States and Territories

IR # 202: Introduction to Political Geography

Dr. A.S.M. Ali Ashraf

Associate Professor
Department of International Relations
University of Dhaka
Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh

Email: aliashraf79@gmail.com
Lecture in Brief
 Importance of studying ‘State’
 Consolidation of State
 Building and challenging state and territoriality
 The Nation, Nation-State, National Power
 Exercise of national power
 Three models of foreign policy decision making
 Challenges to the state
 Globalization and State
 Case Study: Territoriality & U.S. Drone Strikes in
Pakistan

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 Reading

 Jones, Martin, Rhys Jones and Michael

Woods (2004). States and Territories. In
An Introduction to Political Geography
(London: Routledge), Chapter 2, pp. 20-
37.

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Why should geographers study state?
 Three reasons:
 At a global scale states vary from region to region.
Geographers can study such variation.
 Example: Peter Taylor is interested in the Center-Periphery
Analysis in International Politics.
 Geographers can study the unequal effect of a particular
policy on different areas of a state.
 Example: Public transport policy may well serve urban
areas than rural areas where car dependence is high
 Geographers can study the territorial extent of a state
and the international boundary between states.
 Example: Natural features of boundary such as an
international river can change its course and thus shift the
international border
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Consolidation of State
 Ancient States:
 3000 BC: Mesopotamia [today’s Iraq]
 Major Features:
 Lack of consolidation of territory and coercive power

 Modern States:
 Began 1500 AD in Europe
 Major Features:
 States became territorially defined, centralized, and possessed
monopoly of coercive power within their boundaries
 Example of State’s Consolidation:
 The development of excise duties in England and Wales required
the use of intelligence and surveillance
 Anthon Giddens describes the importance of intelligence collection,
analysis, and consumption for states’ governing purposes
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 Foucaldian ideas

 Mitchel Foucault emphasizes the state’s ability to

produce knowledge on its population for governing
purposes
 For Foucault, the term ‘governmentality’ refers to the
‘emergence of a distinctly new form of thinking about
and exercising power in certain societies.’
 The infrastructural power of the state grew over time
with the process of developing knowledge and rational
forms of government.

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 External Conflict
Efforts to raise revenues through taxes

Two contrasting effects

Protest from citizenry and repression by state Strategic negotiation by different factions as a
agencies ‘price’ for their financial support of the war

Two contrasting effects

State Consolidation leading to Internal State Consolidation leading to Internal
Repression Emancipation

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Building and Challenging State
Territoriality
 According to Hendrik Spruyt (1994), there are three
territorial formats:
 City State: Florence and Genoa
 Extensive Empires: Holy Roman Empire
 Medium-sized State: England and France

 Spruyt argues the medium-sized state was the ideal format

for several reasons:
 First, it could combine the economic and military powers
needed for a state to sustain successful war efforts.
 Second, the city-states could only have economic powers but
not a large military. On the other hand the large empires
would have a large military but they lacked a strong economy
to support the military power
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 Reading
 Mingst, Karen and Ivan M. Arreguin-Toft. 2010.
Essentials of International Relations, 5th Edition.
New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company.
Chapter 5, pp. 116-153.

 Naim, Moises (2003). Five Wars of Globalization.

Foreign Policy, No. 134 (Jan/Feb): 28-37.

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The State
 Four fundamental conditions of a state:

1. A territorial base with geographically defined

boundaries

2. A stable population residing within that boundary

3. The presence of a government to whom the people

show their allegiance

4. Diplomatic recognition by other states and international

institutions

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Contending concepts of the state
 Realist view:
 State is an autonomous actor with fixed national interests

 Liberal view:
 State represents multiple actor interests

 Radical view:
 State interest is shaped by the capitalist class and the
capitalist international system

 Constructivist view:
 State interests change over time, and states are socialized by
IGOs and NGOs

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Ingredients of State Power Potential
 Natural sources of power:
 Geography
 Natural resources
 Population

 Tangible sources of power:

 Industrial development
 Level of infrastructure
 Characteristics of military

 Intangible sources of power:

 National image
 Public support
 Leadership

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Exercise of National Power
 The art of diplomacy:

 The use of bargaining and negotiations to influence other’s

decisions and policies
 Robert Putnam’s concept of diplomacy as ‘two-level game’
indicates the domestic and international audiences of
diplomats
 Example: India-Bangladesh bargaining over water sharing,
transit etc

