Political Geography

• Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.
• In December 2010, an anti-government movement began in Tunisia in North Africa when Tunisian street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire to protest police harassment and corruption.
• Tunisian rapper El Général's anthem "Rais Lebled" became a protest song against corrupt dictators.
• As news of the revolution in Tunisia diffused, Libyans, Egyptians, and Syrians, among others, protested corrupt dictators.
• As winter turned to the spring of 2011, protests became so widespread and influential that commentators began speaking of the series of uprisings as the Arab Spring.
• The uprisings of the Arab Spring had a larger impact on countries with authoritarian dictatorships than countries with absolute monarchies.
• Many of the monarchies in the Middle East have oil resources that they can use to invest in public resources like infrastructure, education, and hospitals.
• The differences between how governments were using revenues was stark.
• A state is a geographic area that has a permanent population, defined borders, a sovereign government, and is recognized by other states.
• A nation is a group of people with a shared culture, history, homeland, and a desire to govern themselves.
• Self-determination is a crucial aspect of a nation's identity, referring to their right or desire to self-govern cultural groups and nations frequently seek territorial control to safeguard their cultural heritage and tradition.
• A nation state is a self-governing state with a relatively uniform population typically sharing a common language, culture, and history.
• A multinational state consists of multiple nations within its borders, each with their own distinct identities and traditions, existing together as one state while retaining their cultural uniqueness.
• A multi-state nation is a nation that exists across multiple states.
• A stateless nation refers to a nation with a history of self-determination but no officially recognized state.
• An autonomous region is located within a state that enjoys a certain level of independence from the state, with its own government and high degree of self-rule and control over its internal affairs.
• A semi-autonomous region is controlled by another state but is only granted a moderate degree of self-governance, with some control over its internal affairs but the controlling state retains the authority to intervene whenever they deem it necessary.
• Colonialism is the practice of acquiring territories and settling there to exert political, economic, and social control over the area.
• Imperialism is the idea of growing a state or empire by exerting force over other nations to gain economic and political power without actually establishing any settlements.
• During the colonial era, Empires grew and expanded, leading to the diffusion of different religions, languages, cultures, resources, people, and ideas around the world.
• Uneven economic and social development can lead to certain regions of a state being deprived of goods, services, or job opportunities, creating frustration among citizens and leading to division, which would be examples of centrifugal forces.
• Political corrupt governments, businesses, and other institutions often alienate their citizens and create division within a state, which can lead to a state becoming a failed state.
• Commodities such as oil and natural gas which are traded in the global market allow countries to obtain better prices for their resources but also make them dependent on other states that have these resources.
• Ethnic nationalist movements are when a specific cultural group wants to be separate or wants control over themselves based on the specific ethnicity or nationality.
• When a country becomes a member of a supernational organization, it agrees to abide by the rules and regulations set by the organization, resulting in the country surrendering some of its autonomy and sovereignty.
• Supernational organizations, which consist of multiple countries, work together to achieve common goals or address specific issues or challenges that impact the states.
• Political supernational organizations aim to maintain political stability in a region or around the world, for example, the United Nations seeks to maintain peace and stability around the world.
• Economic supernational organizations, such as the European Union, promote economic prosperity for all countries in the region.
• Environmental organizations, such as the Arctic Council, aim to achieve specific goals that protect the world's natural resources.
• States that have a strong sense of patriotism, a variety of economic and social opportunities for all citizens, lack corruption, and discrimination often experience more centripetal forces.
• Cultural differences such as language barriers or conflicting religious beliefs can also act as centrifugal forces.
• The Kurdish people, who speak Kurdish, practice Islam, and consider themselves Kurd, have a historical claim to the proposed nation state of Kurdistan.
• Sudan and South Sudan were initially a single country but in 2011 a referendum resulted in South Sudan becoming an independent country.
• Ethnic cleansing in Myanmar has led to increased pressure from the international community for the government to be removed or radically changed.
• The former Soviet Union faced several challenges to its sovereignty during its existence and disintegrated into 15 separate and sovereign states after its collapse.
• Advances in technology, globalization, and supernational organizations can challenge a state's sovereignty, sometimes shifting power from the national government to a regional government.
• The internet can contribute to Devolution, disintegration of a state or create new challenges for a state.
• The Spanish government's decision to recognize the Basque and Catalan regions as unconstitutional did not result in Independence.
• Nigeria is made up of a variety of different ethnic, cultural, and linguistic groups, and has experienced ethnic and religious conflicts, tensions with the government, and unequal distribution of resources throughout the state.
• Technological advancements, globalization, and supernational organizations can challenge a state's sovereignty, sometimes shifting power from the national government to a regional government.