GEOG 130 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Nationstates, Irredentism, Res Nullius
Political Geography ***
If human geography is about the role played by space in the
conduct of human affairs, politics is about the struggle for power:
specifically the power to exercise control over people and the
spaces they exercise
o
Key terms:
Recall, humans are divided into different cultural groups,
based on variables such as language, religion, and ethnicity
Provides a sense of identity and community
§
Creates artificial divisions between groups
§
Nation: refers to a cultural group, or a large collection of people
self-identifying as a distinct group
o
State:
Is a formally demarcated political unit (a geographical unit)
§
Is a set of institutions (the political state)
§
Makes the rules governing life within its territory
(sovereignty)
§
Has the potential for violence and coercion (representatives
are authorized to use force on its behalf—military, police,
etc.)
§
Conceptual State Creation: Theories of state creation and
expansion
Fredrich Ratzel (1800s)
•
Seven Laws concerning the spatial growth of states
•
Generalizations based on observations of a supposed
ideal world
•
Notion of the state as a living organism
•
Viewed the state as a living organism (biological view)
Assumed independent existence of something
that is a human creation (with the right to survive)
o
Borders are not permanent, temporarily contain
the state
o
The state requires room to grow and thrive: first
use of term “Lebensraum” – this justifies
expansion/colonialism
o
•
Made generalizations based on observations of a
supposed ideal world
Bot based on rigorous scientific logic
o
•
Defined 7 laws of the Spatial Growth of States (1896)
Key idea is that a state grows as its level of
civilization rises: as the organism grows it expands
in size
o
•
Ratzels 7 “Laws”
Size of state increases as culture developes1)
Physical growth is a response to other aspects of
state growth
2)
States grow at the expense of smalled
surrounding states
3)
Boundaries are the periphery (edge) os the state,
and are not fixed. As other aspects of the state
change so does its boundary
4)
By growing, the stat will attempt to occupy choice
(optimal) locations
5)
The initial stimulus for growth is external 6)
Over time the need to grow will increase
continually
7)
•
§
o
K. Deutsch:
Process of state creation involves up to eight
stages
o
Emphasizes to human goals and actions
(development)
o
State creation is a process, involving up to 8 steps:
o
Transition from subsistence to exchange economy1)
Increase mobility leading to the formation of core
areas
2)
Development of urban centres3)
Growth of communications network4)
Spatial concentration of capital 5)
Increasing group identify6)
Rise of national identitiy 7)
Creation of a state8)
•
What constitutes a state
Permanent population
No minimum requirement
o
•
A defined theory
No minimum requirement
o
•
A government
Separate effective control over itself (laws)
o
•
The capacity to enter into relations w other states
Other steates recognize the state
o
•
Independence
Free from the authority of other states; self-
determination
o
•
§
Sovereignty:
Every state is a “sovereign entity” (right to self-
determination)
§
Concept established by the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia
Basic Principles of the Treaty of Westphalia
The principle of the sovereignty of states and the
right of peaceful political self determination
1)
The principle of (legal) equality between states2)
The binding nature of international treaties
between states
3)
The principle of non-intervention of one state in
the internal affairs of another state
4)
•
§
Originally held that the ruler (sovereign) of a realm had the
authority to determine the religion of his/her people as well
as allegiances and political and economic control
§
The concept of sovereignty holds that a state has:
The righ to exclusive control over its territory, its
permanent population , and its domestic affairs
•
But, the duty to not intervene in the affairs and
domestic jurisdiction of other states
•
§
o
Nation-State
“A clearly defined large group of people who self-identify as
a group (a nation) and who occupy a spatially defined
