POL - Countries & Borders [LESSON]
Countries & Borders
If we look at a satellite image of the Earth from space, we don’t see any political boundaries. In fact, in 2015, astronaut Scott Kelly looked down at Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) and said this, "You see continents and countries without any political borders. It gives you the impression that we're all in this thing called humanity together." So, that begs the question... why do we, as humans, create political boundaries? And once they are created, why do they ever change? And that’s exactly what this lesson is about. We will define technical political geographic terms, distinguish political from ethnic sovereignty, and lastly explore the difficult topic of unrecognized states. Ah, if only it were as simple as Scott Kelly imagined peering out the window of the ISS. Although political borders may seem like a recent advent of humanity, an ancient example of a border was visible to Scott Kelly from space. The Great Wall of China.
Political boundaries are created and subject to change due to a complex interplay of historical, cultural, and geopolitical factors like political and ethnic sovereignty. Let's examine the reasons behind the creation and alteration of political boundaries, using specific examples for illustration. After all, the Great Wall of China does not still inform the boundaries of that place.
The Great Wall of China
Guide Point 🧭
Political Boundaries
Political boundaries are often created to define where a group of people are and lay claim to territory. Which seems easy and straight forward to understand, right? Well... not so fast. We typically use the term “country” in common English to discuss places of groups of people like China, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria, the United States of America, Japan, etc. And for everyday conversations, that’s fine. However, in political geography, it’s essential to make distinctions between some fundamental terms. Each concept has unique characteristics that shape the landscape of global politics.
Nation - A nation refers to a community of people who share commonalities such as culture, language, history, and identity. This shared bond goes beyond political borders, creating a sense of belonging among its members. Sometimes nations exist within a political state, like in the case of multi-national states like Canada and the United States. Other times a nation exists across several political states. An example of a nation existing across several political states is the Kurdish nation. They are a group of people dispersed across the political states of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria, united by a collective cultural heritage. Although the Kurdish people desire a political state called Kurdistan, it is not internationally recognized, giving the Kurdish people very limited political sovereignty, or power. Instead, the Kurdish people rely on ethnic sovereignty – the power to determine some of their own affairs (self-governance) in their nation by claiming sovereignty and acting as if they were sovereign, leading to potential conflict. The Kurdish nation is an often-cited example of a stateless nation. In other words, a nation without a state.
State - In contrast, a state is a politically organized and sovereign entity with defined geographical boundaries, a government, and a permanent population. Unlike a nation, a state is a legal and political structure that governs a specific territory. An example of a state is the United States—a diverse state (sometimes referred to as a multi-national state) where a multitude of cultures and identities coexist under one overarching government. To further muddy the waters, sometimes political states, like the United States of America, have states within its borders, like Georgia for example.
Flags are often used to symbolize political states.
Sometimes states gain their political sovereignty through conflict, like in the case of the United States in their War for Independence with Britain during the American Revolution. Less often, there are peaceful negotiations to gain political sovereignty. Unrecognized states like Palestine, Kosovo, and Taiwan meet many of the definitions of a state but lack international recognition as of the date of this writing. Ideally, a group of people want to feel like they get to govern themselves and are not being governed by another group of people who may or may not share the same culture. However, that is easier said than done. The presence of political boundaries signifies control over a certain area, including military protection and available resources. That is not something easily given up. Often, an agreement is reached, as in the cases of Palestine, Kosovo, and Taiwan, where these unrecognized states retain some, but not total political sovereignty.
Nation-State - A nation-state emerges when the cultural and political boundaries closely align within a specific territory. Japan serves as a classic example—a nation-state where strict immigration policies have led to the vast majority of people in Japan sharing a common language, culture, and identity. This alignment fosters a strong sense of shared belonging and political unity.
To summarize, while a nation fosters cultural identity, a state provides the political framework, and a nation-state signifies the alignment of both, creating a unified political and cultural entity.
So, political boundaries are often formed to define where a group of people are. And once they are formed, they never, ever change, right? Again... not so fast. Political boundaries often change. They change when there is a shift in political and/or ethnic power. For example, when the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s, it led to the creation of independent states that were aligned with specific ethnic or national groups, like Ukraine for example. In other cases, it isn't the dissolving of political power, but the consolidation of political power that causes changes to the political boundaries on a map, for example the colonization of Africa by European powers in the 19th century. Either way, political maps had to be re-drawn to accurately show the new political boundaries of the world.
Tyranny of the Map | Video
Speaking of maps... they hold a tremendous amount of power over how we view the world. Almost tyrannical power. For more on that, watch this video, titled “Tyranny of the Map.”Reflection
As we conclude this lesson, you've not only learned the definitions but also investigated the realities of political boundaries around the world. You've explored the intricate dance between nations, states, and nation-states, witnessed the power dynamics of political and ethnic sovereignty, and navigated the challenges faced by stateless nations and unrecognized states. In our next lesson, we'll pivot to examine how geography becomes a determining factor in global exchange—unveiling how size, shape, and relative location influence a country's participation on the global stage. Prepare for another enlightening exploration into the geopolitical dimensions that shape our world!
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