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Political Geography

Learning Outcomes

After reading, studying, and discussing the chapter, students should be able to:

Learning Outcome 8.1.1: Explain the three eras of rapid growth in UN membership.

Learning Outcome 8.1.2: Explain why it is difficult to determine whether some territories are states.

Learning Outcome 8.1.3: Explain the concept of nation-state and how it differs from earlier ways to

govern.

Learning Outcome 8.2.1: Understand the difference between a nation-state and a multinational state.

Learning Outcome 8.2.2: Describe the differences among states formerly in the Soviet Union.

Learning Outcome 8.2.3: Describe patterns of distribution of ethnicities in Russia and the Caucasus.

Learning Outcome 8.2.4: Explain the concept of colonies and describe their current distribution.

Learning Outcome 8.3.1: Describe the types of physical boundaries between states.

Learning Outcome 8.3.2: Describe the types of cultural boundaries between states.

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The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography

Learning Outcome 8.3.3: Describe five shapes of states.

Learning Outcome 8.3.4: Describe differences among the three regime types.

Learning Outcome 8.3.5: Explain the concept of gerrymandering and three ways it is done.

Learning Outcome 8.4.1: Describe the principle alliances in Europe during the Cold War era.

Learning Outcome 8.4.2: Describe the principle economic alliances in Europe in the period since World

War II.

Learning Outcomes 8.4.3: Explain the concept of terrorism.

Learning Outcomes 8.4.4: Describe ways that states have sponsored terrorism.

Chapter 8 Outline

Key Issue 1: Where Are States Distributed?

Political geography is concerned with the study of the way governments organize and administer space on

Earth’s surface, and especially the geographic dimensions of conflict. One of Earth’s most fundamental

cultural characteristic is the division of our planet’s surface into a collection of spaces occupied by

individual countries. Wars have broken out in recent years—both between small neighboring states and

among cultural groups within countries—over political control of territory. Old countries have been

broken up into collections of smaller ones. Geographers use geographic methods to examine the causes of

political change and instability and to anticipate potential trouble spots around the world.

A state is an area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government that has control

over its internal and foreign affairs. It occupies a defined territory on Earth’s surface and contains a

permanent population. A state has sovereignty, which means independence from control of its internal

affairs by other states.

The United Nations The most important global organization is the United Nations. The United Nations

has provided a forum for the discussion of international problems. On, occasion the UN has intervened in

conflicts between or within member states, authorizing military and peacekeeping actions. The UN seeks

to promote international cooperation to address global economic problems, promote human rights, and

provide humanitarian relief. The UN members can vote to establish a peacekeeping force and request

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Chapter 8: Political Geography

states to contribute military forces. The UN tries very hard to maintain strict neutrality in separating

warring factions.

The League of Nations was the world’s first attempt at in international peacekeeping organization. The

League of Nations was never an effective peacekeeping organization because it could not stop aggression

by these states against neighboring countries. The United States never joined the League of Nations and it

fell apart in the 1930s. The United Nations was created at the end of World War II and only had 51

member states. The number of UN members reached 193 in 2011.

Korea: One State or Two? Not all states are universally recognized or well defined. Korea was divided

in half into two occupation zones by the United States and the former Soviet Union after they defeated

Japan in World War II. The division of these zones became permanent in the late 1940s, when the two

superpowers established separate governments and withdrew their armies. In 1992, North Korea and

South Korea were admitted to the United Nations as separate countries. Progress toward reuniting Korea

was halted by North Korea’s decision to build nuclear weapons.

China and Taiwan: One State or Two? Most countries consider China (officially the People’s Republic

of China) and Taiwan (officially the Republic of China) as separate and sovereign states. China does not

consider Taiwan to be a separate state but part of China. The question of who was the legitimate

government of China plagued U.S. officials in the 1950s and 1960s. The United States considered the

Nationalists in Taiwan the official government of China until 1971. The United Nations voted that year to

transfer China’s seat in the UN from the Nationalists in Taiwan to the Communist government in China.

Taiwan is now the most populous state not in the United Nations.

