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The PoliticalOrganization

ofSpace

IN THISCHAPTER

Summary:ThischapterreviewshowhumanshaveorganizedthesurfaceoftheEarthintocountries(alsocalledstates)andtheconflictsthatsometimesarise.Thepoliticalgeographyofthe Earthchangesconstantlyasboundariesand borders change. The boundaries of countries change suddenlysome­times(forexample,inwarandarmedconflict) orchangegraduallyasstatesdevolve(forexample,inthecaseoftheUSSR).AlliancesandtheforcesofglobalizationgreatlyimpactthepoliticalgeographyoftheEarthtoday.

KeyTerms

alliances

antecedentboundarycentrifugalforcecentripetalforcecolonialismconfederationconsequentboundaryconservationagriculturedecolonizationdevolution

dominotheoryenclaveexclave

exclusive economic zone(EEZ)federalstate

forwardcapitalfragmentedstategerrymanderinggrowthpole

heartland-rimlandtheoryimperialism

irredentism

Mediterraneanagriculturenation

nationalismnation-stateorganicfarmingrelicboundaryseparatismsovereignty

93

94 STEP 4. Review the Knowledge You Need to ScoreHigh

state

subsequent boundarysuperimposedboundarysupranationalism

terrorismunitarystate

Von Thunen's agricultural land usemodel

Introduction

The concepts ofpoliticalgeographyinvolving states, trritories, borders,and alliances areimportant inthestudyofAP Human Geography.Theseconcepts help us understand thenewsheadlinesaboutterritories andconflictsthatwereadonadailybasis. Spatialconceptsofterritory,state,andnationalism revolvearound thepolitical arrangement ofspace.

The Concept ofTerritoriality

The Earth is divided into political units called states, or countries. (The term "state"refers to a country and not a political subdivision within the United States, suchasNevada or Maine.) Each country has a defined population and borders, in otherwords,boundaries that are defined. There are many examples of states in the world today.Anation is a unified group of people with a common culture. Examples of nations with­out a state or political territory of their own are the Kurds, the Navajo, and the Romaor "Gypsies" (see Fig. 9.1 below). Nation-state refers to a state in which over 90 percent

Figure 9.1Distribution of the Romanation.

The Political Organization ofSpace95

of the population is comprised of a specific culture or group of people. Japan,Iceland,Armenia, Bangladesh, and Lesotho are examples of nation-states. Antarctica is thesouth­ernmost continent in the world and is neither a nation nor a state. Althoughseveralcountries conduct scientific research on Antarctica, it has no permanent residentsanddoes not belong to any country.

Countries have heartlands, or core areas, where economic development is usuallythegreatest.Manytimesthecapitalofthecountryislocatedwithinitscorebutsometimesitis found in a former core area. Capital cities are often relocated for various reasons.Brazilmoved its capital from Rio de Janeiro inland to Brasilia to draw economic developmentintothe country's interior. Brasilia then became a growth pole, drawing people and jobsintotheundevelopedinterior.PakistanmoveditscapitalcityfromcoastalKarachitoIslamabadnear the contested territory of Kashmir to make a bold and aggressive statement to itsrival(India) for control of the territory. Islamabad is a forward capital that makes a boldstate­ment to the rest of the world.

Boundaries and TheirInfluence

Theshapeofacountryinfluenceshoweasyitistodevelopeconomically.Acountry'sshapeeither helps or hinders transportation and communication between different parts ofthecountry and between the capital and the outlying areas of the country. The table heresum­marizesthecategoriesused todescribetheshapesofcountriesandgivessomeexamplesofeachtype.

SHAPE OFCOUNTRY / DEFINITION / EXAMPLES
Compact / Round.Easyfordefenseandcommunications amongallareas. / Belgium, Poland,Bhutan,Hungary
Prompt orprotruded / Roundwithalargeextension(panhandle). Increasesaccessto resources such as water. / Thailand,Myanmar(Burma), Mozambique
Elongated / Long, narrow. Difficultcommunicationsbetweenareas. / Chile, Italy,Vietnam,Argentina
Fragmented / Two or more areas separatedbyanother country or bodyofwater. Difficultcommunica-tions betweenareas. / Philippines,Denmark,Indonesia,Malaysia
Perforated / Torally surroundsanothercountry. / South AfricasurroundsLesotho; ItalysurroundsVatican City andSanMarino
Landlocked / No access to water . Tradedifficulties because of lackofports. / Bolivia, Laos,Rwanda,Paraguay,Serbia,Switzerland

96}STEP 4. Review the Knowledge You Need to Score High

Approximately 30 percent of the countries in Africa are landlocked as a result ofthecolonial era. Uganda, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Burundi, and Malawi are justafew of these countries without access to theocean.

