Introduction to Political

Geography

Class 4: The State and its Characteristics

BIR 2017
Course: 1206
1st Year, 2nd Semester
Discussion Points
• The concept of the state
• Tide of Nationalism
• Spread of Nation State
• Difference between State and Territory
The Concept of the State
• Political units-

- Pre-agrarian society
- Agrarian society
The Concept of the State
• Pre- agrarian society
- Tribal loyalties.
- Hunters and gatherers were too small, scattered.

• In the agrarian age; divided broadly into two types

(end of eighteenth century):

- City states and rural, peasant, communities.

- Large territories or Empires.
 City States
• City States are not
widespread today.

• Historically City States

included a city and its
surrounding countryside.

• Example: Ancient
Mesopotamia or Medieval
Italy.
Feudal System
Modern State
• Product of the post-feudal order: the state has
the responsibility for managing the process of
socialisation.

• Roman Catholic Church began to break down

to be replaced by more localised and
independent Protestant alternatives (mid-
fifteen century).
Evolution of Modern State
• Medieval State (1300)
• Peace of Westphalia (1648)
• Consolidation (1900)– Large empires ruled
most of Europe
• Return to Diversity (2012)– Nation States
become the norm following the world wars
and the break up of the Warsaw Pact
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_RKlsb5
5pY
Evolution of Modern State
• Establishment of capitalism
• Industrialisation
• Division of labour
• Technologically advanced communication system
• Growing sense of nationalism
• Active participation in nation-building: American,
French, British or whatever
• Globalisation
The age of Mercantilism
• In 1800, nation-state concentrated in Europe
• Mercantilist empire: Monarch
• Absolute feudal leader
• The ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, The
Chinese Empire, the USA
• In Asia, political order was much more self-
contained and isolated
The tide of Nationalism
• Latter part of the eighteenth century
• Fundamental change in popular attitudes to
government
• Resentment against feudalism
• Establishment of the USA in 1783
• Upheaval of the French Revolution in 1789
• More representative government—emergent
tide of nationalism
• The age of empire (nineteenth century)
Spread of the Nation State
• Nineteenth century
• Treaty of Versailles in 1919
• Failure to provide security for the nation states
created after the First World War
• Iron Curtain and the confrontation of the Cold
War
• Decolonisation progressed in Africa, South-East
Asia and in India
• The collapse of Soviet Communism
Importance of Nation-States
• Key unit of socio-spatial organization in the contemporary world.

• The term links together the nation – a community of people with an

assumed connection – and the state – a legal, political and territorial
entity.

• Within political geography, the nation-state has been a key area of focus.

• However, political geographers were historically more concerned with the

state, and paid less attention to conflicts within states.

• In recent years, the study of the nation-state within political geography

has expanded to address questions of identity, citizenship and
governance, as well as the place of the nation-state in a globalized world.
Typology of States
• Three types
- Monarchies
- Colonial Dependencies
- Republics
Nation State, State, Country
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1rsb_w
euD4

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf0ukvuB
TK0
Difference between State and Territory
State
• Governmental authority
• National government in the
international arena
• Localised form of internal
government; 50 states in
the USA, 6 states in
Australia
• Organized incorporated
territory
Territory
• Areas that are claimed by
national governments, but
not always incorporated
into them
• Residents don’t always have
the same voting powers or
taxation requirements
• May not enjoy all the
privileges as do the citizens
of the states
• Special consideration: Ship
Difference between State and Territory
• Countries can have both states and territories; USA has 50
states and maintains territories in places like Puerto Rico and
US Virgin Islands.

• A state and a territory mean different things in different

countries.

• Some countries may have territories but do not have states.

• Small islands are territories of a larger country.

• Uninhabited island—incorporated unorganized territories.

Thank You