Western Sahara (Sahrawi Republic) Most African countries consider the Sahrawi Arab Democratic

Republic a sovereign state. Spain controlled the territory until withdrawing from the area in 1976. An

independent Sahrawi Republic was declared. Morocco and Mauritania annexed the territory, but

Mauritania decided to withdraw three years later. Morocco now claims most of the territory and has built

a wall around it to keep the rebels out. The United Nations has tried but failed to reach a resolution in this

situation.

Polar Regions: Many Claims The South Pole contains the only large landmass on Earth’s surface that is

not part of a state. These states claim portion of the South Pole: Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New

Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Chile and the United Kingdom have conflicting and overlapping

claims. The United States, Russia, and other countries do not recognize the claims of any countries in

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Antarctica. States may establish research stations there for scientific investigations, but no military

activities are permitted.

Ancient States The state concept developed in the Middle East. The first states were territories

surrounding cities. A city-state is a sovereign state that comprises a town and the surrounding

countryside. Walls clearly delineated the boundaries of the city. The city controlled the agricultural land

surrounding the city that produced food for the urban residents. The countryside also provided the city

with an outer line of defense against attack by other city-states. One city may gain military dominance

over the others and form an empire.

Medieval States The largest unified political territory of the preindustrial times was the Roman Empire.

The Roman Empire controlled most of Europe, North Africa, and Southwest Asia. The empire comprised

38 provinces, each using the same set of laws that had been created in Rome. The Roman Empire

eventually collapsed in the fifth century. The European portion of the empire was fragmented into a large

number of estates owned by competing kings, dukes, barons, and other nobles. Victorious nobles seized

control of defeated rivals’ estates. A handful of powerful kings emerged as rulers over a large numbers of

these European estates beginning about the year 1100. The consolidation of neighboring estates under the

unified control of a king formed the basis for the development of states.

Nation-states in Europe A nation-state is a state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a

particular ethnicity. To preserve and enhance distinctive cultural characteristics, ethnicities seek to govern

themselves without interference. The concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves is

known as self-determination. By the early twentieth century most of Western Europe was made up of

nation-states.

After World War I the Allied leaders used language as the main criteria to create new states in Europe and

adjust the boundaries of existing ones. Boundaries were drawn around the states of Bulgaria, Hungary,

Poland, and Romania to conform closely to the distribution of Bulgarian, Hungarian, Polish, and

Romanian speakers. During the 1930s, the Nazis claimed that all Germanic speaking parts of Europe

constituted one nationality and should be unified into one state. The Nazis invaded Austria and the

German-speaking part of Czechoslovakia. It was not until the Nazis invaded Poland (clearly not a

German speaking country) that France and England tried to stop them.

Key Issue 2: Why Are Nation-states Difficult to Create?

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Nation-states in Europe Denmark and Slovenia are close to being examples of true nation-states. Danes

make up 90 percent of the population in Denmark. The Danes have a strong sense of unity that derives

from shared cultural characteristics and language. Slovenia was a republic within Yugoslavia that became

independent in 1991. Slovenes comprise 83 percent of the population. The relatively close boundaries

between the boundaries of the Slovene ethnic group and the country of Slovenia has promoted the

country’s relative peace and stability compared to other former Yugoslavian republics. Both Denmark’s

and Slovenia’s ethnic minorities are economic migrants from other countries in Europe.

In the twenty-first century, ethnic identity has once again become important in the creation of nation-

states in much of Europe. The breakup of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia during the

1990s gave numerous ethnicities the opportunity to organize nation-states. These ethnic groups were no

longer content to just control a local government unit, but sought to be the majority in a completely

independent nation-state. The ethnic groups with smaller populations unfortunately found themselves

existing as minorities in multinational states or divided among more than one of the new states.

Independent Nation-states in Former Soviet Republics For decades, the many ethnicities within the

Soviet Union were unable to realize their nationalist aspirations and form independent nation-states. The

Soviet Union consisted of 15 republics, based on its 15 largest ethnicities. With the breakup of the Soviet

Union into 15 independent countries, a number of less numerous ethnicities are now divided among these

states. Reasonably good examples of nation-states have been carved out of the Baltic, European, and

Central Asian republics. Peaceful nation-states have not been created in any of the small Caucasus

republics.

