Political Geography

I. State and Nation

A. state: political unit (can be used interchangeably with country)B. nation: refers to a tightly knit group of people (usually having similarities: culture, language, religion, etc.)

e.g. Yugoslavia is a state but not a nation.

nationalism - loyalty to a nation/ sense of inclusion

Former Yugoslavia – State, not a nation

Fellmann

Stateless Nations - Have no national Territory

e.g. 1990 Palestinian Arabs 6.5 million (Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria)

CIA Factbook. online

Kurdistan

20 million KurdsTurkey and Iraq very volatile relationshipKurds desire territory or at least autonomous control of land in Iraq and Turkey

Fellmann 343

Nation-State

Ideal built on homogeneity of territory and culturePolitically organizedSovereignty: final authority over territories political and military affairsExample - Japan Ethnic Groups in Japan Japanese 99%

Picture Here

CIA Factbook. online

B. Territory Shape

CHILE

URUGUAY ITALY

JAPAN

THAILAND

VATICAN CITY

SAN MARINO

1. Compact StateClose to circularEasiest to manage (most stable) and defendThe distance from any point of the country to its center is about the same.e.g. Poland, Iceland, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe

ZIMBABUE

2. Fragmented StateTerritory is divided; some parts separated by water or another state.Also known as archipelago states.Difficult to govern because some may be composed of thousands of islandse.g. Philippines, Indonesia, United States, Russia.

THE PHILIPPINES

3. Elongated

Long, “skinny” shape.Can create separatist areas due to distance from center or coreVietnam, Chile, Norway

Hello down there!

NORWAY

4. Prorupted StatesAlso known as “panhandle” state.An area that extends from a compact area Can create room for factions geographicallyE.g.: Thailand, Burma BURMA

5. Perforated StateState that surrounds another state completely

Surrounded state (enclave) can only be reached by going through perforated state

E.g.: Italy, South Africa (only two recognized examples).

SOUTH AFRICA

Enclave/ExclaveExclaves: territories separated from the state by another state

e.g. Alaska (U.S.), Kaliningrad (Russia).Azerbaijan has THREE exclaves inside Armenia.

Enclaves: territories whose entire boundaries are surrounded within the boundaries of another.

Lesotho, Vatican

C = enclave of A, exclave of B

C = exclave of B but NOT enclave of A; surrounded by both A and D

Boundaries

What Is a Boundary?

Boundary: a vertical plane that cuts through the airspace and ground to determine ownership

Problems with BoundariesLack of knowledge of underground resources when boundaries were created

1990 Kuwait vs. Iraq: Rumaylah oil reserves created International conflict (picture 349)

Who Controls Airspace?When boundaries were created there was a lack of knowledge of importance of airspace

a. airline trafficb. satellite space?

How are Boundaries Created?Definition - usually legally by someone who is not directly involved (written)Delimitation - mapped Demarcation - marked with posts, walls, fences, etc.Administration – determine how to maintain the boundary and how goods/people will cross it.

Straight line boundary totally unrelated to physical featuresGenerally defined as a line of latitude or longitudee.g. U.S./Canada (49N), many U.S. states

1. Geometric Boundary

AKA natural-politicalBoundaries that conform to physical featurese.g. U.S./Mexico along the Rio Grande, Spain/France (Pyrenees), U.S./Canada (Great Lakes)

2. Physical/Political

3. Historical/Genetic BoundariesA. Antecedent: Boundary created before present cultural landscape developed.

49th Parallel:Established as the northern border of the United States (with Canada) by treaty in 1846.

3. Historical/Genetic BoundariesB. Subsequent (ethnographic): Boundary created to accommodate existing cultural/economic differences between countries.

Peace of Westphalia

Created borders between European countries based on

traditional homelands and

culture.

3. Historical/Genetic BoundariesC. Superimposed: border that is forced upon a territory without consideration for a unified cultural landscape.Borders within were determined by European powers, which eventually created the modern borders.

The borders have been a source of conflict within many countries, most notably Rwanda and Sudan.

3. Historical/Genetic BoundariesD. Relic (relict): Former boundary line that no longer serves as such, but imprint is still visible.

Hadrian’s Wall:Border of the Roman Empirein Britain. (122 CE)

East Side Gallery:

Portion still standing of

the Berlin Wall

4. Boundary DisputesA. Territorial/Definitional:Whose land is it? Dispute over legal language of the agreement.KashmirMountainous region disputed between India, Pakistan, and separatist movements.

Under India’s control since 1947, when the leaders of Kashmir were given a choice to join either Pakistan or India.

Majority of population is Muslim.

Source of tension between the two countries.

Examples:Iraq/Kuwait (Ramallah oil field)

Saudi Arabia vs. Yemen (oil rich border not covered in the treaty)

4. Boundary DisputesB. Resource/AllocationalWho gets to use these resources?

IV. Boundary Disputes

United States/MexicoDispute over immigration policy

C. Functional/OperationalHow should the boundary function?

Boundary DisputesD. Allocational Border Dispute

1. dispute over boundary due to location of resources2. water supplies - Colorado River

nasa

Various boundary disputes - what type are they?

Botswana has built electric fences to stem the thousands of Zimbabweans who flee to find work and escape political persecution.

Source: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/fields/2070.html

Functional

Various boundary disputes - what type are they?Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002 Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but despite international intervention, mutual animosities, accusations, and armed posturing have prevented demarcationEthiopia refuses to withdraw to the delimited boundary until claimed technical errors made by the EEBC that ignored "human geography" are addressed, including the award of Badme, the focus of the 1998-2000 war.

Source: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/fields/2070.html

Territorial and Positional

Various boundary disputes - what type are they?All of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands.

Source: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/fields/2070.html

Resource

Mari-time Boundaries

UN Convention on Law of the Sea

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Zonmar-en.svg