1. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
POLITICAL CULTURE and the EVOLVING STATE

2. POLITICAL CULTURE and the EVOLVING STATE
Political geography is the study of political activity in spatial context. All of us are affected by
political geography, from the composition of school boards to the conduct of war. Even a brief
examination of the world map provides valuable insights. For example, the inequality of countries in
terms of territory and relative location, where being landlocked creates disadvantages.

3. Political geographers study the spatial manifestations of political processes at various
levels. Areas of study include how countries/governments are organized ….

4. ….how they overcome (or fail to overcome) divisive forces,….

5. …. and how their boundaries function. Recent times have experienced dramatic political
events (can you name any?).

6. A 20TH CENTURY CASE STUDY
Of
GERMAN DIVISION & REUNIFICATION

7. Following Hitler’s defeat, the Allies divided Germany into four zones of occupation as a
practical military move and to satisfy a strong desire to punish & humiliate the vanquished
(France & USSR). The German capital, Berlin, was also divided into four zones.
Disagreements over post-war German policy would represent the first battles of the Cold
War.

8. In selecting their zones of occupation, the French and the Soviets utilized geo-politics
from past and present.

9. In 1948, the U.S., Britain, and a wary France sought to re-unite a “reformed” Germany for
economic and political reasons. Stalin refused to reunite because of a fear of a resurgent
Germany. Confronting unending gridlock, the U.S., British and France proceed to unite
their three zones, forming the future West Germany. The Soviets retaliate by sealing
the borders of their zone and establishing the future East Germany (GDR).
Berlin is also divided along a geo-
political east and west boundary.
The divided Germany and Berlin would
become the symbols of the geo-
political events known as the Cold War.

10. With Germany now split, there remained the
problem of Berlin, lying deep within the
Soviet zone.
In an attempt to drive the three western
Allies out of Berlin, Stalin abruptly choked
off all rail and highway access to Berlin.
Electricity was also cut to the city. The
Soviets were evidently attempting to starve-
out the Allies.
At stake was the fate of the city and the
Cold War test of wills between Moscow &
Washington.
Washington responded with a gigantic airlift
in the midst of hair-trigger tension. For
nearly a year Berlin was supplied by air.
The Soviets, their bluff called, finally lifted
the blockade in May 1949. That same year,
both rival German governments were formally
established.

12. How dangerous was the airlift for the pilots? And how did the American pilots win-
over German children?

14. The Cold War in Europe soon crystallized with the formation of rival military alliances,
NATO and the Warsaw Pact. A tense peace would ensue until the Cold War ends in 1990-
91.

15. The once-unified Germany eventually evolved into a democratic and prosperous West
Germany/Berlin and a poor and authoritarian East Germany/Berlin. As the contrasts
between the two new political entities became greater, East Berliners began flooding into
West Berlin as a gateway to West Germany. Faced with this humiliating and economically
draining flood of people out of East Berlin, the East German govt. constructed the Berlin
Wall in 1961. This wall would become the greatest symbol of the Cold War.

18. As the Cold War enters its fifth decade in 1985, a leadership change occurs in the Soviet
Union that will turn out representing the beginning of the end of the dangerous geo-
political rivalry. Mikhail Gorbachev, the new Soviet leader, implements two
unprecedented programs, glasnost & perestroika, that hasten the collapse of communism,
allow for German reunification, and culminate in the collapse of communism and the end of
the Cold War in Europe.

20. The beginning of German reunification is marked
by the dramatic tearing-down of the Berlin Wall
in November, 1989. With Berlin reunited, it
becomes a question of “when,” not “if,” the two
Germanys will unify.

22. After nearly a year of negotiations, historic German reunification occurs in October,
1990. This will set-off a dramatic series of political changes in Europe, including the
demise of a superpower.
Political geographers continue to closely monitor the reunification process, which is more
than a decade old and has proven to be more time consuming and expensive than originally
thought. The lessons learned in Germany may be valuable in the future if the Cold War-
divided Korean peninsula ever unifies.

23. POLITICAL CULTURE
From congressional district boundaries to international borders the maps we create
reflect political culture. And political cultures vary. People adhere to political ideas
just as they profess a religion and speak a native language.

24. Today, many political systems are
designed to keep religion and politics
separate, but other states are
theocracies – describe this political
phenomenon.

25. It is widely believed that the effort to control pieces of the Earth’s surface for political
& social ends is a fundamental dynamic in human affairs and must be a key component of
geographical research. Robert Sack used the term human territoriality to describe this
effort. Robert Ardrey agrees with the concept of human territoriality, but disagrees
with Sack on application. Explain their differences.
Territoriality attracts so much attention
because it is key element of political culture.
The rise of the modern nation state carries
with it a distinctive view of territory as a
fixed, exclusive element of political
identification and group survival. As a result,
few issues can agitate a people the way a
perceived violation of territory can.
The current contest over the Golan Heights is a
good example – explain the dynamics for each
combatant.

26. STATE & NATION
As political geographers, distinguish between the commonly used terms, country,
state, and nation. Provide an example for each.

