polgeog5.html

Topic 5:

Political Geography

Introduction |Goals | Notes on Readings | Outline Notes |Links to Other Resources

Introduction

Evolution of the modern state. Nation vs. state vs. nation state. Centripetal and centrifugal forces in modern nations: the rise of nationalism vs. regionalism. Political systems at a variety of scales: local to global. Characteristics of states: shape, size, location of capital, core vs. periphery. Types of boundaries and boundary disputes. Analysis of current world crises using above concepts.

Goals

The goals for this section of the course are to:

distinguish between nation, state, and nation-state;

explain the development of today's world political map in terms of supranationalism and devolution

describe the geographic characteristics of states and problems associated with them;

distinguish between types and classifications of boundaries;

explain types of boundary disputes

analyze contemporary nations in terms of their degree of cohesiveness.

Notes on Readings
Chapter 9 focuses on the politics of territory and state. Be sure to examine the maps and illustrations carefully. Chapter 12 looks at the future geography of politics in the world. It provides excellent background on many of the trends affecting war and peace in the world today.

Outline Notes

The notes for this section of the course appear on this Word doc. Please remember, they are the barest outline of material covered in class. They are simply a reference, not a substitute for attending class and taking notes from the lecture. Feel free to format them, fill them in to include class comments, etc.

Links to Other Resources

Once again I urge you to peruse the CNN homepage on a regular basis for the best in up-to-date world news. Perhaps the best part of this resource is that it provides links to other web-based sites related to world political issues, almost all of which have a geographic dimension.

Another excellent source of information, although with a US slant, is the U.S. Department of State.

Recently, the nation of Kazakstan chose a new capital, Akmola. Read this story to see why countries select the capitals they do. Is this an example of a forward thrust capital or something else?

Course Topics | Assignment Schedule

Human Geography Home Page

Introduction	Evolution of the modern state. Nation vs. state vs. nation state. Centripetal and centrifugal forces in modern nations: the rise of nationalism vs. regionalism. Political systems at a variety of scales: local to global. Characteristics of states: shape, size, location of capital, core vs. periphery. Types of boundaries and boundary disputes. Analysis of current world crises using above concepts.
Goals	The goals for this section of the course are to: distinguish between nation, state, and nation-state; explain the development of today's world political map in terms of supranationalism and devolution describe the geographic characteristics of states and problems associated with them; distinguish between types and classifications of boundaries; explain types of boundary disputes analyze contemporary nations in terms of their degree of cohesiveness.
Notes on Readings	Chapter 9 focuses on the politics of territory and state. Be sure to examine the maps and illustrations carefully. Chapter 12 looks at the future geography of politics in the world. It provides excellent background on many of the trends affecting war and peace in the world today.
Outline Notes	The notes for this section of the course appear on this Word doc. Please remember, they are the barest outline of material covered in class. They are simply a reference, not a substitute for attending class and taking notes from the lecture. Feel free to format them, fill them in to include class comments, etc.
Links to Other Resources	Once again I urge you to peruse the CNN homepage on a regular basis for the best in up-to-date world news. Perhaps the best part of this resource is that it provides links to other web-based sites related to world political issues, almost all of which have a geographic dimension. Another excellent source of information, although with a US slant, is the U.S. Department of State. Recently, the nation of Kazakstan chose a new capital, Akmola. Read this story to see why countries select the capitals they do. Is this an example of a forward thrust capital or something else?