 Economic statecraft:
 The use of carrots and sticks – economic aid and sanctions –
for foreign policy purposes
 Example: U.S. imposes sanctions on Iran to prevent the
spread of nuclear weapons
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Exercise of National Power (continued)
 Use of force:
 Deterrence and compellence are two major forms of use of
force
 Example: USA compelled Japan to accept a defeat in the
WWII by dropping atomic bombs.
 U.S.A and USSR were deterred from using their nuclear
weapons during Cold War era

 Democracy and foreign policy:

 Democratic peace theory claims democracies don’t fight each
other
 Example: EU and NATO members don’t fight each other

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Three Models of Foreign Policy Decision Making
 Rational Actor Model:
 It assumes state as a unitary actor
 A state chooses its decision based on a cost-benefit analysis of
policy options

 Bureaucratic Politics Model:

 It does not assume state as a unitary actor. Instead, it
believes various government organizations and bureaucratic
agencies compete with each other in making crucial decisions
 Foreign policy decisions reflect the bargaining between
government agencies

 Pluralist Model:
 Various interest groups, mass movements, public opinion
and multinational corporations shape the government
decisions
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Challenges to the State and Territoriality
 Globalization:
 Political, economic, and cultural aspects of globalization erodes state
sovereignty
 Example: CNN, BBC, Hollywood, Bollywood, Coca Cola

 Transnational crime:
 Global arms, drugs, and human trafficking networks reveal the
weaknesses of state authorities
 Example: AK-47, Heroin, Kidney smuggling networks

 Transnational movements:
 Religious fundamentalists and environmentalists put huge pressures
on governments. They demand policy changes
 Example: Al Qaeda, Taliban, Green Peace

 Ethnonational movements:
 Ethnic and nationalist groups seeking political autonomy or
independence challenge the authority of the state
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 Example: Kashmiri rebels, Tamil rebels etc
Case Study: U.S. and NATO’s use of force in Libya
 The Emergence of the NTC (National Transition
Council) as an opponent to Gaddafi regime
 Gaddafi’s forces start airstrikes on civilian
population and rebel forces; NATO led an anti-
Gaddafi coalition
 Air-to-ground attacks conducted by:
 USA, UK, France, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Italy,
Norway, and the UAE

 No Fly Zone policed (monitored) by:

 Jordan, Netherlands, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey

 Maritime operations:
 Greece, Romania, Bulgaria

 Fall of Gaddafi regime & Challenges of Political

Transition
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 Reading

 Jones, Martin, Rhys Jones and Michael

Woods (2004). The State in Global
Perspective. In An Introduction to Political
Geography (London: Routledge), Chapter
3, pp. 38-56.

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External Relations of the State
Type of Meaning Example
Relation
Territorial Neighboring states Maritime boundary between
recognition of a state’s Bangladesh and her two
boundary neighbors-India and Myanmar—
were long unresolved.
Economic Economic trade NAFTA and European Union
between states show examples of regional
trading blocs
Political The degree of political France still maintains informal
control or influence a influence in its former colonies
state can exert upon in Africa, Asia, the Americas
other states
Strategic A state’s willingness to NATO and Warsaw Pact were
form or join alliances formed during Cold War period
and coalitions to 19
‘augment’ its power
States and Geopolitics
 Geopolitics is concerned with how states seek to
exert power and influence beyond as well as their
boundaries.

 Political realism offers the dominant theory of IR

in explaining the power relations between states.
 U.S.-Soviet rivalry during the Cold War
 India-Pakistan tensions in South Asia
 U.S. influence in the Caribbean, Central and South
America
 Use of economic sanctions on Russia as a retaliatory
response to Russian annexation of Crimea
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Locus of Power Period Forms of Geopolitical
Dominance
Phase I: Britain 1815-75 Britain leads a European
within a wider Europe territorial expansion in non-
European lands
Phase II: The 1875-1945 National economies become
destabilization of more protectionist and there is
Britain and the rise of less emphasis on free trade
Germany
Phase III: Cold War 1945-90 World is divided into two
between East and opposing ideological blocs
West
Phase IV: Unipolar 1990- U.S. exercises economic,
world with U.S. present political, and cultural power to
leadership dominate world politics
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Globalization
 Major features of globalization:
 Increasing importance of financial markets on a global
scale
 The centrality of knowledge as a factor of production
 The internationalization and transnationalization of
technology
 The rise of transnational corporations (TNCs)
 The intensification of cultural flows
 The rise of transnational economic diplomacy

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Impact of Globalization on States
 Three perspectives:
 Booster School: Since power becomes diffuse and
borders more porous, globalization undermines state
and territoriality.

