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AP Human Geography Chapter 8 Political Geography Notes, Rubenstein (Cultural Landscape)
Irvine Valley College
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CHAPTER 8: Political Geography
Key Issue 1: Where are States Distributed?
1. Introducing Political Geography
● A state is an area organized into a political unit and ruled by an official government. ○ Government has control over internal / foreign affairs. ○ Contains a permanent population, also known as a country. ○ California is a subdivision , like other states in the US. ■ Example: Canada, North Korea, Iraq. ● Microstates are known as states with very small land areas. ○ Vatican City is the world’s smallest microstate, only 0 square kilometers. ■ Example: Vatican City, San Marino, Andorra, etc. ○ Other smaller U. member states are majority islands, like the Maldives and Micronesia.
2. Challenges in Defining States
● Sovereignty means a state has independence from control of its internal affairs by other states. ○ A good example of a formal region; affairs managed by national government. ● Korea: One State or Two? ○ Divided between Democratic People’s Republic and Republic. ○ Two zones created by the US after defeat of Japan in WWII. ○ North Korea invaded the South in 1950, Korean War, N. poor state. ● China and Taiwan: One State or Two? ○ According to both Taiwan and China’s government, Taiwan is not sovereign. ○ Current conflict arises from a civil war between the Nationalists and the Communists → Nationalists lost and fled to Taiwan. ○ U. voted to change government to communist China in 1970s. ● Senkaku / Diaoyu Islands: Who is Sovereign? ○ China, Taiwan, and Japan all claim sovereignty over several small uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.
○ Japan currently controls the islands, China and Taiwan claim they historically belonged to them. ● Sahrawi Republic / Western Sahara: Who is Sovereign? ○ Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic / Western Sahar is recognized by most African countries as sovereign. ○ Morocco claims the territory, built a 2,700-kilometer wall around it. ○ Polisario Front operates in the vast, U. unable to reach a resolution.
Key Issue 2: Where are Nation-States Difficult to Create?
1. Development of States
● Ancient States ○ A nation-state is a state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity. ■ Example: North and South Korea, Japan, and Germany. ○ Development of states traced to Fertile Crescent, land/sea communications. ■ Evolved into the world’s first Mesopotamian city-states , which is a sovereign state that comprises a town and the surrounding countryside. ● Periodically, one city or tribe would dominate → succession of empires by Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonias, Persians. ● Medieval States ○ Political stability reached its peak with Roman Empire, controlled Europe/Southwest Asia + Africa. ○ Collapsed in 5th century → fragmented, monarchs take over estates. ■ The consolidation of neighboring estates under the unified control of a monarchy formed the basis for modern development. ● States in the Twentieth-Century Europe ○ At the time, it was mainly ruled by emperors, kings, and queens. ○ Following WWI, leaders met at Versailles Conference to redraw Europe. ■ Geographer Isaiah Bowman played major role (Wilson’s advisor). ■ Created new states, adjusted boundaries, clear cut nation-states.
3. Russia: The Largest Multiethnic State
● Russia; The Largest Multinational State ○ USSR was the largest state in land area from 1922-1991. ■ Consisted of 15 republics, before breakup Russians were half of the pop. ■ The breakup created 15 independent states, consisting of 5 groups: ● Russia ● Three Baltic states ● Three European states ● Five Central Asian states ● Three Caucasus states ○ Best examples of nation states are not necessarily the most peaceful states! ○ Russia’s ethnicities are clustered in two principal locations: ■ Located on borders with neighboring states. ■ Center of Russia, Volga River basin and Ural mountains. ● Russians in Ukraine ○ Prospects for a stable nation-state were favorable in independent Ukraine. ■ Economic assets: coal deposits, steal industries, close to Western Eur. ○ Minority Russian population started uprising, Russian minorities were endangered → Russia invaded Ukraine to seize Crimea. ■ Crimea was seized in 1783 and became an autonomous republic in 1921. ■ USSR broke up, Crimea became a part of Ukraine, Russia invades once more in 2014 to annex it.