territory with the necessary infrastructure and social and
political intitutions (a state)”
§
a Political territory including its members and excluding
others
§
a relative raroity in its purest definition:
most nation-states are not composed of just on
national group
•
e.g., Swaziland (98.6% Swazi)
•
§
o
Nationalism
Reflects the belief that nation = state
Holds that the nation (cultural group) and the state
(political unit) are congruent (overlap spatially)
•
Assumes that the nation-state is the natural political
unit, and states should not be delimited in other ways
•
§
Aspiring nation-states agrue that:
All members of the national group should live within
the states borders
•
Members of other groups should be excluded
•
The states government must be controlled by the
dominant cultural group
•
§
Explaining nationalism: theories suggest that national
identity emerged as the standard criterion for state
delimitation during the nineteenth century (1800s) b/c
Nation-states emerged in Europe in response to
the rise of nationalist political philosophies during
the eighteenth century
1)
Humans want to be close to people of similar
cultural backgrounds
2)
The creation of nation-states was a necessary and
logical components of the transition from
feudalism to capitalism
3)
Nationalism is a logical accompaniment of
economic growth based on expanding
technologies
4)
The principle of one state/one culture arises from
the collapse of local communities and the need
for effective communication within a larger unit
5)
Nationalism in practice
There are cases where national groups (culture)
and political units (states) are congruent
The nation-state ideal is primarily found in
Europe (e.g., Iceland, Denmark)
§
Britain and France – both show a long
tradition of correspondence between
“culture” and “state” (but this ignores some
internal cultural divisions)
§
Germany and Italy – creates in the 19th
century in response to centrally organized
efforts aimed at the political union of a
national group
§
o
There are case in which s state contains more
than on nation
“Multinational state”
Canada as a multinational state
Referendum on Quebec’s
secession from Canada held on
Oct. 30, 1995 (2nd after 1980)
}
94% voter turnout (62% for
federal election 2011)
}
Narrow victory for federalists:
“no” (50.56%) and “yes”(49.44%)
}
•
§
This can be successful
e.g., Switzerland (German, French,
Italian, Romansh)
•
§
This can lead to conflict
e.g., the case of Africa
•
e.g., internal stresses based on cultural
(linguistic) divides in Belgium (Dutch
and French) and Canada (English,
French, Indigenous)
•
§
o
•
§
Centrifugal forces tear a state apart
When it exceeds centripetal forces, a state is unstable
§
E.g., internal divisions in language or religion, conflict
over resources, control
§
§
Centripetal forces bind a state together
WHEN IT EXCEEDS CENTRIFUGAL FORCES, A STATE is
stable
•
E.g., presence of a powerful raison d’etre (reason for
being)
•
§
Unstable states
In countries w significant internal divisions, any one of
the following may threaten stability:
Secessionist movements arise when nations
within multinational states want to create their
own separate states
1)
‘Nationa within’ may want to link w members of
the same nation on other states in order to create
a new state
2)
Irredentism: one state’s seeking the return fron
another states of people and/or territory formerly
belonging to it
3)
•
§
Failed states
Some countries have failed b/c they are either critically
weak or not longer functioning effectively (ungoverned
or misgoverned)
•
Failed states pose both and global problems:
Global security
Safe g=havens for terrorists and elicit frug
production (Afghanistan)
§
Allow pirates to operate freely in busy
shipping lanes (Somalia)
§
o
•
§
3** General Land Regimes
Areas under the sovereignty of a state1)
“Res communis”
shared by all statesa)
incapable of appropriation by any stateb)
related by another regime, the Common
Heritage of Mankind (CHM)
c)
e.g., the High Seas, Outer Spaced)
2)
“Res nullius”
land that is capable of appropriation the is
unclaimed by any state
a)
very little “res nullius” remainsb)
e.g., unclaimed areas of Antarcticac)
How do states acquire territory?
