutions were
far surpassed by the abrupt and sudden development of the third agricultural
revolution. The advent of genetically-modified crops has been both a blessing
and a source of outrage for many people. Some critics have protested the way
these crops have been developed and even assert a difference in taste and effect
on the body. The debate over genetically-modified crops will continue as
scientists and researchers alike work hard to develop hardier crops and better
techniques to get the most out of the land used.
24. Language Trees
25. Universalizing Religions, Ethnic, etc.
26. Primary Economic Activities (primary sector, secondary, tertiary sector)
Primary Sector
The primary sector of the economy extracts or harvests products from the earth.
The primary sector includes the production of raw material and basic foods.
Activities associated with the primary sector include agriculture (both
subsistence and commercial), mining, forestry, farming, grazing, hunting and
gathering, fishing, and quarrying. The packaging and processing of the raw
material associated with this sector is also considered to be part of this
sector.
In developed and developing countries, a decreasing proportion of workers are
involved in the primary sector. About 3% of the U.S. labor force is engaged
in primary sector activity today, while more than two-thirds of the labor force
were primary sector workers in the mid-nineteenth century.
Secondary Sector
The secondary sector of the economy manufactures finished goods. All of
manufacturing, processing, and construction lies within the secondary sector.
Activities associated with the secondary sector include metal working and
smelting, automobile production, textile production, chemical and engineering
industries, aerospace manufacturing, energy utilities, engineering, breweries
and bottlers, construction, and shipbuilding.
Ads
Tertiary Sector
The tertiary sector of the economy is the service industry. This sector provides
services to the general population and to businesses. Activities associated
with this sector include retail and wholesale sales, transportation and
distribution, entertainment (movies, television, radio, music, theater, etc.),
restaurants, clerical services, media, tourism, insurance, banking,
healthcare, and law.
In most developed and developing countries, a growing proportion of workers
are devoted to the tertiary sector. In the U.S., more than 80% of the labor
force are tertiary workers.
Quaternary Sector
The quaternary sector of the economy consists of intellectual activities.
Activities associated with this sector include government, culture, libraries,
scientific research, education, and information technology.
Quinary Sector
Some consider there to be a branch of the quaternary sector called the quinary
sector, which includes the highest levels of decision making in a society or
economy. This sector would include the top executives or officials in such
fields as government, science, universities, nonprofit, healthcare, culture,
and the media.
An Australian source relates that the quinary sector in Australia refers to
domestic activities such as those performed by stay-at-home parents or
homemakers. These activities are typically not measured by monetary amounts
but it is important to recognize these activities in contribution to the
economy.