4. Nation-States in the Former Soviet Union
● Three European States ○ Belarus and Ukraine ■ Distinction between Ukrainians, Russians, Belarusians unclear. ■ Originally similar, became different after isolation from Mongols. ■ Belarus and Ukraine conquered by Russia in late 18th century. ○ Moldova
■ Indistinguishable from Romanians, was once part of Romania. ■ 1992, Moldavans want reunification with Romania. ● Three Baltic States ○ USSR annexed them in agreement with Nazis, independent countries. ○ Clear cultural differences, different religions and languages. ○ Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. ● The Caucasus: Many Ethnicities ○ Situated between the Caspian and Black seas, size of Colorado ○ Home to several ethnicities, created the following after USSR breakup: ■ Armenia ● Christian group, lived as an isolated enclave under Turkish rule. ● 1921, Turkey and USSR agree to divide Armenia, homogenous. ■ Azerbaijan ● Roots traced to Turkish invaders from 8th/9th century invaders. ● 1828 treaty allocated northern Azeri territory to Russia, southern Azeria territory to Persia. ○ Nakhichevan is separated from the rest of Azerbaijan. ■ Georgia ● More diverse than Armenia and Azerbaijan. ● Georgians compromise around 71 percent of population. ● Fought with Abkhazians over northwestern portion. ● Central Asian States ○ Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are relatively stable nation-states. ■ Tajikistan has suffered from a civil war with former communists. ○ Kazakhstan is a relatively peaceful multinational state, 67% Kazakhs. ○ Conflict between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks has led to ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Uzbeks.
5. Colonies
● A colony is a territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than being completely independent.
● A boundary is what separates states from its neighbors, invisible lines. ○ Boundaries are interesting because selecting their locations are difficult. ● A frontier is a zone where no state exercises complete political control. ○ Usually uninhabited or sparsely settled. ○ Example: The Arabian Peninsula. ● 3 types of boundaries: ○ Cultural boundaries, follow cultural distribution. ○ Geometric boundaries based off human constructs, such as straight lines. ○ Physical boundaries that coincide with the natural landscape. ■ None is more natural than the others, or better in any way.
1. Cultural Boundaries
● Religious Boundary: Ireland ○ British partitioned India into two states based on religion. ■ Roman Catholic vs. Protestant. ○ Drew the boundary between two states on the island of Eire (Ireland). ○ Language is an important characteristic for drawing boundaries, especially Eur. ● Ethnic Boundary: Cyprus ○ Two nationalities: Greek and Turkish, mainly Greeks. ○ Gained independence from Britain in 1960, unpeaceful ethnic incorporation. ○ Wall constructed between Turkish/Greek Area after dispute.
2. Geometric Boundaries
● Geometric Boundaries: North America ○ 2,100 kilometer boundary with Canada, straight line along 49 north. ○ Border with Canada established through a series of treaties with the UK. ● Geometric Boundary: North Africa ○ Boundaries between the north and the south (Algeria vs Mali) are mostly geometric. ○ 1,000 kilometer boundary between Chad and Libya drawn by French/British. ○ Libya seizes debated Aozou Strip, eventually Chad regains control.
● Geometric Boundary: South Pole ○ Only large land masses that are not part of a state. ○ Antarctica is claimed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, UK. ○ Antarctic Treaty signed in 1959 provides legal framework for Antarctica.
3. Physical Boundaries
● Desert Boundaries ○ Effectively divide states; Deserts are hard to cross and sparsely inhabited. ○ Common in Africa and Asia, Sahara shown to be stable geometric boundary. ● Mountain Boundaries ○ Effective boundaries if difficult to cross, conflict between nationalities may be limited or completely impossible due to harsh terrain. ○ Argentina and Chile agreed to be divided by the crest of the Andes Mountains, but couldn’t decide on the precise location. ■ Almost fought a war over the boundary line, US mediators help. ● Water Boundaries ○ Rivers, lakes, oceans are most commonly used as boundaries. ○ Readily visible on maps and aerial imagery, it served as good protection. ○ Especially common in East Africa: ■ Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. ■ Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, etc (284). ● The Law of the Sea ○ The Law of the Sea identifies three types of water boundaries: ■ Territorial waters: Up to 12 nautical miles from shore. ■ Contiguous zone: Between 12-24 nautical miles from shore, states may enforce laws regarding pollution, taxation, customs, etc. ■ Exclusive economic zone: Between 24-200 nautical miles, the state has the sole right to fish.
