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Summary OCR ALevel Geography- Power and Borders
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The World Political Map of Sovereign States is dynamic:State – an independent country with clear boundaries and organised by a single government.
Nation – a group of people who share strong cultural bonds and historical connections e.g. the Kurds
Sovereignty – the authority / right of a state to govern itself and have full control over its own affairs.
Territorial integrity – states exercise their sovereignty within a specific area or territory that is recognised by international
law.
Norms – these are accepted standards and expectations that have developed over time and shape the way people, states,
institutions behave and operate, some norms of behaviour are international and fixed in international law.
Intervention - the involvement of a state or institution in the affairs of another state via humanitarian support
peacekeeping or mediation.
Geopolitics – the influence of human and physical geography on government activities, law making and decision making.
The world political map is constantly changing, with many countries with unrecognised borders, such as Crimea and Taiwan.
These borders that are unrecognised often the cause of leaders and nations personal and complex motivations. for
instance, the idea that the world political map is dynamic can be applied to the current Russia-Ukraine conflict. Additionally,
this idea can also be viewed in Kashmir, whereby there have been continuous conflicts between Pakistan and India since
1947. Both of these countries hold large natural resources.
What are the contemporary challenges to sovereign state authority?
Supranational institutions such as regional trading blocs like the EU:
Supranational institutions such as the EU represent a tier of governance above that of the individual state. While individual
states such as the UK retain their sovereignty, they are bound by the requirements of the institution. The aim of the EU
(1993) Was to make countries within it economically interdependent to prevent another war. However, the eu has become
powerful and controls things like trade transport and agriculture. Consequently, with free movement states borders
become weaker and states are forced to share their authority, therefore borders become more porous.
TNCs:
Transnational corporations are growing in power at the expense of state sovereignty. Evidence shows that FDI from TNC's
can help promote and sustain economic development in countries. States that choose not to encourage foreign direct
investment from TNC’s are often less developed. Therefore, states have become reliant on TNC's to integrate their economy
into the global economy to encourage development.
TNC's have gained power through this reliance.
TNC's currently have the political power to influence a state and also ruin a state's economy should the state oppose
them.
Evidence of this was shown in 2013 whereby a Primark factory in Dhaka collapsed killing 1130 people. Primark used its
power and influence to evade inspections from the government. This diluted the power and sovereignty of the state,
particularly its responsibility to protect human rights. Overall, TNC’s are currently the biggest threat to states sovereignty.
Westphalian model:
In the globalised world of the 21st century, the concepts of sovereignty and territorial integrity are increasingly being
challenged and eroded. One such example is the erosion of the boundaries set out by the Westphalian model. Formed in
1648, the Treaty of Westphalia ended 30 years of war between Spain, Germany and the Netherlands. Consequently, the
Netherlands gained independence from Spain and France was recognised as a western power. This established important
precedents for state sovereignty and it became an established international law. However, internationalism and
globalisation presents challenges to this outdated treaty where simultaneously the rise of the UN and WTO suggest nation-
state sovereignty is declining.
Political dominance of ethnic groups:
Some borders are the result of colonial-decision making and are so outdated. Catalonia, an independent region in the
northeaster part of Spain, has recently returned to the international scene. On October 1st, 2017, Catalonia held an illegal
referendum to vote on the question of state independence. The reaction of the Spanish government led to violence and
protests throughout the region as police stepped in to prevent the Catalan people from voting in the referendum. The
result was a vote 90 percent in favour of independence, although it should be noted that less than half of the region voted
in the referendum. Following some confusion about Catalan leader Carle Puigdemont’s intentions after the referendum, the
region definitively declared independence, leading to Spanish retaliatory measures such as the jailing of Catalan leaders.
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