World System Theory
1. The world economy has one market and a global division of labor.
2. Although the world has multiple states, almost everything takes place within the context of the world economy.
3. The world economy has a three tier structure.
(Capitalism, Commodifica
Heartland Theory
-suggests that whoever owns Eastern Europe and Western Asia has the political power and capital to rule the world
-Eastern Europe contained one of the richest agricultural regions in the world and could sustain a large population
-also contained abundant
Rimland Theory
-believed in forming alliances is necessary to keep Heartland in check (no individual country could contain by itself)
-Heartland so powerful -- no individual country could contain by itself, which led to the establishment of NATO
-Rimland theory would co
Organic Theory
-created by political geographer Friedrich Ratzel
-state was like living entity that constantly needed to grow to thrive
-states constantly need new territory to meet the demands of their ever-growing population
Domino Theory
-adopted by U.S. in 1960s and 1970s
-when one country experiences rebellion or political disunity, other countries around it will also experience turmoil as a result, leading to a domino effect of political instability
East/West Divide
separated the largely democratic and free-market countries of Western Europe and the Americans from the communist and socialist countries of Eastern Europe and Asia (1945-1989)
North/South Divide
describes the division between the wealthy countries of Europe and North America (also Japan and Australia) and the generally poor countries of Africa, Latin America, and Asia
State
politically organized territory administered by a sovereign government
-has a defined territory, permanent population, a government, and is recognized by international community
Nation
term encompassing all the citizens of a state
-refer to tightly knit group of people possessing bonds of language, ethnicity, religion, and other shared cultural attributes/identity
Nation-State
recognized political unit where in territorial state coincides with the area settled by a certain group of people
-corresponds with particular ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality
example: Denmark
Multi-Nation State
a state with more than one nation
example: U.S.A.
Multi-State Nation
a nation with more than one state
example: Arab Nation
Stateless Nation
a nation without a state
example: Kurds
Physical Boundary
-coincide with features of the natural landscape (mountains, desert, water)
-disadvantages: cooperation between two different governments, physical features can move
Cultural (Ethnographic) Boundary
-follow the distribution of cultural characteristics
-typically coincide with differences in ethnicity, language, and religion
-hard to enforce and establish
Geometric Boundary
-created using lines of latitude and longitude
-advantages: lines are easy to determine with GPS
example: U.S./Canada border
Relic Boundary
former state boundaries that no longer exist, but still have political or cultural meaning
example: Berlin Wall -separated East and West Berlin
Antecedent Boundary
boundary lines that are given to a region before it is populated, before human settlement
example: U.S. and Canada -49th parallel
Subsequent Boundary
-lines resulting from conflict or cultural changes (war, migration, etc.)
-develop along with the development of the cultural landscape
-border drawn to accommodate religious (cultural) differences
-drawn after population has established itself and respec
Superimposed Boundary
lines laid down for political reasons over top cultural boundaries
-after a population has been settled in an area and ignoring to the social, cultural, and ethnic compositions of the populations they divide
example: Yugoslavia and Iraq after 1919 Treaty
Unitary State
-places where most power is in the hands of central government officials
-unitary government systems works best (in theory) in nation-states with few internal cultural differences
-requires effective communications with all regions, so smaller states are
Federal State
-allocates strong power to units of local government within the country
-local governments posses more authority to adopt their own laws
-federalism accommodates regional interests by vesting primary power in provinces, sub-states, or other regional units
Compact State
-distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly
-advantages: good communications and transportation
-disadvantages: lack of resource, tend to be small
-Rwanda, Spain
Fragmented State
-includes several discontinuous pieces of territory
-two types: separated by water and separated by an intervening state
-Indonesia, Angola
Prorupted State
-state has protrusion extending from its main base
-advantages: provide state with access to a resource or increase trade, seperate two states that would otherwise share a boundary
-disadvantages: proruptions are usually fiercely fought over