 Skeptics: Nation-states remain the controller of

transnational and cross-border movement of people,
goods, and ideas

 Middle Ground: Globalization is a complex set of

interrelated process which reorganizes global geopolitics
and geo-economics. States are engaged in mediating
both domestic and transnational forces of political,
economic, and cultural globalization
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States and Economic Globalization
Continuing role of state
I. States guarantee the rights of
capital that is capital
accumulation
II. States facilitate their
transnational corporations (TNCs)
III. States are involved in global
economies through TNC
ownership
IV. States regulate world
economy so that they can
influence foreign investment
V. States form int’l organizations
to regulate global economy
VI. State control domestic
economy
Recent examples
1980s: The United States lobbied
Japan to open up the market for
US semiconductor industry
Japanese govt. pays for innovation
in automobiles and electronics
French ownership of Renault;
Singapore owns many
corporations
China regulates the foreign firms
operating in Special Economic
Zones
Decisions at the WTO and G-7
industrialized countries
Regan’s tax reduction for
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consumer demand boost up
 Questions for discussion
 Which element of the state is the most important
and why?

 Do you think leadership is more important than

all other ingredients of national power?

 Can interest groups influence foreign policy

decisions?

 Does globalization pose any challenges to the

state?
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U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan
&
The Question of Territoriality

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Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal
Area (FATA)

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Data on U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan
 Trends in Drone Strikes and Fatalities caused by such strikes

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Myth I: Drone Strikes are Precision Strikes
 Reality I: Drone Strikes are NOT Precision Strikes.

 Evidence:

 Only 3% High Value Targets killed

 Most of the top High Value Targets either escaped or not
targeted by the drone strikes
 Al Qaeda: Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al
Zawahiri
 Taliban-Quetta Shura: Mullah Omar
 Taliban-Haqqani Network: Jalaluddin Haqqani and
Sirajuddin Haqqani
 Hezbe Islami Gulbuddin: Gulbuddin Hekmatyar

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Myth II: Drone Strikes can avoid Civilian Casualties
 Reality II: Drone Strikes CANNOT avoid Civilian Casualties

 Evidence: Of the 1250 casualties in U.S. drone strikes

(2004-2009), nearly 15%-20% are civilian casualties
Figure 13
Estimates of Civilian Casualties (% of Total Casualties)
from U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan, 2004-2009
35 32
% of Total Casualties

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25
20 17.5

15
9.5
10
5
0
Roggio-Mayer (2010) Bergen-Tiedemann Ashraf (2010)
(2009)
Analysis of Drone Strikes
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Myth III: Drone Strikes are Unilateral Air Strikes

 Reality III: Drone Strikes are NOT unilateral airstrikes.

They are carried out with the tacit support of the Pakistani
State

 Evidence:
 Tacit agreement between Pakistani government high-ups and
Pentagon officials facilitating the drone strikes
 Tacit agreement provides a strategic tool for intelligence
sharing
 Pakistan’s Shamsi airbase reportedly used for loading missiles
into combat drones
 Military contractor Blackwater (currently Xe Services) is
reportedly involved in loading the missiles into drones
 Increasing evidence of targeting South Waziristan – which is
the heartland of Pakistani Taliban 31
Increasing Drone Strikes: Legal, Policy, and
Theoretical Implications
 Legal:
 Debate between ‘Self-Defense’ and Compliance with International
Humanitarian Law

 Policy:
 Arms Race: More countries are now racing towards the indigenous or
imported drone technology
 Drone is a tactic not a strategy
 “Dead man tell no tales” – Daniel Byman
 Drone hurts the deepest sensibilities of Pakistanis – David Kilcullen

 Theoretical:
 Relevance of political realism: Coercive Power matters in pursuing
foreign and security policy
 “The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must” --
Thucydides

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Questions for Discussion
 How would you define state and territoriality?
 How have states consolidated their powers over time?
 How do states exercise their power?
 How has global geopolitics changed over time and how has
such changes influenced state and territoriality?
 How do you define globalization?
 What are the impact of globalization on state and
territoriality?
 What lessons can be learnt from U.S. drone strikes in
Pakistan?

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