Chapter 8

2 Types of Boundaries

-Physical boundaries coincide with specific features of the natural landscape (3 Types are deserts, mountains, and water) -Cultural boundaries follow the distribution of cultural characteristics: Geometric boundaries are decided by treaty using latitude and longitude lines. Ethnic boundaries are placed where possible to separate speakers of different languages or religions

Cold War

-US vs Soviet Union in a display of power since they were the only superpowers (the power they held was so much larger, so it became a rivalry) -balance of power is a condition of roughly equal strength between opposing countries or alliances of countries -NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was a military alliance among 16 democratic states (US, Canada, and some European states), while the Warsaw Pact was a military agreement among the Communist Eastern European coutnries

Boundary vs. Frontier

-a boundary is an invisible line that marks the extent of a state's territory (an indefinitely thin line) -frontier is a zone where no state exercises complete political control; a tangible geographic area that's either uninhabited or sparsely settled

Multinational state

-a country that contains more than one ethnicity with traditions of self-determination -the Soviet Union as an especially prominent multinational state until it collapsed; now Russia is the world's largest multinational state

Multi-ethnic state

-a state that contains more than one ethnicity; most are, to varying degrees -the US is multi-ethnic

Unitary vs. Federal States

-a unitary state places most power in the hands of central government officials, requires effective communications, and (in theory) works with few internal cultural differences and strong national unity -a federal state allocates strong power to units of local government within the country -also empowers different nationalities living in different regions

State

-an area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government that has control over its internal and foreign affairs -occupies a defined territory on Earth's surface and contains a permanent population -largest Russia at 6.6 million square miles

Colonialism

-an effort by one country to establish settlements in a territory and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles on that territory -can be summarized using the motives: God, gold, and glory -the British had the largest colonial empire ever; "The sun never sets on the British Empire" -most African and Asian colonies gained independence after WWII

Shapes of States

-compact: capital at center is good for communications, but aren't necessarily denoting peacefulness (examples are Mexico, Rwanda, and Uganda) -elongated: good infrastructure via communication and roads, but also has isolation from the capital and poor internal communication (examples are the Gambia, Chile, and Italy) -Prorupted: created to provide a state with access to a resource (like water) or to separate two states that otherwise wouldn't have a boundary (examples are Afghanistan and Namibia) -Perforated: completely surrounded by another state, so they have to depend on them for imports/exports of goods (examples are South Africa and Lesotho) -Fragmented: have problems with communication and national unity; separated by water or an intervening state (examples are Indonesia and Russian Kalingrad)

Reasons why states compete with each other

-control of territory -access to trade and resources -influence over other states (alliances)

United Nations (UN)

-created at the end of WWII by the Allies in order to provide a forum for discussion of international problems -seeks to promote international cooperation to address global economic problems, promote human rights, and provide humanitarian aid -occasionally stops conflict between member states, authorizing military and peacekeeping actions

Types of Regimes

-democracy is a country in which citizens elect leaders and can run for office -autocracy is a country that is run according to the interests of the ruler rather than the people -anocracy is a country that isn't fully democratic or autocratic, but displays a mix of the two types

European Union (EU)

-formed in 1958 and was designed to heal Western Europe from the damage done from WWII by Nazi Germany -the main task of it currently is to promote development within member states through economic and political cooperation

Number of sovereign states in 1945 compared to 2011

-in 1945, about 50 (imperialist control) -the current number of sovereign states (from 2011) was about 200

Sovereignty

-independence from control of its internal affairs by other states -a good example of a formal or uniform region (an organized structural government, uniform laws, clear borders, languages, and policies)

South Pole

-is not a sovereign state -The Antarctic Treaty of 1959 (signed by 47 states): the legal framework provides that there are scientific research stations, but no military activities. Nobody's claims are recognized by the US and Russia.

Fertile Crescent

-located near modern-day Iraq, Kuwait, and Syria -the Nile River is sometimes regarded as an extension of it -the first city-states were located at the eastern end, in Mesopotamia -a city-state is a sovereign state that comprises of a town, the surrounding countryside, and the walls delinating the city borders

3 Reasons why states cooperate with each other

-political -military -economic

Microstates

-states with very small land areas -the smallest recognized by the UN is Monaco -most are islands, with a maximum size of 400 square miles -24 recognized by the UN

Arab Spring

-the most dramatic shift in governments that began in late 2010 and peaked in spring 2011 -resulted in forcing autocratic rulers out of power in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and Yemen -the use of social media and electronic devices organized protests, communicated information, and distributed images of events prevented censorship and encouraged civil disobedience

Gerrymandering

-the process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power -3 Forms: Wasted Vote (spreads opposition supporters across many districts but in the minority), Excess Vote (concentrates opposition supporters into a few districts), and Stacked Vote (links distant areas of like-minded voters through oddly shaped boundaries)

Terrorism

-the systematic use of violence by a group in order to intimidate a population or coerce a government into granting its demands -differs from assassination because the attacks are aimed at ordinary people instead of military targets or political leaders

China and Taiwan

One state if: Communist rulers took charge of China through the capital. Also, Taiwan was kicked out of the UN. Two states if: Taiwan declared its independence as legitimate and was recognized by the US (until 1971).

Korea: One or Two?

One state if: there was no legal treaty to end the Korean War, only the Armistice of 1953, which was the laying down of arms Two states if: 38th Parallel as the border between two countries. Also, the UN recognizes them as separate

Nation State

a state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity

Self-determination

the concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves