STATE ORGANIZATION AND NATIONAL POWER

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

A state cannot exist without territory and this component can be expressed spatially on a map in several ways. Careful study of such a map tells us much about world political units even at the scale of a world map, and raises intriguing questions. Organizational ability and preference are intrinsic cultural attributes of humans and the political map of the world states expresses this quite clearly. The forces at work in the shaping of a state provoke both unity and division and some states may fracture, but cooperation and tol­erance can produce success under almost any circumstances. That fact offers the best hope for solving the problems of humanity as we approach the twenty-first century.

Most political geographers believe that in the near future the total number of independent states will surpass the some 2~ existing today. These 200 plus countries will occupy the surface of a small planet of which over two-thirds is covered by water or ice. With such a large number of entities, some large and others very small, some well-endowed and some poor, it is inevitable that equality will remain a mirage. We turn now to a consideration of the human and organizational dimensions of the state.

Cores and Capitals

A well-developed primary core area and a mature capital city are essential components of a well-integrated state. Core refers to the center, heart, or focus. The core of a nation-state is constituted by the national heartland—the largest population cluster, the most productive region, the area with the greatest centrality and accessibility, probably containing the capital city as well. Countries without recognizable cores (Chad, Mongolia, Bangladesh) may have notable capitals, but these alone do not produce a well-integrated state. Some states possess more than one core area, and such multi core states confront particular problems. If the primary core is dominant, as in the United States, such problems may be slight but in a country like Nigeria. where three core areas—none truly dominant— mark ethnically and culturally diverse parts of the state, serious problems arise.

The core area is the heart of the state; the capital city is the brain. This is the political nerve center of the country, its national headquarters and seat of government, and the center of national life. This special status is often recognized by using the name of a country’s capital interchangeably with that of the state itself. The primacy of the capital is yet another manifestation of the European state model, one that has diffused worldwide. In general, the capital city is the pride of the state, and its layout, prominent architectural landmarks, public art, and often its religious structures reflect the society’s values and pri­orities. It is the focus of the state as a political region.

Unitary and Federal Systems

All states confront divisive forces—some strong enough to threaten their very survival. The question is how best to adjust the workings of the state to ensure its continuity. When the nation-state evolved in Europe, this was not a problem. Democracy as we know it today had not yet matured; governments con­trolled the use of force and could suppress dissent by forceful means. There seemed to be no need to ac­commodate minorities or outlying regions where the sense of national identity was weaker. The European state model was a unitary state and its administrative framework was designed to ensure the central gov­ernment’s authority over all parts of the state.

European notions of the state diffused to much of the rest of the world, but in the New World and former colonies elsewhere these notions did not always work well. When colonies freed themselves of

European dominance, many found that conditions in their newly independent countries did not lend them­selves to unitary government, and such situations led to the emergence of the federal state. Federalism accommodated regional interests by vesting primary power in provinces, States, or other regional units over all matters except those explicitly given to the national governments. The Australian geographer K.W. Robinson described federation as “the most geographically expressive of all political systems... fed­eration enables unity and diversity to coexist.” Canada, Australia. Brazil, Nigeria, and India are examples of federal governments existing today.

Opposing Forces

All states suffer in some measure from disruptive forces, and all states possess unifying bonds. Strength­ening these bonds to overcome divisions is a principal task of government. States are held together by centripetal forces such as nationalism, education, circulation (the system of integration of and movement through language, education, transportation, and transportation), and the institutions of government. By manipulating the system, many countries have managed to enhance the centripetal forces that shape unity.

States must also deal with divisive or centrifugal forces in the form of ethnic disunity, cultural dif­ferences, or regional disparities. When these centrifugal forces outweigh the centripetal ones described above, the state will collapse. In recent times we have witnessed the disintegration of the world’s largest colonial empires, including, in the late 1980s, the Soviet Union. Yugoslavia collapsed when a quasi-federal system failed to withstand the forces of division. In the late twentieth century, centrifugal forces seem to be on the rampage.

Power Relationships

Just as some states are large and others are small, some are rich and others poor, so there are powerful states and weak ones. Measuring the power of states is a complex and imprecise business. There can be no doubt, however, that a state’s power is directly related to its capacity for organization. Geopolitics, a century-old part of political geography, studies the power relationships among states. Current develop­ments in the states of the Pacific Rim fuel an old debate on Eurasian power relationships.

CHAPTER QUIZ

MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS

1.            In the late 1990s, the third largest global economy belonged to:

a.            India

b.            Japan

c.            Germany

d.            China

2.            Over half the worlds states have populations below:

a.            5 million

b.            4 million

c.            3 million

d.            2 million 

3.            The state of Nigeria has ? core areas.

a.            four

b.            two

c.            three

d.            five

4.            In the late I990s, which of the following countries was building a new, multi-billion dollar capital city to symbolize its rapid economic growth and modernization.

a.            Brazil

b.            Malaysia

c.            the Philippines

d.            China

5.            Which of the following is not a federal state.

a.            Nigeria

b.            Germany

c.            Brazil

d.            Ghana

6.            In newly independent countries throughout Africa the divisive force that has threatened national’

unity is:

a.            tribalism

b.            language

c.            religion

d.            economic development differences

7.            Outside the European realm two countries built colonial empires. These were:

a.            India and Pakistan

b.            Japan and Russia

c.            China and Japan

d.            Russia and China

8.       The continent which had the greatest number of different colonial powers represented was:

a.       South America

b.       Africa

c.       Asia

d.      North America

9.       The originator of the heartland theory was:

a.       Karl Haushofer

b.       Friedrich Ratzel

c.       Nicholas Spykman

d.      Halford Mackinder

10.    In the United States, the capital city was built on federal territory originally taken from which two

states.

a.       Maryland and Virginia

b.       Virginia and North Carolina

c.       Maryland and Delaware

d.      Delaware and Virginia

TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS

1.            The ideal population for a state is one in which all the people can have jobs. (TF)

2.            The term forward capital, refers to a capital city that is moving ahead economically. (TF)

3.            A federal state creates unity by accommodating regional differences. (TF)

4.               Education is a centrifugal force because educated people begin to think for themselves. (TF)

5.            Alaska was originally part of Russia’s colonial empire. (TF)

6.               Mackinder’s heartland theory proposed land-based power, not ocean dominance, would rule the world. (TF) 

7.            At the end of World War 11, the world was bipolar. (TF)

8.               Multicore states are more stable than those states having only one core. (TF)

9.            There are signs a multipolar world is again forming. (TF)

10.          Some governments create artificial crises to bring the people together and lessen internal conflict. (TF)

STUDY QUESTIONS

1.            Explain why economic success and political power are closely linked. What role did colonialization play in the establishment of today’s states?

2.            How do core areas influence a state’s success? What are the functions of capital cities within a core area and those outside the core area?

3.            What is the difference between unitary and federal systems? List the unifying and divisive forces of each. What role does nationalism play in unifying a state, and how do governments manipulate this feeling? Why is the Nigerian government having problems keeping the country unified?

4.            List the events that led the world to become multipolar during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. How did World War II change this? List the main reasons we will be living in a multipolar world again.