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Ch. 8 Political Geography

Key Issue 2 Why are Nation-States Difficult to Create?
Rubenstein, p.270-279

1. Define nation-state: group of people who: share a cultural heritage or belief, royalty to one another
and to the nation as a whole, a distinct homeland, and they share a desire to form their own
sovereign state (self-determinism)

2. The concept of dividing the world into independent nation-states is self-determinism.

I. DEVELOPMENT OF STATES

3. The first states emerged in southwest Asia and northern Africa, but more recently the early modern

states developed in Europe.

4. Define city-state: Sovereign state that comprises a town and surrounding countryside.

5. Take notes on the history of the development of states:

Ancient States –

- Mesopotamia and Fertile Crescent were where ancient states were.

- Walls surrounded the city.
- They controlled agriculture around the city.

Medieval States –

- Political unity in the ancient world reached its height with the Roman Empire.
- After the empire collapsed, Europe fragmented into a lot of estates.

20th Century States –

- After WWI, the concept of nation-states developed in Europe first.

- Total number of states are argued to this day.

II. NATION-STATES AND MULTINATIONAL STATES

6. Define self-determination: concept that nations have the right to govern themselves.

7. Do you believe all ethnicities have a right to self-determination? What are positive & negative
implications of self-determination? No, all ethnicities shouldn't have the right to govern themselves.

Pros: Lots of independent states.

Cons: Border disputes, too many nations, etc.
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8. a. Why is Japan an example of a nation-state? Japan consists of over 95% Japanese.

b. What are some other examples of nation-states? (Find examples throughout the section.)

Other examples include France, Egypt, Germany, and Japan.

9. a. ethnic diversity measured the degree of ethnic diversity in states.

b. Many of the states with the least diversity are in Europe.

c. Many of the states with the greatest diversity are in Africa.

d. Where does the U.S. fall? Are you surprised? Between Most and Least Diverse. I am kind of
surprised because USA is supposed to be a country where virtually anyone can come.

10. a. Define multiethnic state: state that contains more than one ethnic group.

b. Define multinational state: state that contains more than one nation.

c. Is the U.S. a multiethnic or multinational state? Justify your answer. The United States is a
multiethnic state because it contains multiple ethnicities.

11. In what ways do the Nazis’ actions in World War II reflect self-determination? The Nazis wanted to
unify all German-speaking countries into a single country.

12. Post-World War II, what are some examples of successful nation-states? Failed nation-states?
Successful nation-states include Botswana, Japan, and Italy. Failed nation states include North
Korea, Cambodia, and Somalia.

13. Some micro-states (and slightly larger states, such as the Maldives southwest of India in the Indian
Ocean) are particularly concerned about global warming—why? Global warnings cause rising ocean
levels, which flood tiny states and microstates, causing them to lose land.

III. RUSSIA: THE LARGEST MULTINATIONAL STATE

14. U.S.S.R. stands for Union of Socialist Republics , existed between 1922 and 1991,

and included 15 republics based on the largest ethnicities. The largest ethnicity was

Russian and the largest republic was Russia. However, there were

over 100 recognized ethnicities in the U.S.S.R.

15. The dissolution of the U.S.S.R. in 1991 resulted in 15 independent states grouped into 5 regions.
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Identify each region and corresponding states.

Three Caucasus states: Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

Three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Three European states: Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine.
Five Central Asian states: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan
Russia

16. Describe the composition and distribution of ethnicities in Russia. Many ethnicities are located
mainly on the western side of Russia.

17. What autonomy do the larger ethnic groups have under the Russian government? Large ethnic
groups are granted autonomy over local government affairs to around 24 of the most numerous
ethnicities.

18. In 2014, Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine—what was the Russian justification for this action? Do
you think Russia’s actions were justified? Russia claimed that a majority of the Crimean people,
who were Russian, supported their invasion. I don't agree, the Russians who live there may have moved
to ESCAPE Russian rule over them.

IV. NATION-STATES IN THE FORMER SOVIET UNION

19. Moldova used to be part of Romania until the Soviet Union seized it in 1940. When it reverted back
to an independent state in 1992, many Moldovans wanted to reunify with Romania. Rubenstein
says, “it was not to be that simple.” Why not?

20. a. Where is the Caucasus region?

b. How did the Soviets unify the many ethnicities in the Caucasus region?

c. The break-up of the Soviet Union resulted in 3 countries in this region. Identify the countries and
ethnic/political conflicts in each.
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V. COLONIES

21. Define colony:

22. Most non-self-governing territories are ________________________, with the exception of the

largest non-self-governing territory: ___________________________.

23. a. Define colonialism:

b. What are the three basic reasons countries established colonies?

24. Create a timeline outlining the history of colonization from the start of the colonial era through the
20th century.