-Afghanistan,
Perforated State
-state that has an entire state completely inside of its borders
-only two perforated states in the world
-Lesotho, San Marino, Vatican City
Elongated State
-states with long and narrow shape
-elongated states may suffer from poor internal communications
-regions at extreme ends may often be isolated
-Chile
Allocational Boundary Disputes
-do not question boundary, but rather the use of it and usually involves some type of natural resource
-usually in the open ocean and/or under the ground
-rights for oil at sea in Iraq/Kuwait
-sharing water supply -Lake Victoria, Africa (Tanzania, Kenya,
Operational Boundary Disputes
-border is agreed, but disagree on a major issue involving the border
-U.S. and Mexico disagree on issue of illegal immigration
Functional Boundary Disputes
-occurs when states argue where the border actually is
-U.S./Mexico border
-Argentina/Chile border
Locational Boundary Disputes
-definition of border not questioned, but interpretation of border is
-river changing course or lake drying up
Reapportionment
-process by which representative districts are switched according to population shifts, so that each district encompasses approximately the same number of people
Gerrymandering
-process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power
1. "wasted vote"
2. "excess vote"
3. "stacked vote
Supranational Organizations
-separate entity composed of three or more states that forge an association and form an administrative structure for mutual benefit in pursuit of shared goals in order to further economic and/or political goals
-European Union, United Nations, North Ameri
Terrorism
-the systematic use of violence by a group in order to intimidate a population or coerce a government into granting its demands
-terrorists attempt to achieve their objectives through organized acts such as bombing, kidnapping, hijacking, taking hostages,
Devolution
-movement of power from the central government to regional governments within the state
-United Kingdom, Spain
Ethnocultural Devolution
-nations within a state that define themselves as distinct ethnically, linguistically, or religiously
-Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Great Britain
Economic Devolution
-drastic economic differences within a state
-Catalonia in Spain, Italy and France
Spatial Devolution
-distance, remoteness, and marginal location are components of devolution
-regions far from national capital, or separated by a physical boundary support separatist objectives
-Honolulu, Hawaii
Regionalism
-breaking up of an area into autonomous regions
Colonialism
-effort by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles on a territory
-rule by an autonomous power over a subordinate people and place
-often established and maintained through political structures
-
Imperialism
-control of territory already occupied and organized by an indigenous society
Law of the Sea
-United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea created laws to govern the ownership of one of the world's most giant frontiers.
Territorial Zone
-up to 12 nautical miles in which coastal states have sovereignty
Contiguous Zone
-up to 24 nautical miles
-coastal state can enforce customs, immigration, and sanitation laws
Exclusive Economic Zone
-up to 200 nautical miles
-state has recognized rights to explore, exploit, conserve, and manage the natural resources of the seabed and waters
-states have exclusive rights to the resources lying within the continental shelf when this extends further
High Seas
-all areas beyond the EEZ
-open to all states, whether coastal or landlocked
-includes to right to sail ships, fish, fly over, lay submarine cables and pipelines, and pursue scientific research
Irredentism
-a policy of a state wishing to incorporate within itself territory inhabited by people who have ethnic or linguistic links with the country but that lies within a neighboring state
Balkanization
-the process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities
-as a threat to peace throughout the world, not just a small area
-political landscape goes from a larger state to several smaller states
Shatterbelts
-zones of great cultural complexity with small cultural groups who find refuge in the isolation created by rough terrain
Centrifugal Forces
-forces that pull a state apart
-includes ideas of regionalism, ethnic strife, devolution, and territorial disputes
-include language, religion, ethnicity, and ideology
Centripetal Forces
-forces that tend to unite a state
-includes strong national institutions, sense of common history, and a reliance on strong central government
-positive when supporting or pulling a nation together
-negative when nationalistic ideas place individual nati
Exclaves
-territory legally attached to another territory with which it is not physically contiguous
Enclaves
-territory whose geographical boundaries lie entirely within the boundaries of another territory