Occupation
Territory acquired must be res
nullius
}
Occupying state exercises
“effective control” over the
territory
}
i)
Cession
Transfer of territory from one
state to another
}
ii)
Prescription
A state peaceably occupying a
territory with the knowledge of,
and without protest by, the
orginal claimant may, after time,
acquire title to that territory
}
iii)
Conquest***
Acquisition of territory through
war and subsequent annexation
}
iv)
Accretion
Enlargement of a state’s territory
through natural forces
}
E.g., a river changes course and
sediment builds, creating new
territory
}
v)
Acquisition of territory over time
Acquisition of territory by
accretion is rare
}
In the past, territory was
commonly acquired by
occupation, cession, prescription,
and by conquest
}
Today the rules of the
international law prevent the
acquisition of territory through
conquest (by force)
Acquisition of territory
through occupation is rare
today
Almost no “res
nullius”
w
–
Cession is the most
common way to acquire
territory
–
}
◊
§
3)
§
o
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Political Geography (week 7/ page 1-31)
Political Geography ***
If human geography is about the role played by space in the
conduct of human affairs, politics is about the struggle for power:
specifically the power to exercise control over people and the
spaces they exercise
o
Key terms:
Recall, humans are divided into different cultural groups,
based on variables such as language, religion, and ethnicity
Provides a sense of identity and community
§
Creates artificial divisions between groups
§
Nation: refers to a cultural group, or a large collection of people
self-identifying as a distinct group
o
State:
Is a formally demarcated political unit (a geographical unit)
§
Is a set of institutions (the political state)
§
Makes the rules governing life within its territory
(sovereignty)
§
Has the potential for violence and coercion (representatives
are authorized to use force on its behalf—military, police,
etc.)
§
Conceptual State Creation: Theories of state creation and
expansion
Fredrich Ratzel (1800s)
•
Seven Laws concerning the spatial growth of states
•
Generalizations based on observations of a supposed
ideal world
•
Notion of the state as a living organism
•
Viewed the state as a living organism (biological view)
Assumed independent existence of something
that is a human creation (with the right to survive)
o
Borders are not permanent, temporarily contain
the state
o
The state requires room to grow and thrive: first
use of term “Lebensraum” – this justifies
expansion/colonialism
o
•
Made generalizations based on observations of a
supposed ideal world
Bot based on rigorous scientific logic
o
•
Defined 7 laws of the Spatial Growth of States (1896)
Key idea is that a state grows as its level of
civilization rises: as the organism grows it expands
in size
o
•
Ratzels 7 “Laws”
Size of state increases as culture developes
1)
Physical growth is a response to other aspects of
state growth
2)
States grow at the expense of smalled
surrounding states
3)
Boundaries are the periphery (edge) os the state,
and are not fixed. As other aspects of the state
change so does its boundary
4)
By growing, the stat will attempt to occupy choice
(optimal) locations
5)
The initial stimulus for growth is external
6)
Over time the need to grow will increase
continually
7)
•
§
o
K. Deutsch:
Process of state creation involves up to eight
stages
o
Emphasizes to human goals and actions
(development)
o
State creation is a process, involving up to 8 steps:
o
Transition from subsistence to exchange economy
1)
Increase mobility leading to the formation of core
areas
2)
Development of urban centres3)
Growth of communications network4)
Spatial concentration of capital 5)
Increasing group identify6)
Rise of national identitiy 7)
Creation of a state8)
•
What constitutes a state
Permanent population
No minimum requirement
o
•
A defined theory
No minimum requirement
o
•
A government
Separate effective control over itself (laws)
o
•
The capacity to enter into relations w other states
Other steates recognize the state
o
•
Independence
Free from the authority of other states; self-
determination
o
•
§
Sovereignty:
Every state is a “sovereign entity” (right to self-
determination)
§
Concept established by the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia
Basic Principles of the Treaty of Westphalia
The principle of the sovereignty of states and the
right of peaceful political self determination
1)
The principle of (legal) equality between states2)
The binding nature of international treaties
between states
3)
The principle of non-intervention of one state in
the internal affairs of another state
4)
•
§