Frontiers and boundaries are important ways of delineating space. Frontiers arealmosttotallyuninhabitedareas,suchasthose foundontheArabianPeninsulaandAntarctica.Unlike frontiers, which are areas not controlled by any state, boundaries are thin, invisiblemarkersthatarephysicalorculturaloracombinationofboth.Becausetheyrepresentbarrierstotravel,physicalboundariessuchasmountains,deserts,andwateroftenservetoseparatestates.

Cultural boundaries sometimes closely follow ethnicity and separate two ormorecultural groups from each other. Most of the time, however, boundaries are geometricwithlines drawn during colonial times with no respect for ethnic divisions. When theBritishpartitioned India, religion dictated the boundary lines. Language was a majorinfluencewhen the Versailles Peace Conference met to redraw the boundaries ofEurope.

Antecedent boundaries are boundaries placed before the cultural landscape devel­oped (in other words, very early in the area's settlement history) . Subsequent boundariesare drawn after the cultural landscape is in place, and consequent boundaries are a typeof boundary that is drawn to accommodate existing language, religious, or otherculturalboundaries. Superimposed boundaries are sometimes forced on existing boundaries asinthe case of the division of Africa by European colonial powers during the nineteenthcentury.Relic boundaries are old boundaries that are no longer used between countries such as thenownonexistentboundarybetweenNorthandSouthVietnam.Anotherexampleofarelictboundary is the Great Wall of China (see Fig. 9.2), which was built during the third century

B.C. (Ch'in dynasty) as a defensive border to repel invading Mongols from thenorth.

Disputes often arise over bou ndaries. Positional disputes occur whencountriesdisagree about the interpretation of bou ndary documents. Sometimes bou ndariesaredispu ted because of superimposed bound aries that split an ethnic group into twodif­ferent countries. Irredentism is the situation that arises when an ethnic group supports

Figure 9.2Relic boundary: the Great Wall ofChina.

The Political Organization ofSpace97

and seeks to reunite with its ethnic population in a neigh boring country. Somaliahasmanyborder conflictswithEthiopiaovertherightsofSomalislivinginEthiopia.Resourcedisputesoftenoccurastwocountriesdisputeownershipofanaturalresourcethatliesontheborder.DisputeoverarichoilfieldonIraq'sborderwithKuwaitwasamajorreasonforIraq'sinvasionofKuwaitin1990to1991and the resulting PersianGulfWar.

Evolution of the Contempor ary PoliticalPattern

All culture hearths developed some form of political organization of space so theycouldcontrolandruletheirpeopleandlands.TheideaofthemodernpoliticalstatedevelopedintheearlyeighteenthcenturyinEurope.FriedrichRatzel,aGermangeographer,comparedthepoliticalstatetoalivingorganismthathad toexpand andabsorb nearbyterritoriesin order to survive. Germany used this theory to justify its invasion of neighboringstatesduringWorldWarII.Imperialismistheuseofmilitary threat,cultural domination,andeconomicsanctionstogaincontrolofacountryanditsresources. Colonialismimposedasetofformalcontrolsbythemothercountryoveritscoloniesoroutsideterritories.Todaymanycountrieswithmultiethnicpopulationsstillsufferconflictbecauseofthesuperim­posed boundaries placed by European colonial powers. Decolonization is the processbywhichformercolonies gain their independence.TheUnited Statesgained independenceintheeighteenthcentury,LatinAmericancoloniesgainedtheirindependence duringthenineteenth century, and most African colonies became independent during the twentiethcentury.

Halford Mackinder, an English geographer, developed the heartland-rimland theorytojustifyEuropeancolonizationduringthenineteenthcentury(seeFig.9.3).HeclaimedthecoreofEurasiawastheheartland,andthesurroundingterritoriescomprisedtherimland.Theheartlandwaswellpositionedtodominatetheworldbecauseoftheimmensesizeof itslandmass. SinceRussiaformedamajorpartoftheheartland,Mackinderinfluenced politicians of the day to try and limit Russia's expansion by colonizing theterritories near Russia.

The policy of containment was a direct offshoot of Mackind er's heartland-rimlandtheory after World War II. The United States joined several European countries invarious

Figure9.3Mackinder's heartland-rimlandtheory.

98)STEP4.ReviewtheKnowledgeYouNeedtoScoreHigh

regionalalliancessuchastheNorthAtlanticTreatyOrganization(NATO)toprevent Sovietdomination of Europe. In addition, the domino theory was a popularanti-communisttheory between 1945 and 1990 that greatly influenced the foreign policy decisions oftheUnited States during this rime period. This theory stated that once a country becamecom­munist, the neighboring countries around it were likely to also become communist, likeacolumn of dominoes falling over, one by one. The Vietnam War was a direct result ofthistheoryastheUnitedStatestriedtostopthespreadofcommunism.DuringtheColdWarerabetween the end of World War II and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, thebal­anceofpowerbetweentheworld'stwosuperpowers,theUnitedStatesandtheSovietUnion,wasastrugglebetweenthenoncommunist"freeworld"andtheforcesofcommunism.

