Political Geography

Definitions
.
and
Examples
The Four Major Issues
1. Where are states located?
2. Where are boundaries drawn
between states?
3. Why do boundaries between
states cause problems?
4. Why do states cooperate with
each other?
Were are states located?

The Two Main Points are:

 Problems of defining states

 Development of the state

concept.
State:
A political territory equivalent to a
“country.” Necessary components to
qualify as a full-fledged state include
(a)defined boundaries,
(b)an effective government,
(c) international recognition of their formal
independence,
(d) full sovereignty,
(e) an organized economy and circulation
system, and
(f) a permanent resident population.
Problems in Defining states

 There is some disagreement

about the actual number of
sovereign states.
 Koreas and

China-Taiwan
Development of the State
Concept.
City States
Colonies and Colonialism
 European states came to control much
of the world through colonialism.
 The colonial area began in the 1400’s
 The three motives for colonies were
God, Gold, and Glory.
 Most former colonies have become
independent states only a couple of
colonies are left.
A Case Study in
Colonialism
AFRICA
THE DARK
CONTINEN
 AFRICA’S
PHYSIOGRAPHY
PLATE BOUNDARIES
 CHAD
B
DJOUF A
SUDAN
S
CONGO I
N
KALAHARI
S

ESCARPMENT
NIGER
SHAVI NILE
R
I
V
E
R
ZAMBEZI S
CLIMATE
VEGETATION
EARLY KINGDOMS
THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE
 COLONIALISM
 EUROPEAN COLONIAL OBJECTIVES
– A port along the West African coast
– A water route to South Asia and Southeast
Asia
– 1500’s- looking for resources; Slaves
– 1850- industrial revolution occurs in Europe
 Increased demand for mineral resources

 Need to expand agricultural production

 BERLIN CONFERENCE
1884
14 States divided up Africa without
consideration of cultures.
Results of superimposed boundaries
-- African peoples were divided.
-- Unified regions were ripped apart.
-- Hostile societies were thrown together.
-- Hinterlands were disrupted.
-- Migration routes were closed off.
So, when independence returned to Africa after
1950, the realm had already acquired a legacy
of political fragmentation.
 COLONIALISM
French
Spain

Italy

Belgium Germany
Portugal

Britain
 COLONIAL POLICIES
 Portugal: “Exploitation” (Guinea-Bissau,
Angola, Mozambique)
– First to enslave and colonize and one of the last to grant
independence
– Maintained rigid control; raw resource oriented
 Belgium: “Paternalistic” (Rwanda, Zaire,
Burundi)
– Treated Africans as though they where children who
needed to be tutored in western ways; did not try to
make them Belgium
– Raw resource oriented; ignored the development of
natives
 COLONIAL POLICIES
 Great Britain: “Indirect Rule” (Ghana, Nigeria,
Kenya, Zimbabwe)
– Indigenous power structures were left intact to
some degree and local rulers were made
representatives of the crown.

 France: “Assimilationist” (Senegal, Mali, Ivory

Coast, etc.)
– Enforced a direct rule which propagated the
French culture through language, laws,
education and dress (acculturation)
 INDEPENDENT STATES IN AFRICA

1950 1960

1970

INDEPENDENT
 THE LEGACY
 Several hundred languages are spoken.
 Antagonism between tribes (e.g., Rwanda)
 Low level of development is linked to colonization
– Transportation facilities - Movement of goods is from
the interior to coastal outlets.
– Communication within Africa is impeded by desert,
dense forest, and lack of navigable rivers in certain
regions.
– Dual economy remains intact; most states rely on a
single crop or mineral and are vulnerable to world
markets.
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA’S
ECONOMIC CHALLENGE
 Economic growth rate- 1.5% - world’s
lowest
 The region’s 646 million people have a
combined GNP of less than $150 billion,
roughly the same as Belgium and its 10
million people.
 Population - growing at a rate of 2.6%
annually, vs 1.7% for South America
and 1.9% for South Asia
 MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY
 Studies spatial aspects of disease and
health
 Africa is an extraordinary laboratory.
-- Disease incidence and diffusion
-- Widespread nutritional deficiencies
 Millions suffer from:
– malaria - river blindness
– yellow fever - sleeping sickness
– AIDS - bilharzia
 MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY

 Endemic
-- Exists in equilibrium with the population
-- Many develop an immunity of sorts
-- Saps energy, lowers resistance, shortens lives
 Epidemic
-- Sudden outbreak at local, regional scale
 Pandemic
-- Worldwide spread
 MALARIA

WIDESPREAD
INCIDENCE
SLEEPING SICKNESS

Tsetse Fly

WIDESPREAD
INCIDENCE
 Cases Per million
<9
10-50
50-299
300-499
500+

AIDS
IN AFRICA
1990
 AIDS
IN AFRICA
1999

SOURCE:
UNAIDS, 2000
In January 2000 there were
32,000,000 people known to
be infected worldwide.
Where are Boundaries
drawn Between States
 The shape of a state controls
the length of its boundaries
with other states.
 The five basic shapes are
Compact, Prorupted,
Elongated, fragmented, and
perforated
Why do boundaries between
states cause problems?
 One state with many
nationalities, e.g., Russia.
 One nationality on more than
one state, e.g., the Kurds.
 Internal organization of
states
Figure 13.6
Figure 13.7
Figure 13.8
 Albanians Croats Muslims Serbs Slovenes Others

Bosnia 18% 40% 33% 9%

Croatia 75% 12% 13%

Kosovo 90% 10%

Macedonia 23% 2% 67% Macedonians

8% Others

Montenegro 7% 1% 15% 9% 68% Montenegrins

Serbia 20% 2% 65% 13%

Slovenia 3% 2% 90% 5%

Vojvodina 56% 21% Hungarians

23% Others
Total (Former 14% 20% 9% 36% 8% 13%
Yugoslavia)
Figure 13.9
Figure 13.10
Figure 13.11
Figure 13.12
Figure 13.13
Figure 13.15
Figure 13.17
Figure 13.18
Figure 13.23
Why do States cooperate
with Each Other?
Political and military cooperation
An example is when European states
joined one of two military alliances,
NATO or the Warsaw Pact.
Economic Cooperation
An example is the European Union.
 Definitions of Key Terms
 Colony: An area conquered and administered by a foreign power.
 Diaspora: Scattered settlements of a particular national group living
abroad.
 Ethnonationalism: A strong feeling of belonging to a nation
that is a minority within a state, has its own distinctive homeland
within the state=s territory, and has deeply rooted feelings that it is
different from the rest of the state=s population.
 Homeland: Perceived ancestral territory of a nation.
 Irredentism: A movement to reunite a nation=s homeland when
part of it is contained within another state. The piece of homeland
that is ruled by the other state is known as an “irredenta.”
 Nation: The largest human grouping characterized by a
common origin or ancestry. A territorially based community of
people who usually have similar language or religion, a
common history (real or imagined), and accepted social ways
of behavior that give it a common culture.

 Nation-State: A state that has the same boundaries as a

nation.

 Nationalism: Loyalty to the nation to which you belong.

Often misused today to refer to patriotism.

 Patriotism: Loyalty to the governing state in which you

live.

 Province: First-level administrative subregion of a state.

 Regional Autonomy: Limited self-rule for a region within

the larger state.
 Refugee:A person who is outside of their country due to a well-
founded fear of persecution, and who is unable or unwilling to return.
 Secession: Complete break-off of a region into an autonomous,
independent state. This occurs when a separatist movement achieves its
goals.
 Separatism: The desire to break a region away from its state and
form a new independent state.
 Shatterbelt: A region caught between powerful forces whose
boundaries are continually redefined.
 State: A political territory equivalent to a “country.” Necessary
components to qualify as a full-fledged state include (a) defined
boundaries, (b) an effective government, (c) international recognition of
their formal independence, (d) full sovereignty, (e) an organized
economy and circulation system, and (f) a permanent resident
population.
Bibliography
Rubenstein, James. An Introduction to Human
Geography. Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall,
2002