Originally held that the ruler (sovereign) of a realm had the
authority to determine the religion of his/her people as well
as allegiances and political and economic control
§
The concept of sovereignty holds that a state has:
The righ to exclusive control over its territory, its
permanent population , and its domestic affairs
•
But, the duty to not intervene in the affairs and
domestic jurisdiction of other states
•
§
o
Nation-State
“A clearly defined large group of people who self-identify as
a group (a nation) and who occupy a spatially defined
territory with the necessary infrastructure and social and
political intitutions (a state)”
§
a Political territory including its members and excluding
others
§
a relative raroity in its purest definition:
most nation-states are not composed of just on
national group
•
e.g., Swaziland (98.6% Swazi)
•
§
o
Nationalism
Reflects the belief that nation = state
Holds that the nation (cultural group) and the state
(political unit) are congruent (overlap spatially)
•
Assumes that the nation-state is the natural political
unit, and states should not be delimited in other ways
•
§
Aspiring nation-states agrue that:
All members of the national group should live within
the states borders
•
Members of other groups should be excluded
•
The states government must be controlled by the
dominant cultural group
•
§
Explaining nationalism: theories suggest that national
identity emerged as the standard criterion for state
delimitation during the nineteenth century (1800s) b/c
Nation-states emerged in Europe in response to
the rise of nationalist political philosophies during
the eighteenth century
1)
Humans want to be close to people of similar
cultural backgrounds
2)
The creation of nation-states was a necessary and
logical components of the transition from
feudalism to capitalism
3)
Nationalism is a logical accompaniment of
economic growth based on expanding
technologies
4)
The principle of one state/one culture arises from
the collapse of local communities and the need
for effective communication within a larger unit
5)
Nationalism in practice
There are cases where national groups (culture)
and political units (states) are congruent
The nation-state ideal is primarily found in
Europe (e.g., Iceland, Denmark)
§
Britain and France – both show a long
tradition of correspondence between
“culture” and “state” (but this ignores some
internal cultural divisions)
§
Germany and Italy – creates in the 19th
century in response to centrally organized
efforts aimed at the political union of a
national group
§
o
There are case in which s state contains more
than on nation
“Multinational state”
Canada as a multinational state
Referendum on Quebec’s
secession from Canada held on
Oct. 30, 1995 (2nd after 1980)
}
94% voter turnout (62% for
federal election 2011)
}
Narrow victory for federalists:
“no” (50.56%) and “yes”(49.44%)
}
•
§
This can be successful
e.g., Switzerland (German, French,
Italian, Romansh)
•
§
This can lead to conflict
e.g., the case of Africa
•
e.g., internal stresses based on cultural
(linguistic) divides in Belgium (Dutch
and French) and Canada (English,
French, Indigenous)
•
§
o
•
§
Centrifugal forces tear a state apart
When it exceeds centripetal forces, a state is unstable
§
E.g., internal divisions in language or religion, conflict
over resources, control
§
§
Centripetal forces bind a state together
WHEN IT EXCEEDS CENTRIFUGAL FORCES, A STATE is
stable
•
E.g., presence of a powerful raison d’etre (reason for
being)
•
§
Unstable states
In countries w significant internal divisions, any one of
the following may threaten stability:
Secessionist movements arise when nations
within multinational states want to create their
own separate states
1)
‘Nationa within’ may want to link w members of
the same nation on other states in order to create
a new state
2)
Irredentism: one state’s seeking the return fron
another states of people and/or territory formerly
belonging to it
3)
•
§
Failed states
Some countries have failed b/c they are either critically
weak or not longer functioning effectively (ungoverned
or misgoverned)
•
Failed states pose both and global problems:
Global security
Safe g=havens for terrorists and elicit frug
production (Afghanistan)
§
Allow pirates to operate freely in busy
shipping lanes (Somalia)
§
o
•
§
3** General Land Regimes
Areas under the sovereignty of a state1)
“Res communis”
shared by all statesa)
incapable of appropriation by any stateb)
related by another regime, the Common
Heritage of Mankind (CHM)
c)
e.g., the High Seas, Outer Spaced)
2)
“Res nullius”
land that is capable of appropriation the is
unclaimed by any state
a)
very little “res nullius” remainsb)
e.g., unclaimed areas of Antarcticac)
How do states acquire territory?