Inrecentyears,theuseofterrorismasatoolofintimidationandcoercionhasincreased.Terrorismistheuseofviolenceinacontrolledandintentionalwaytoforceattentionontoissues. Terrorist attacks are aimed at a population and not a particular person (which iscalledassassination).Thequestionofwhetheranactofviolenceiscommittedbyarebelora terrorist is not easily answered at times. State-sponsored terrorism is different fromterrorismandcontainsthreeescalatinglevelsofparticipation:(1)thestateprovidessanc­tuaryforthosewhohavecommittedactsofterrorism;(2)thestateprovidesweapons,mili­taryintelligence,andmoneytoterrorists;and(3)thestateplansactsofterrorism.Astateguiltyofanyoneoralloftheaboveistobeviewedasastatethatsponsorsterrorism.

Challenges to the Contempor aryPolitical-TerritorialWorld Order

Anumberoffactorstodaypresentinterestingchallengestotheworld'scontemporarypoliti­cal system dominated by national governments. These challenges raise questions about therole of national governments in a global political system in which other types oforganizationsareincreasinglyactingontheinternationalstage. Thesegroupsrangefromstatelessterroristgroupsto multinationalorganizationstotransnationalcorporationsandnongovernmentalorganizations. Some challenges to the traditional world order are explored here.

•Globalization of the economy and the new transnational corporations present aninter­esting challenge to the modern political order today. Transnational corporationsmakedecisions for a level that transcends that of the state. Resource, staffing, production,andmarketingdecisionsmayinvolveseveralcountriesandeconomies andhavedirectimpli­cations for those economies.

•Supranational (an association of three or more states for mutual benefit) andmulti­nationalorganizationsrequireasurrender ofatleastpartialauthorityoftheindividualstate.Membershiprequiresgivingupindividualrightsforthecommongoodandgoalsofthesupranationalgroup.TheEuropean Union (EU) and North American FreeTradeAssociation(NAFTA)aretwosupranationaltradeblocsthatsupersedeindividualcountries' decisions regardingtrade.

•Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reflect special interest groups such as women'sandchildren'srights,AIDSprevention,etc.Theyoftenusethemediatopressurethecen­tral governments of countries to take action or limit action. Thus national governmentsoften must respond to international groups and pressures in making domesticpolicies.

•Immigrants find it much easier to retain close ties with their homelands throughmoderncommunications technology. This often leads to a lessened response to assimilationintothenewcountryandcontinuedloyaltiestotheoldone.Theresultisachallengetotraditional ideas of national citizenship andunity.

The Political Organization of Space99

ty, Fragmentation, Unification, and Alliance

Sovereignty refers to the internationally recognized exercise of a country's powerover its people and territor y. A federal state is a type of government that gives localpol itical units (such as states or provinces) within a country a measure of power.The

-nited States, Canada, Germany, Australia, Switzerland, and India are examples of

:ederalstates.Recently, therehas been atrend toward federalgovernment intheworld.Unitary states allocate most ofthe power to astrongcentral government. France andweden are examples of unitary states. Sometimes the devolution, or breakup, of a

;nultinational state can create a host of problems . Over 200 different ethnicgroupsresidedintheSovietUnion.Afterthebreakupofitsstrongcentralizedauthoritarianoovernment , most of the former Soviet republics joined a confederation of states toretain somecohesion.

Some countries are geographically fragmented with a portion of their territory com­pletelysurroundedbyanothercountry's territory.Anoutlier(pieceofacountrythatisseparate from the main territory) that is enclosed within the borders of another country iscalledanexclave. Nagorno-KarabakhisanArmenianexclavelocatedtotallywithin,andunderthejurisdictionof,Azerbaijan.Armenia(andNagorno-Karabakh)areChristian,butAzerbaijan is a Muslim country so tensions are always present. An enclave is a piece ofter­ritorythatiscompletelysurroundedbyanotherterritoryofwhichitisnotapart. Nagorno­Karabakh would be the enclave to those living within the territory.

Countries are constantly subjected to centripetal forces that unite andcentrifugalforcesthatdivide.Whenunifyingforces(centripetal)dominate,thecountrywill standstrong in the face of international challenges and conflicts, as well as conflicts withinitsborders.Whenforceswithinthreatentodividethecountry(centrifugal),abreakdownofcentralauthoritymayoccur.Forcessuchasastrong,charismaticleader,nationalanthems,nationalholidays,andnationalinstitutionssuchasschoolsareallstrongcentripetalforcesinacountry.Nationalism,orthestrongloveofandloyaltytoone'scountry,isalsoapotentunifyingforce.Nationalismalsoinvolvestheconceptthatanationhastherighttogovern itself without the interference ofothers.