4. Shapes of States
● Compact State: Efficient
○ A landlocked state lacks a direct outlet to a sea because it is completely surrounded by several other countries. ■ Many landlocked states in Africa because it is a remnant of the colonial era with Britain/France. ■ Landlocked states export goods through land-based transport. ■ Example: Vatican City, San Marino, Lesotho.
5. Governing States
● National Scale: Regime Types ○ National governments can be classified as democratic, autocratic, or anocratic. ■ Democracy : Citizens elect leaders and can run for office. ■ Autocracy : A country run according to the interests of the ruler rather than the people. ■ Anocracy : A country that is not fully democratic or fully autocratic; a mix. ○ According to the Center of Systemic Peace, the three systems differ in three essential elements: ■ Selection of leaders ■ Citizen Participation ■ Checks and Balances ○ The world has generally become more democratic. Three reasons for the spread of democracy include: ■ Replacement of irrelevant monarchies with elected governments that broaden rights/liberties. ■ Widening of participation in policy-making to all citizens through rights to vote and to serve in the government. ■ The diffusion of democratic government structures created in Europe/America to other countries. ○ State Fragility Index measures the effectiveness of the government, as well as its perceived legitimacy. ■ Most fragile states are clustered in sub-Saharan Africa. ● Local Scale: Unitary and Federal States
○ Governments of states are organized according to two approaches. ■ Unitary states place most power in the hands of central governments. ■ Federal states allocate strong power to local units of government. ○ Unitary States ■ Works best in nation-states characterized by few cultural differences. ■ Sometimes adapted by multinational states to create nationalistic values. ● Good example: France has a long tradition of unitary gov. ○ Federal States ■ Multinational states may adopt a federal system to empower different nationalities. ■ Local governments draw boundaries that correspond with regions of different ethnicities. ■ Most large states are federal: US, Brazil, India, Russia, Canada.
6. Electoral Geography
● Redrawing legislative boundaries to benefit the party in power is called gerrymandering. It takes three forms: ○ Wasted vote: opposition supporters are spread across many districts, but in the minority. ○ Excess vote : opposition supporters are concentrated in a few districts. ○ Stacked vote: distant areas of like-minded voters are linked through oddly shaped districts. ● Stacked vote gerrymandering has been especially attractive for creating districts inclined to ethnic minorities. ○ Largest ethnic groups in the US vote Democratic. ○ Majority African or Hispanic districts basically guarantee the election of a Democrat. ○ On the other hand, Republicans support stacked districts because they are better able to draw favorable boundaries. ● Redrawing of boundaries in most European countries is entrusted to independent commissions.
○ Both superpowers repeatedly demonstrated that they would use military force to prevent an ally from becoming too independent. ■ However, before the Cold War, there were no no two superpowers. ● Balance of power is when there is roughly equal strength between opposing alliances. ● Example: The current “superpowers” of the world are considered to be China and the United States. ■ Cuban Missile Crisis ● USSR created missile launching sites in Cuba, which was close to US territory. ● Eventually, the missiles were dismantled after a UN conference.
2. Competition and Cooperation in Europe
● Cold War-Era Military Alliances ○ North Atlantic Treaty Organization ■ 16 democratic states, made up of US/Canada and 14 European nations. ○ Warsaw Pact ■ A military agreement among Communist Eastern EU countries, disbanded in 1991 following the end of communism. ● Cold War-Era Economic Alliances ○ During the Cold War, the following alliances were created: ■ European Union ● Formed in 1958 with 6 members, healed scars from WWII. ■ Council for Mutual Economic Assistance ● Formed in 1949 with six members in 1960 (Mongolia, Cuba, and Vietnam) to promote trade and sharing of natural resources in communist Eastern Europe. ● The European Union in the Twenty-First Century ○ Main task of the EU is to promote development through economic and political cooperation.