Occupation
Territory acquired must be res
nullius
}
Occupying state exercises
“effective control” over the
territory
}
i)
Cession
Transfer of territory from one
state to another
}
ii)
Prescription
A state peaceably occupying a
territory with the knowledge of,
and without protest by, the
orginal claimant may, after time,
acquire title to that territory
}
iii)
Conquest***
Acquisition of territory through
war and subsequent annexation
}
iv)
Accretion
Enlargement of a state’s territory
through natural forces
}
E.g., a river changes course and
sediment builds, creating new
territory
}
v)
Acquisition of territory over time
Acquisition of territory by
accretion is rare
}
In the past, territory was
commonly acquired by
occupation, cession, prescription,
and by conquest
}
Today the rules of the
international law prevent the
acquisition of territory through
conquest (by force)
Acquisition of territory
through occupation is rare
today
Almost no “res
nullius”
w
–
Cession is the most
common way to acquire
territory
–
}
◊
§
3)
§
o
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Political Geography (week 7/ page 1-31)
Political Geography ***
If human geography is about the role played by space in the
conduct of human affairs, politics is about the struggle for power:
specifically the power to exercise control over people and the
spaces they exercise
o
Key terms:
Recall, humans are divided into different cultural groups,
based on variables such as language, religion, and ethnicity
Provides a sense of identity and community
§
Creates artificial divisions between groups
§
Nation: refers to a cultural group, or a large collection of people
self-identifying as a distinct group
o
State:
Is a formally demarcated political unit (a geographical unit)
§
Is a set of institutions (the political state)
§
Makes the rules governing life within its territory
(sovereignty)
§
Has the potential for violence and coercion (representatives
are authorized to use force on its behalf—military, police,
etc.)
§
Conceptual State Creation: Theories of state creation and
expansion
Fredrich Ratzel (1800s)
•
Seven Laws concerning the spatial growth of states
•
Generalizations based on observations of a supposed
ideal world
•
Notion of the state as a living organism
•
Viewed the state as a living organism (biological view)
Assumed independent existence of something
that is a human creation (with the right to survive)
o
Borders are not permanent, temporarily contain
the state
o
The state requires room to grow and thrive: first
use of term “Lebensraum” – this justifies
expansion/colonialism
o
•
Made generalizations based on observations of a
supposed ideal world
Bot based on rigorous scientific logic
o
•
Defined 7 laws of the Spatial Growth of States (1896)
Key idea is that a state grows as its level of
civilization rises: as the organism grows it expands
in size
o
•
Ratzels 7 “Laws”
Size of state increases as culture developes1)
Physical growth is a response to other aspects of
state growth
2)
States grow at the expense of smalled
surrounding states
3)
Boundaries are the periphery (edge) os the state,
and are not fixed. As other aspects of the state
change so does its boundary
4)
By growing, the stat will attempt to occupy choice
(optimal) locations
5)
The initial stimulus for growth is external 6)
Over time the need to grow will increase
continually
7)
•
§
o
K. Deutsch:
Process of state creation involves up to eight
stages
o
Emphasizes to human goals and actions
(development)
o
State creation is a process, involving up to 8 steps:
o
Transition from subsistence to exchange economy
1)
Increase mobility leading to the formation of core
areas
2)
Development of urban centres
3)
Growth of communications network
4)
Spatial concentration of capital
5)
Increasing group identify
6)
Rise of national identitiy
7)
Creation of a state
8)
•
What constitutes a state
Permanent population
No minimum requirement
o
•
A defined theory
No minimum requirement
o
•
A government
Separate effective control over itself (laws)
o
•
The capacity to enter into relations w other states
Other steates recognize the state
o
•
Independence
Free from the authority of other states; self-
determination
o
•
§
Sovereignty:
Every state is a “sovereign entity” (right to self-
determination)
§
Concept established by the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia
Basic Principles of the Treaty of Westphalia
The principle of the sovereignty of states and the
right of peaceful political self determination
1)
The principle of (legal) equality between states