The Largest Multinational State: Russia Russia officially recognizes the existence of 39 nationalities,

many of which are eager for independence. Independence movements are flourishing because Russia is

less willing to suppress these movements forcibly than the Soviet Union. Particularly troublesome for the

Russians are Chechens, a group of Muslims who speak a Caucasian language and practice distinctive

social customs. The Chechens declared independence in 1991, but Russia ignored their declaration. The

Russians fought hard to retain control of the territory because it contains large petroleum deposits and

they did not want other ethnicities to also try to break away.

Turmoil in the Caucasus The Caucasus region is situated between the Black and Caspian seas and gets

its name from the mountains that separate Azerbaijan and Georgia from Russia. When the Caucasus

region was part of Soviet Union the Soviet government promoted allegiance to the Soviet state and

quelled disputes among ethnicities, by force if necessary. With the breakup of the region into several

independent countries, long-standing conflicts among ethnicities have erupted into armed conflicts. Every

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ethnicity in the Caucasus wants to carve out a sovereign nation-state. The region’s ethnicities have had

varying degrees of success in achieving this objective, but none has fully achieved it.

Colonialism A colony is a territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than being completely

independent. Colonialism is an attempt by one country to establish settlements and impose its political,

economic, and cultural principles in another territory. European states started establishing colonies in the

Western Hemisphere in the 1400s. The European colonial era ended in the Western Hemisphere by 1824.

European states then started to establish colonies in Africa and Asia. Most African and Asian colonies

became independent after World War II. The United Kingdom and France had the largest colonial empire.

The Remaining Colonies Only a handful of colonies remain today. The U.S. Department of State lists 68

places in the world that it calls dependencies or areas of special sovereignty. The list includes 43 with

indigenous populations and 25 with no permanent population. Most current colonies are islands in the

Caribbean Sea. The most populous remaining colony is Puerto Rico, which is a commonwealth of the

United States.

Key Issue 3: Why Do Boundaries Cause Problems?

A boundary is an invisible line that marks the extent of a state’s territory. Boundaries completely

surround an individual state to mark the outer limits of its territorial control and to give it a distinctive

shape. Historically, frontiers rather than boundaries separated states. A frontier is a zone where no state

exercises complete political control. Frontiers between states have been replaced by boundaries.

Physical Boundaries Physical boundaries such as deserts, mountains, and water are all used to separate

states and may be effective in part because they represent a physical barrier to movement. Physical

boundaries also make good boundaries because they are easily seen, both on a map and on the ground.

Cultural Boundaries Two types of cultural boundaries are common—geometric and cultural. Geometric

boundaries are simply straight lines drawn on a map. Cultural boundaries such as religious boundaries

and language boundaries can be problematic because they rarely divide all individuals perfectly between

each side of the boundary. An example of a boundary reinforcing differences on either side is that of

Cypress, which is divided between Turkish and Greek control.

Compact States: Efficient In a compact state, the distance from the center to any boundary does not

vary significantly. The ideal theoretical compact state would be shaped like a circle, with the capital at the

center and with the shortest possible boundary to defend. A compact state has efficient communication

and transportation. 104



Elongated States: Potential Isolation An elongated state has a long and narrow shape. Elongated states

may suffer from poor internal communications. A region located at an extreme end of the elongation

might be isolated from the capital, which is usually placed near the center.

Prorupted States: Access or Disruption An otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension is

a prorupted state. Proruptions can provide a state with access to a resource, such as water. Proruptions

are also used to separate two states that would otherwise share a boundary.

Perforated States: South Africa A state that completely surrounds another one is a perforated state. In

this situation, the state that is surrounded may face problems of dependence on, or interference from, the

surrounding state. South Africa completely surrounds the state of Lesotho.

Fragmented States: Problematic A fragmented state includes several discontinuous pieces of territory.

Fragmented states separated by water can face problems and costs associated with communications and

maintaining national unity. Fragmented states separated by an intervening state sometimes have problems

dealing with the states in between the fragments.