■ The European Parliament is elected by the people in each of the member states. ■ Subsidies are provided to farmers/economically deprived locations. ■ Most goods move across borders of member states w/o stopping. ■ A citizen of one EU member is allowed to work in another. ■ Banks/retailers can open branches in any member country with supervision. ○ Common currency, the euro, was created for electronic transactions. ● Alliances in Other Regions ○ Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe ■ 57 members, includes US, Canada, Russia, all European states, and former Soviet Union states. ■ Played an active role in ending conflict after the Cold War, specifically in the Balkans and Caucasus. ○ Organization of American States ■ 35 states in the Western Hemisphere, promote social, cultural, political, and economic links among member states. ■ Cuba was a member, but suspended in 1962. ○ African Union ■ Established in 2022, AU encompasses 54 countries in Africa. ■ Replaced Organization of African Unity, which promoted end to colonialism - the new org. Focuses on economic development. ○ Commonwealth ■ Includes the UK and 52 other states that were once British colonies. ■ Seek economic and cultural cooperation.
3. Terrorist Attacks Against the United States
● Terrorism is the systematic use of violence by a group calculated to create an atmosphere of fear and alarm among a population, usually to coerce a government into actions it would not otherwise undertake. ○ Distinctive characteristics of terrorists include:
■ Osama’s dad founded a construction company and became a billionaire through connections to the Royal Family. ○ Moved to Afghanistan to assist in the anti-Soviet war, which he deemed was a holy war. ■ Much of Al-Qaeda’s motives are backed through extremist religious views. ○ Declared war on the US after they were allowed to station troops in Afghanistan. ○ Besides 9/11, Al-Qaeda has also attacked Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Pakistan, S., Turkey, and the UK. ■ To stage these attacks, al-Qaeda has worked with local franchises concerned with country-specific issues. Controls most territory in Yemen. ● Islamic State/ISIS/ISIL ○ Islamic State originated in 199 and became an affiliate of al-Qaeda in 2004. ■ Split in 2014 after lack of agreement. ○ Mainly Sunni Muslims who seek to impose strict religious laws throughout Southwest Asia. ■ Human rights violations: beheadings, massacres, torture. ○ Success in utilization of Internet to communicate and recruit members, as well as spreading fear through beheading videos and destruction of historical sites. ● Boko Haram ○ Arabic for “Western education is forbidden,” founded in 2002 in northeastern Nigeria. ○ Seeks to transform Nigeria into an Islamic state, greatly opposes adoption of Western cultural practices. ○ Originally a peaceful religious complex and school runner, but violent uprisings have led them to use terrorist tactics.
5. State Support for Terrorism
● Sanctuary for Terrorism ○ Countries known to provide sanctuaries for Terrorists include Afghanistan and Pakistan.
■ The US attacked Afghanistan in 2001 following 9 because the Taliban was sheltering al-Qaeda leaders. ■ Taliban means “religious students” in the Pashtun language. ■ US intelligence tracked bin Laden to a house in Pakistan and killed him in 2011. ● Supplying Terrorists ○ Iraq ■ The US led an attack against Iraq in 2003 in order to depose Saddam Hussein. ■ Powell showed in UN meeting that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. ■ Since the deposition of Hussein, civil war between Sunnis and Shiites, ISIS takes over government. ○ Iran ■ Hostility between the US has dated back to 1979. ■ The United States has accused Iran of harboring al-Qaeda members and trying to gain influence in Iraq. ■ Funds Hezbollah, an organization based in Lebanon that the US deems terrorist because it seeks Israel’s destruction. ● State Terrorist Attacks: Libya ○ Libya has always been an active sposnor or terrorist attacks. ■ Example: 1986 bombing of a nightclub with US military personnel. ○ Libya’s long-time leader Muammar el-Qaddafi has renounced terrorism and has offered compensation, but received opposition after attacking Libyan protesters. ■ His regime was overthrown and killed. ■ Since then, Libya has been in a heated civil war.
AP Human Geography Chapter 8 Political Geography Notes, Rubenstein (Cultural Landscape)
Course: Cultural Geography (GEOG 2)
University: Irvine Valley College