Centrifugal forces such as religious differences and poor transportation andcommuni­cationsystemscanbestrongdivisiveforceswithinacountry. Nationalismcanalsoservetodivideacountrywhenanethnicoraculturalminorityseekspoliticalautonomyortherighttoself-governance.Thisseparatismsometimesleadstodevolution(abreakdownorweak­eningofcentralauthority)asthecentralgovernmentendsupgivingtheminorityseparatistgroupsomeofitsdemandstokeepthepeace.SeparatistgroupsincludetheMorosofthePhilippines, the Basques of Spain, the Bretons of France, and the Sikhs in India. The col­lapseoftheformerSovietUnionhasledtoseveralchallengestoethnicindividualityandrights.Mostseparatistgroupsoperateontheperipheryandsufferfromunequaltreatmentbothpoliticallyandeconomically.Thisneglectcoupledwithpoorlinkagestothecentralgovernmentleadstoafeelingofmarginalizationandresentmentthatspawnsfurtherunrestandstrife.

Alliances are associations among countries for the purpose of mutual defense ortradepurposes. Some alliances are on a regional scale, such as the Association ofSoutheastAsian Nations (ASEAN) and some are on an international scale (the UnitedNations).Some are for political, military, or defense purposes and other alliances are economicin purpose, such as the European Union (EU), North American Free TradeAgreement(NAFTA),CaribbeanCommunityandCommonMarket(CARICOM),etc.Countriesrealize they need to cooperate with other countries to keep their borders secure andtoguarantee economic and trade advantages so they join with other countries toprovide

100 STEP 4. Review the Knowledge You Need to Score Hig

these benefits. International alliances water down a.:: ::_:,_ : · ual country's authority while,

atthesametime,givingthatcountrytheassurance:=.2.:-e2oersofthealliancewill backthem up.TheUnited Nations (UN) attemptsrn:n- :;.... ounuiesoftheworld, but itdoesexclude somecountriessuch asTaiwan (wi- --= ·-·on thatTaiwan is aprovince

ofthePeople'sRepublicofChina).TheUN'sin _ othepolicyofintervention

to protect human rights without regard to matte :::2.:-= soYereignty or jurisdictionhas

created asupranational organization withtheri::o

__:eacountry'sabsolutesover­

eignjurisdiction over itsinhabitants.While theL.---- -forcecountries to agreeonadisputedissue,itcanexerttheforceofamajority o=- ....:intheeyesoftheworld,whichcanbeapowerful influence towield!

The Law of theSea

Starting in 1982, the oceans of the Earth have be :: ='..:lared by a treaty known astheUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the e2 G..::.::;_o.Igh the United States has never

officially ratified it) . This convention sets up rules =-"=-·water boundaries andrights

of usage for the Earth'soceans.

Under this treaty, a coastal statehas:

1.Exclusive fishingrights andsovereigntyover2.·e ·-o -seaofupto 12nautical milesfrom itscoast.

2.Limited jurisdiction over a territorial sea up:o-.aaucical miles from its coast (theright to enforcelawsofimmigration, saniracio-.ior?ursuit).

3.Anexclusiveeconomiczone(EEZ)ofupto_:ia_cicalmilesoffitscoastfornaturalresourceexplorationandexploitation(seeFig.9.' ow).

The Political Organization ofSpace101

ThehighseasbeyondtheEEZsofcoastalstatesareopenforfreeusebyallpoliticalstates.Anycountrycanfish,flyover,performscientificresearchin,andpassthroughthese high seas at will. Of course, competing claims to EEZs overlap in many areas ofthePacific Ocean, the South China Sea, etc., so countries must negotiate terms of use orfacefuture conflicts andtensions.

Geography ofRepresentation

Territorialorganizationreferstogovernment representation determined byspatialarea.Ina representative form of government like that of the United States, residents of aspatialarea (congressional district, for example) elect representatives to stand for their viewsandinterests in the larger governing body. Periodically, the boundaries of voting districtsareredrawn to better represent the voting interests of the residents and to ensure fair andequalrepresentation. The state legislatures take care of this in the United States, but inEurope,independent commissions are charged with redrawing boundaries. Gerrymanderingisthe process of redrawing territorial district boundaries to benefit a certain politicalparty.Political opposition can be spread over several districts and thus diluted (wasted vote)or it can be concentrated into a few districts (excess vote) . The drawing ofodd-shapedboundaries is an attempt to corner like-minded voters who are spread out spatiallyintoonedistrict.

RapidReview

Thecountriesoftheworld(states)arepoliticalunitswithconstantlychangingboundaries,associations,alliances,andconcerns.Theyaresubjecttoforcesthatunifyanddivideandare greatly influenced by conflicts both within and outside theirborders.