Landlocked States Landlocked states have difficulty engaging in international trade because they lack

direct access to the ocean. A landlocked state is completely surrounded by other countries. Landlocked

states are most common in Africa, where 14 of the continent’s 54 states have no direct access to the

ocean. The prevalence of landlocked states in Africa is a remnant of the colonial era. Landlocked states

must cooperate with neighboring states that have seaports.

National Scale: Regime Types An autocracy is a country that is run according to the interests of the

ruler rather than the people. An anocracy is country that is not fully democratic or fully autocratic, but

rather displays a mix of the two types. Democracies and autocracies differ in three essential elements:

selection of leaders, citizen participation, and checks and balances. The Arab Spring shows how the world

is becoming more democratic.

Local Scale: Unitary and Federal States State organization of internal territory falls into a continuum

from a unitary state (strong central government) and a federal state (strong local and regional

government). The unitary government system works best in nation-states characterized by few internal

cultural differences and a strong sense of national unity. Smaller states are also more likely to adopt a

unitary government system. Local government poses considerable authority to adopt their own laws in a

federal state. The federal system empowers different nationalities, especially if they live in separate

regions of the country. The federal system is more suitable for large states because the national capital

may be too remote to provide effective control over isolated regions. 105



Electoral Geography The process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the

party in power is called gerrymandering. The boundaries separating the 435 legislative districts within

the United States are redrawn periodically to ensure that each district has approximately the same

population. Boundaries must be redrawn because migration inevitably results in some districts gaining

population and losing population. The political party in control of the state legislature naturally attempts

to redraw boundaries to improve the chances of its supporters to win seats.

Key Issue 4: Why Do States Cooperate and Compete with Each Other?

Era of Two Superpowers During the Cold War era, The United States and Soviet Union were the

world’s two superpowers. To maintain strength in regions that were not contiguous to their own territory,

the United States and Soviet Union established military bases in other countries. Both superpowers

repeatedly demonstrated they would use military force if necessary to prevent an ally from becoming too

independent. Because the power of the United States and Soviet Union was so much greater than the

power of all other states, the world comprised of two camps, each under the influence of one of the

superpowers.

After World War II, most European states joined one of two military alliances dominated by the

superpowers-NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) or the Warsaw Pact. NATO was a military

alliance among 16 democratic states, including the United States and Canada plus 14 European states. For

NATO allies, the principle objective was to prevent the Soviet Union from overrunning West Germany

and other smaller countries. The Warsaw Pact was a military agreement among seven communist Eastern

European countries to defend each other in case of attack. The Warsaw Pact provided the Soviet Union

with a buffer of allied states between it and Germany to discourage a third German invasion of the Soviet

Union in the twentieth century.

Economic Alliances in Europe Economic power is eclipsing political and military power on the world

stage. The European Union (EU) has emerged as the world’s leading superpower because it turned

Europe into the world’s wealthiest market. The main task of the European Union is to promote

development within the member states through economic and political cooperation. The EU now has 27

member countries, and several more European countries will likely join the EU in the next decade.

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A single bank, the European Central Bank, was given responsibility for setting interest rates and

minimizing inflation in the EU countries. Most importantly, a common currency, the euro, was created for

electronic transactions beginning in 1999 and in notes and coins beginning in 2002. European leaders bet

that every country in the region would be stronger economically if it replaced its national currency with

the euro. For the first few years that was the case, but the future of the euro has been called into question

by the severe global recession that began in 2008. Economically strong countries, especially Germany,

have been forced to subsidize the weaker states.

Alliances in Other Regions Economic cooperation has been an important factor in the creation of

international organizations that now can be found far beyond Western Europe. Other regional political

and military organizations include the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the

Organization of American States, the African Union, and the Commonwealth.

Terrorism against Americans The systematic use of violence by a group in order to intimidate a

populace or coerce a government into granting demands is considered terrorism. Terrorists attack

common citizens instead of military personnel or political figures. A terrorist considers all citizens

responsible for the actions he or she opposes. It is generally considered that terrorists operate outside of

government, but this definition is problematic when applied to state sponsors of terror. Distinguishing

terrorism from other acts of political violence can also be difficult.

September 11, 2001, Attacks The United States has experienced a number of terrorist attacks since the

late 1980s, but the attacks of September 11, 2001, caused dramatic concern. The twin towers of the World

Trade Center in New York City were the two tallest buildings in the United States before they were

destroyed in the attacks. The Pentagon was also damaged. The attacks resulted in nearly 3,000 fatalities.

The al-Qaeda network led by Osama bin Laden was implicated in the 9/11 attacks. Osama bin Laden

moved to Afghanistan from Saudi Arabia in the mid-1980s to support the fight against the Soviet army

and the country’s Soviet-installed government. Osama used his several hundred million dollar inheritance

to fund al-Qaeda around 1990 to unite jihad fighters in Afghanistan. Osama left Afghanistan in 1989, and

was later expelled from both Saudi Arabia and Sudan. He returned to Afghanistan in 1994. In 1996, he

issued a declaration of war against the United States because of U.S. support for Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda is not a single unified organization and the number of people involved is unknown.

In addition to the to the original organization founded by Osama bin Laden responsible for the World

Trade Center attack, al-Qaeda also encompassed local franchises concerned with country-specific issues,

as well as imitators and emulators ideologically aligned with al-Qaeda but not financially tied to it.

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Sanctuary for Terrorists Afghanistan and (probably) Pakistan have provided sanctuary for al-Qaeda

terrorists. The Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in 1995 and imposed strict Islamic fundamentalist

law on the population. The Taliban rule came to an end in 2001, following the U.S. invasion. Destroying

the Taliban was necessary in order for the United States to go after al-Qaeda leaders who were living in

Afghanistan as guests of the Taliban. The United States also believes that Pakistan security was aware

that Osama bin Laden was living in a fortified compound located in the city of Abbottabad which is only

75 miles from Pakistan’s capital.

Supplying Terrorists The United States removed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in 2003 because the

U.S. government believed that he had biological and chemical weapons that could eventually fall into the

hands of terrorists. UN experts concluded that Iraq had these weapons at one time but destroyed them in

1991 after its Desert Storm defeat. U.S. officials believed instead that Iraq hid the weapons, though they

were never able to find them. The United States also said that close links existed between Iraq’s

government and al-Qaeda. Saddam Hussein was not an observant Muslim and did not derive his

philosophies from religious principles. The United States also accused Iran of harboring al-Qaeda

members.

State Terrorist Attacks: Libya The government of Libya was accused of sponsoring a 1986 bombing of

a nightclub in Berlin, Germany, that was popular with U.S. military personnel then stationed there.

Libyan agents were found to have planted bombs on Pam Am Flight 103 that killed 270 people over

Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, as well as 170 people on UTA Flight 772 over Niger in 1989.

Introducing the Chapter

Students frequently associate the topic of this chapter with “real geography,” and many students report

taking an introductory geography class to learn more about different countries.

This chapter allows those students to quench some of their curiosity in this regard, as well as the larger

issues of political geography: the formation of states, including the origin of the state concept, the legacy

of colonialism, and political cooperation and conflict, including the new global dimensions of terrorism.

Terrorism is as useful a context as any to begin the chapter; the text does this with the dramatic before-

and-after shots of the World Trade Center. The text’s later discussion of terrorist attacks on the United

States prior to September 11, 2001, is also an interesting starting point for student discussion.

Icebreaker: Mental Maps

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Mental mapping is a great way to demonstrate how we perceive the world. It’s particularly useful for

understanding how little we know about some places. This exercise can be used for a variety of lessons,

political geography among them.

First, instruct students to start with a fresh sheet of paper in their notebooks. You may wish to hand out

blank sheets of copy paper for this exercise.

Instruct the students, “Draw a map of your childhood. You may choose to draw whatever location and

time period you wish, at whatever scale you wish. Include whatever details and memories you see fit.

You have five minutes.”

Students will produce detailed, sometimes intricately so, maps of their childhood memories and places,

especially if given longer than five minutes. Ask for volunteers to share their maps. This might be made

easier by sharing your own map first.

Next, say “Turn your papers over and put a dot in the center. Label it with the name of our town. Now fill

in as much information as you can on the rest of the map. You have five minutes.”

Students will be able to draw more or less complete maps of the region. It’s interesting to note the scale at

which they draw, that is, whether neighboring regions are included or only nearby towns. Many students

are fairly challenged by this task.