27. Recently a new geo-political term, nation-building, has become a controversial
international issue, with the U.S. at the center of the controversy. As the world’s lone
superpower, the U.S. government increasingly uses a combination of economic, military,
and political power to unify states that are not nations under an “umbrella of democracy.”
The most recent example is U.S. policy in Afghanistan and Iraq.

28. International reaction to American nation-building has been generally negative, led by the
accusation that U.S. action is simply self-serving. Consider: Is nation-building cultural
imperialism?

29. STATELESS NATIONS
Still another complication is that some nations are stateless – explain how a nation can
be stateless. Presently, the two most prominent examples of this phenomenon are the
Palestinians, who are locked in a deadly struggle with Israel to secure a state ….

30. …. and the Kurds, who are currently battling the governments of Turkey, Iraq, and Iran
for territory to create a state. The U.S. is caught in the middle of both territorial
disputes.

32. GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS of STATES
A map reveals that states are not all alike. There may be a “European model” of the
nation-state, but even in Europe states differ in as many ways as they are similar. States
vary in territorial size & morphology, demography, organizational structures, resources,
development power, etc. Some microstates do not even have 1000 sq. km or more than
250,000 people.

34. TERRITORY
The territorial character of states has long interested geographers, who have focused
on matters of territorial size, shape, and relative location, together referred to as their
territorial morphology.
Different territorial characteristics can
present opportunities and challenges,
depending on the historical and political-
economic context. Distance and shape
are the two primary characteristics to
consider. Identify the potential
problem(s) associated with the
different territorial morphologies.

35. EXCLAVES & ENCLAVES
A particularly interesting type of territorial irregularity occurs where historical circumstances have
led to the existence of small outliers of territory that are separated from the state by the territory
of another state. Exclaves and enclaves are special cases that can create political problems.

36. LAND BOUNDARIES
The territories of individual states are separated by international boundaries. A
boundary is more than a line, far more than a fence or wall on the ground. Explain how a
political boundary is established.

37. When boundaries were
established, the resources below
the surface were much less well-
known than they are today. As a
result, coal seams extend from
one country to another, oil
reserves are split between
states, and gas reserves are
shared as well.
With the scarcity of valuable
resources, these situations can
spark both political and military
confrontations. Explain the
potential serious implications of
boundaries “above the ground.”
Boundaries evolve through 3
stages (definition; delimitation;
demarcation). Describe each of
these three stages.

38. TYPES of BOUNDARIES
Even the most casual glance at the world’s boundary framework reveals that boundaries
differ in morphological terms. Some countries are separated by geometric boundaries
(explain) ….

39. … and some countries are separated by physical-political boundaries (explain) ….
What could be a potential problem with using a physical feature to mark a political
boundary?

40. … and still some boundaries are known as cultural-political boundaries (explain & provide
some examples).

41. Currently, the Israeli government’s
controversial imposed barrier around the
West Bank (a cultural-political barrier)
separating Palestinians from Israel
exasperates the ongoing Israeli/Palestinian
conflict.

42. ORIGIN-BASED CLASSIFICATION
Another way to view boundaries has to do with their evolution or genesis. This genetic
boundary classification was pioneered by Richard Hawthorne – he reasoned that certain
boundaries were defined & delimited before the present-day human landscape
developed. Identify and describe the four types genetic-political boundaries.

43. FRONTIERS
The term frontier is misused almost as
often as nation. “Boundary” and
“frontier” are used interchangeably, as
though they were synonyms, but they
are not.
Describe the geographic meaning of a
frontier. How often were they used
in the past, versus the present?

44. FUNCTIONS of BOUNDARIES
There was a time when states and empires
built walls to fortify their borders, to keep out
adversaries, and sometimes, to keep
inhabitants from wandering too far from the
seat of authority.
China’s Great Wall is an excellent example of
such intentions.
The notion that boundaries could serve as
fortifications endured through WWII.
Technology would change this strategy.

45. In more recent times, the Berlin Wall was built to keep East Germans from crossing into
the Western enclave of West Berlin and seeking asylum from communist rule.

46. Today, boundaries mark the limits of state jurisdiction. They serve as symbols of state
sovereignty. Governments often prominently display their national maps, which
contributes to the building of a national consciousness, a sense of inclusion that fosters
nationalism. Nationalism is a potent force.

47. INTERNAL BOUNDARIES
For administrative purposes, and sometimes to mark off cultural regions within the state,
it is necessary to divide countries internally. Political geographers have identified
another kind of internal boundary, a kind rarely shown on a map. The “boundaries”
marking cultural divisions within a country.

48. BOUNDARY DISPUTES
Nations, like families and individuals can become
very territorial when they feel that their space
has been violated. These disputes range from
legal disputes between suburban families to
warfare between states over a boundary.
In short, states often argue about their
boundaries. These boundary disputes take four
principal forms: Definitional Boundary Disputes;
Locational Boundary Disputes; Operational
Boundary Disputes; Allocational Boundary
Disputes. Describe each of these.