eq2

• A state is a territory that no other country has power or sovereignty over

  UN recognised 196 states, with South Sudan being the most recent addition.

  A nation refers to a group of people who lack sovereignty.
• Homogenous culture - society with very little cultural diversity and people share the share the same cultural traits

  iceland

  has laws to protect is national identity

  all children's names must come from an approved list

  icelandic language remains unchanged since AD 870s

  those born overseas are 8.9% of the population
• Cultural heterogeneity - a society with a high level cultural or ethnic diversity among its citizens - multi lingual and multi faith 

  singapore

  1819 established as a colonial british trading post - mass immigration from china, india and malaysia

  4 recognised languages there : English, mandarin, malay and tamil
• Natural borders – Physical features such as lakes, mountains or rivers can separate countries. Often, natural borders are the most successful borders between states because of their inarguable division.

  eg Us and mexico - river grande

  political intervention - Borders are drafted by the sovereign state, and may have been influenced by past empire expansion.

  eg scramble for africa - 14 countries met in berlin in 1884-5 to discuss how to divide up africa

  Rwanda - where clashing ethnic groups within one state spiralled into the genocide of 800,000 Tutsis.
• contested borders

  taiwan

  independant state since 1950 but china still claims sovereignity

  china regards Taiwan as a rebel province.

  China insists no other countries should have any relations with Taiwan, but that has not stopped Taiwan from becoming one of Asia’s economic successes through the production of computer technology
• contested boarders example

  • India was ruled by the British Empire.
  • One they left, there were overwhelming demands from Muslims to have their own country.
  • Punjab was the agricultural basket of India, supplying the nation’s crops and food demands. After intense conflict in 1947, Punjab was partitioned; West Punjab became Pakistan.
  • The partition was devastating as riots erupted and widespread looting broke out
• Nationalism is the extreme form of patriotism where one nation feels superior over other countries.

  by 1880 britain controlled a quarter of the world's population

  Colonial era ending

  • high cost of two world wars - left uk bankrupt
  • growing concern for the injustice of colonial rule among European citizens 
  • Population growth in developing nations 
  • growing resistance to foreign rule - gandhi campaigned 
  • european shift towards post-industrial economic activity 
• post colonial migration

  In 1948, the British Nationality Act gave all commonwealth citizens an equal right to legally settle in the UK. As a result many employers filled skills gaps with commonwealth migrants, such as in the London Underground and the NHS. Both skilled and unskilled migrants were accepted; for example, skilled migrants worked as healthcare professionals whilst less skilled workers worked in the manufacturing industries, especially in the textile towns of Lancashire and Yorkshire
• the costs of disintegrating empires

  vietnam

  former french colony - reclaimed by nationalist leader ho chi minh in 1954

  USA was scared about the spread of communism in SE asia. Vietnam was then divided between north and south

  china controlled north then south was independant non communist rule

  supported by us troops

  a war broke out 1-4 million vietmanese were killed

  south was defeated in 1975
• Economic Impacts of Globalisation

  • Many TNCS have relocated their headquarters to countries such as Ireland, Switzerland and Luxembourg due to low corporate tax rates. In 2015, the UK corporation tax rate was around 20% but it was around 10% in Switzerland.
  • Some states have become notorious tax havens (locations which offer massive tax advantages to individuals and companies). In 2015, it was reported that American companies held $2 trillion overseas in tax havens. Tax havens also become the homes for wealthy expatriates, who would rather migrate than face extortionate ‘millionaire’ taxes.
• tax haven pros and cons

  • CONS: The taxes paid by businesses are crucial for governments to fund healthcare, education and other public services - could stunt a state’s development and attractiveness to migrants.
  • PROS: Saving tax is a legal method, and when there is no limitation on taxes, the investment becomes safer in tax havens

  cayman islands - the worlds largest offshore financial centres

  40% of worlds top investment banks and insurance companies are licensed there - $1.5 trillion in assets

  0% personal income tax rate
• alternatives to globalisation : Bolivia

  by 2010 had a left wing government and established a national coalition for change ,

  2007 policies included

  • nationalised resources (eg oil) the profits would go to the government rather than private shareholders
  • reduction in primary exports
• Globalisation has caused a growth of low-tax state regimes which provide havens for the profits of TNCs and wealthy citizens. This is a classic example of “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer” (cumulative causation)

  Most governments have accepted the emergence of these tax-havens albeit some NGO raise objections.

  Growing global inequalities are threatening to the sustainability of the global economic system which, if not regulated, could collapse entirely. Some governments, such as Ecuador, have thus created alternative models.