Finally, have the students take out a new sheet of paper. Say “I want you to draw Africa (or substitute

another world region). Again, fill in as much information as you can. You have five minutes.”

Depending on the world region chose, most students will have a difficult to nearly impossible time with

this task. Emphasize that the point of this exercise is not to make the students feel stupid, but to

understand how we think about and perceive the world. Ask the following questions:

What was put into the map of Africa? The Nile River and Egypt sometimes are the only named

features.

Ask what other states were named and make a list of the most frequently named countries.

Why are these states on our mental maps and not others? Are our mental maps complete?

Challenges to Comprehension

State vs. Country

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The geographic use of the term “state” confuses students who are familiar only with the “United States”

use of the term. Be sure to define the term “state” as it is used in the book and contrast this with the use

of the term in the sense of the United States.

Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?

A real challenge lies in the separation of the political spin and media hyperbole from what may actually

be occurring in any particular conflict. Students may fall into any number of camps, but feelings can be

quite strong about “right” and “wrong” sides in any particular conflict.

For perspective, try this question: If you are a parent with an injured child, does it matter to you if the

people who hurt your child were “liberators” or “terrorists”?

Assignments

Review/Reflection Questions

When referring to European nations occupying areas around the world, taking over governments

and often brutally suppressing any resistance, why do you think the word “colonialism” is used

instead of “invasion?” Explain and elaborate.

Using a world map, identify two examples each of the following types of states not referenced in

the text: compact, elongated, landlocked, and fragmented.

What are the implications of gerrymandering? Is there any way that voting districts could be

divided up that would not result in one group complaining of inappropriate representation?

Look at the text’s definition of terrorism. Modify it or create your own if you wish. Now

consider the following questions:

1. Over a nine-month period in 1941–1942, the German Luftwaffe (air force) bombed London,

destroying more than 1 million houses and killing approximately 43,000 people. Except for the

fact that this act was carried out by the state, does it meet your definition of terrorism?

2. Over a period of two nights (February 13–15) in 1944, the U.S. and British air forces dropped

approximately 3,900 tons of highly explosive and incendiary (fire-causing) bombs on Dresden,

Germany. Their objective was to destroy Dresden’s rail yard, but they dropped so many bombs

all around the city that the resulting firestorm killed about 30,000 people, most of whom were

burned alive. Except for the fact that this act was carried out by the state, does it meet your

definition of terrorism?

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3. Should we draw a distinction between “terrorism” and “war” as separate concepts? Explain your

reasoning.

Thinking Geographically Questions

8.1: A century ago the British geographer Halford J. Mackinder indentified a heartland in the interior of

Eurasia (Europe and Asia) that was isolated by mountain ranges and the Arctic Ocean. Surrounding the

heartland was a series of fringe areas, which geographer Nicholas Spykman later called the “rimland,”

oriented toward the oceans. Mackinder argued that whoever controlled the heartland would control

Eurasia and hence the entire world. To what extent has Mackinder’s theory been validated during the

twentieth century by the creation and then the dismantling of the Soviet Union?

I don’t believe that his theory was correct at all. The Soviet Union was extremely powerful, but it has

fallen apart. After the Soviet Union collapsed, the United States became the undisputed world

superpower. China will soon be equal to the United States in economic and military power. Many experts

think that China will eventually surpass the United States and become the world’s great superpower.

China is obviously located in Eurasia, but it does not control the heartland.

With the exception of Moscow and maybe a couple of other large cities in Russia, most of the country is

doing very poor economically. Russia is the only country I can think of where the life expectancy of its

people is actually declining. Alcoholism has become a huge problem in Russia. Russia is doing so bad

that some people wish that the communist era never ended. If the Russians do end up finding large

amounts of oil in the Arctic Ocean or Siberia, it could propel the country to superpower status again.

8.2: The world has been divided into a collection of countries on the basis of the principle that ethnicities

have the right of self-determination. National identity, however, derives from economic interests as well

as from such cultural characteristics as language and religion. To what extent should a country’s ability

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to provide its citizens with food, jobs, economic security, and material wealth, rather than the principle of

self-determination, become the basis for dividing the world into independent countries?

If a country can’t provide for its citizens, it should probably not become a country in the first place. When

I hear about an ethnic region of a country trying to gain independence I always think to myself, “How

would this new state even survive economically?” It is pointless for these groups to strive for autonomy if

they don’t have an established economic plan. Most of these newly established states probably expect that

the United Nations will supply them with food and material goods. That’s fine in the beginning, but they

need to become self sufficient very quickly.

8.3: Given the movement toward increased local government autonomy on the one hand and increased

authority for international organizations on the other, what is the future of the nation-state? Have

political and economic trends since the 1990s strengthened the concept of the nation-state or weakened

it?

I think the concept of the nation-state has been somewhat weakened since the 1990s. The World Trade

Organization compromises the power and sovereignty of individual countries because it can order

changes in taxes and laws that it considers unfair. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund

conditionally loan money to certain countries which influences the economic policies of the countries

receiving the loans. The European Union has essentially made Europe one large country. There are other

international organizations like the Organization of American States in the Western Hemisphere and the

African Union that try to influence member country’s policies. Globalization has severely weakened the

power of nation-states.

8.4: In his book 1984, George Orwell envisioned the division of the world into three large unified states,

held together by technological controls. How accurately has Orwell’s vision of a global political

arrangement been realized in an age of terrorism?

Oceania was somewhat similar to NATO. Oceania’s core territories are the Western Hemisphere, the

British Isles, Australia, and Southern Africa. Eurasia was somewhat similar to the Warsaw Pact. Eurasia

included all of continental Europe and Siberia. There is no sort of super-state that has anything in

common with Eastasia. There could be an alliance between Japan, China, Korea, and other Southeast

Asian countries in the distant future, but there is no planned alliance for this region in the near future.

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Pause and Reflect Questions

8.1.1: How might UN membership substantially increase in the future beyond the current level?

It would take more nationalities seeking autonomy and breaking away from already established states.

Almost every country is a member of the UN, so it would require more countries being created. The

regions of the world where these new states would most likely occur are in Africa, Eastern Europe, and

Central Asia.

8.1.2: The polar ice caps are receding with the warming of Earth. How might this affect competing

territorial claims?

The United States, Canada, Russia, Norway, and Denmark (because Greenland is a Danish colony) will

be fighting over territorial rights to the Arctic Ocean. The reason all these countries are interested in

establishing territorial claims in the Arctic Ocean is because there is potentially a lot of oil underneath the

ocean floor.

8.1.3: What is the importance of the Fertile Crescent in the development of religions as discussed in

Chapter 6? How do you think the development of ancient states and religions in the region are related?

When people were nomadic hunter and gathers there was never a religion that was practiced by a large

number of people. Each little wandering group had its own beliefs. People became more sedentary when

plant and animal domestication became common. Because of the agricultural surplus that the

domestication of plants and animals provided, not every person had to be actively involved in agriculture.

This contributed to the development of city-states. It allowed for the establishment of a formalized

religion practiced by thousands of people.

8.2.1: Referring to Figure 7-40, where do the boundaries of Slovenia not match language boundaries?

The political boundaries do not match the languages boundaries in the extreme eastern portion of

Slovenia and in a small region in the southern portion of Slovenia.

8.2.2: To what branches of Indo-European do the principle languages of Moldova belong? How might

these linguistic differences affect politics in Moldova?

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Most people in Moldova speak Romanian which is a language in the Romance branch. Since Romania

shares a border with Moldova and no other country near Moldova speaks a language in the Romance

branch, it could cause Moldova to want to become part of Romania eventually.

8.2.3: If Abkhazia and South Ossetia become independent states, how would they compare in size to

microstates described earlier in this chapter?

Many of the microstates that were mentioned earlier in the chapter are islands. Abkhazia and South

Ossetia are not islands so they would not be your typical microstate, but their sizes would be similar.

8.2.4: What would need to change for Puerto Rico to no longer be classified as a colony of the United

States?

Puerto Rico would need to either become the 51st state of the United States or become a completely

independent country.

8.3.1: Where outside of Africa is an example of a physical boundary?

Chile and Argentina are separated by the crest of the Andes Mountains.

8.3.2: Where does the boundary between Canada and the United States follow physical features rather

than geometry?

The United States and Canada are separated by the Great Lakes in the eastern portion of the country.

8.3.3: Where outside of Africa is an example of a landlocked state?

Bolivia is a landlocked state.

8.3.4: What region of the world appears to have the greatest concentration of autocratic regimes?

Southwest Asia and Africa have a long history of autocratic regimes.

8.3.5: How was the city of Las Vegas treated in the two maps drawn by political parties compared with

the final map drawn by the court?

The Democratic plan made Democrats more numerous than Republicans in three of the four districts. By

clustering a large share of the state’s registered Democrats in District 4, the Republican plan gave

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Republicans the majority of registered voters in two of the four districts. The map drawn by the court

created regularly shaped districts that minimized gerrymandering.

8.4.1: How does the map of military alliances in Europe during the Cold War compare to the map of

regime types?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was comprised of democratic countries. The Warsaw Pact was

comprised of communist countries.

8.4.2: What might be the reaction of people in Canada, Mexico, and the United States if the three

countries simultaneously elected a North American Parliament?

I don’t think very many people would like it. People in the United States, Mexico, and Canada want

autonomy and don’t want to be overruled on major decisions by the other two countries. In 1994, when

the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was passed, many people were upset in all three

countries. I don’t think that the scenario described above will happen without massive and violent protests

taking place.

8.4.3: How has travel in the United States been affected by the 9/11 attacks?

Traveling across the United States/Canada border and the United States/Mexico border has become much

more difficult. The waiting time to get across the border has increased substantially. Airline tickets have

gone up because of the increased TSA fees tacked on to the ticket price. Air travel has become much

more of a hassle because of all the security screening that takes place at the airports.

8.4.4: Suspected terrorists captured primarily in Afghanistan have been detained at a detention camp run

by the United States at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Do you think that suspected terrorists should be tried in

a U.S. military court, brought to the United States for civilian trials, or sent back to the country from

which they were captured?

I think they should be tried in military courts. They did not commit a crime in the United States or are

they U.S. citizens, so trying them in the United States as civilians seems somewhat ridiculous. I don’t

really trust the legal system in Afghanistan so I would not try them there either.

8.4.5: What events have occurred in Iran since this book was published?

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Answers will vary.

Google Earth Questions

GOOGLE EARTH 8.1: The smallest state is the Holy See (Vatican). What is housed in the government

building immediately to the west of St Peter’s (identified in Google Earth 6.1)?

Palazzo del Governatore in Vaticano

GOOGLE EARTH 8.2: The boundary between what states run through the Caucasus Mountains?

Georgia, Russia.

GOOGLE EARTH 8.3: Portions of what four states can be seen near the Libyan Desert?

Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Chad.

GOOGLE EARTH 8.4: If you zoom into the center of Abbotabad, Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden’s

hideout was located, turn on 3D, switch to ground-level view, and pan around, what is the only 3D

building? Given the distribution of religions discussed in Chapter 6, why does this building seem out of

place here?

St Luke Church. A Christian church is in a predominantly Muslim community.

Resources

Country Name Quiz

For those who consider place name geography important the “Test your Geography Knowledge” game is

a great tool for helping the memorization of state locations.

It’s online at www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/

Good Kurds, Bad Kurds

Though a bit dated, this 2001 documentary by Kevin McKiernan provides an excellent example of the

relativism of U.S. foreign policy. In this case, the film investigates human rights abuses of Kurds in

Turkey, a valuable U.S. ally, at the same time (late 1990s) that the United States was objecting to the

oppression of Kurds in Iraq.

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Connections between Chapters

Back to Chapter 7

As ethnicity and nationality are often intertwined, so are ethnicity and political geography. Remind your class that states can represent the physical embodiment of nationalities, and therefore it should not surprise us when conflicts arise between states.

Forward to Chapter 9

The transition between these two chapters represents a natural break of sorts, as the next chapter concentrates predominately on the study of economic geography.

However, point out that development is often measured at the country level (despite the obvious concerns this raises with respect to uneven development) and that government structures are often looked to for explanation of development status.

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