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Political Geography (How Is Space Politically Organized Into Nations and…

- - - - However, the beginning of a modern state started in with the Peace of Westphalia. This treaty ended the 30 year war in Europe.
    - - The nation state idea is a that is being attacked by many major players in international relations. Often, creating neat boundaries for a specific type of group is tough, and the creation of new territories can create disputes.
  - - - Although the world has multiple states, almost everything takes place within the context of the world economy.
        
        The Europeans starting constructing interdependent global economies, that started with colonialism. When colonies became sovereign, some tried to gain economic independence. However, this is impossible due to the interconnectedness of all states in the world.
      - The world economy has a three tier structure.
        
        Core: The place where one is most likely to find higher levels of education, higher salaries, and more technology. This process generates more wealth in the world economy.
        
        Periphery: More commonly has lower levels of education, lower salaries, and less technology. It is typically associated with a more marginal position in the world economy.
        
        Semiperiphery: A place where both core and periphery processes occur. It acts as a buffer between the core and periphery.
      - The world economy has one market and a global division of labor.
        
        The world economy began with capitalism, which means that in the world economy, people produced goods and service in exchange for profit. Commodification (the process of placing a price on a good/service/idea, and then buying, selling, and trading that item) also occurred.
- - - - Many political geographers have debated this theory, and have concluded that that a process cannot be automatically selected as centrifugal or centripetal. Timing, scale, and interaction factor into the unification and division of a state at any point.
  - - - Devolution is the movement of power from the central government to regional governments with the state.
        
        Ethnocultural devolution is a byproduct of a nation in a state that define themselves as different. This process can be peaceful, as it was for the Czechs and Slovaks, or violent, as it was for Sri Lanka. However, this devolution doesn't always fuel calls for independence. Sometimes, nations can call for for autonomy within its borders instead.
        
        Economic devolution is the splitting of a state due to economic differences. An example of this is when Catalonia, Spain wanted to become independent, because they thought they had a large impact and Spanish economy, and didn't receive enough money from Spain
        
        Often, devolution occurs on the margins of states, on coasts or borders. Distance and remoteness strengthen devolutionary tendencies. For example, a minority group in Hawai'i had demanded the return of their rights lost during the "occupation". At present, the Hawai'ian separatists do not have the numbers or influence to achieve their goals.
  - - - For the US, a census is issued every 10 years, so that representatives can be reapportioned correctly. This process is called reapportionment.
      - Sometimes, splitting occurs to keep ensure that the white population holds the majority in each district. Splitting is when a racial or ethnic minority is diluted by distributing them around various political districts.
      - Majority-minority districts are packed districts in which a majority of a population is the minority. Ideally, these districts would be compact and follow existing political units.
      - Gerrymandering is when one draws boundaries of political districts in such a way that a political party has an unfair advantage. Many districts now on the US electoral maps may be seen as gerrymanders, but for an important purpose: to provide representation for minorities.
- - - - British/American School: The geographer Sir Halford J. Mackinder proposed his heartland theory, which stated that whoever controlled the Eurasian "heartland" would control the world. He wrote a final paper expressing concerns about the Soviet Union. His ideas weren't embraced by many at the time, but within 10 years of publication, the US began its containment policy to stop the expansion of the Soviet Union.
      - German School: The first professor Friedrich Ratzel was influenced by the writings of Darwin. Ratzel postulated that the state resembles and organism, and goes from birth through maturity, to decline and death. To prolong its existence, it needed food (adequate space for members of the state to thrive in). This theory ultimately led to Nazi expansionism.
- - - - Deterritorialization is the loosening of the state's traditional territorial authority. This is caused by supranational organizations and the globalization of cultural and social relations.
      - Reterritorialization is a tightening of the state's traditional territorial authority. Often, the state is moving to solidify their control over their territory.