2)
The binding nature of international treaties
between states
3)
The principle of non-intervention of one state in
the internal affairs of another state
4)
•
§
Originally held that the ruler (sovereign) of a realm had the
authority to determine the religion of his/her people as well
as allegiances and political and economic control
§
The concept of sovereignty holds that a state has:
The righ to exclusive control over its territory, its
permanent population , and its domestic affairs
•
But, the duty to not intervene in the affairs and
domestic jurisdiction of other states
•
§
o
Nation-State
“A clearly defined large group of people who self-identify as
a group (a nation) and who occupy a spatially defined
territory with the necessary infrastructure and social and
political intitutions (a state)”
§
a Political territory including its members and excluding
others
§
a relative raroity in its purest definition:
most nation-states are not composed of just on
national group
•
e.g., Swaziland (98.6% Swazi)
•
§
o
Nationalism
Reflects the belief that nation = state
Holds that the nation (cultural group) and the state
(political unit) are congruent (overlap spatially)
•
Assumes that the nation-state is the natural political
unit, and states should not be delimited in other ways
•
§
Aspiring nation-states agrue that:
All members of the national group should live within
the states borders
•
Members of other groups should be excluded
•
The states government must be controlled by the
dominant cultural group
•
§
Explaining nationalism: theories suggest that national
identity emerged as the standard criterion for state
delimitation during the nineteenth century (1800s) b/c
Nation-states emerged in Europe in response to
the rise of nationalist political philosophies during
the eighteenth century
1)
Humans want to be close to people of similar
cultural backgrounds
2)
The creation of nation-states was a necessary and
logical components of the transition from
feudalism to capitalism
3)
Nationalism is a logical accompaniment of
economic growth based on expanding
technologies
4)
The principle of one state/one culture arises from
the collapse of local communities and the need
for effective communication within a larger unit
5)
Nationalism in practice
There are cases where national groups (culture)
and political units (states) are congruent
The nation-state ideal is primarily found in
Europe (e.g., Iceland, Denmark)
§
Britain and France – both show a long
tradition of correspondence between
“culture” and “state” (but this ignores some
internal cultural divisions)
§
Germany and Italy – creates in the 19th
century in response to centrally organized
efforts aimed at the political union of a
national group
§
o
There are case in which s state contains more
than on nation
“Multinational state”
Canada as a multinational state
Referendum on Quebec’s
secession from Canada held on
Oct. 30, 1995 (2nd after 1980)
}
94% voter turnout (62% for
federal election 2011)
}
Narrow victory for federalists:
“no” (50.56%) and “yes”(49.44%)
}
•
§
This can be successful
e.g., Switzerland (German, French,
Italian, Romansh)
•
§
This can lead to conflict
e.g., the case of Africa
•
e.g., internal stresses based on cultural
(linguistic) divides in Belgium (Dutch
and French) and Canada (English,
French, Indigenous)
•
§
o
•
§
Centrifugal forces tear a state apart
When it exceeds centripetal forces, a state is unstable
§
E.g., internal divisions in language or religion, conflict
over resources, control
§
§
Centripetal forces bind a state together
WHEN IT EXCEEDS CENTRIFUGAL FORCES, A STATE is
stable
•
E.g., presence of a powerful raison d’etre (reason for
being)
•
§
Unstable states
In countries w significant internal divisions, any one of
the following may threaten stability:
Secessionist movements arise when nations
within multinational states want to create their
own separate states
1)
‘Nationa within’ may want to link w members of
the same nation on other states in order to create
a new state
2)
Irredentism: one state’s seeking the return fron
another states of people and/or territory formerly
belonging to it
3)
•
§
Failed states
Some countries have failed b/c they are either critically
weak or not longer functioning effectively (ungoverned
or misgoverned)
•
Failed states pose both and global problems:
Global security
Safe g=havens for terrorists and elicit frug
production (Afghanistan)
§
Allow pirates to operate freely in busy
shipping lanes (Somalia)
§
o
•
§
3** General Land Regimes
Areas under the sovereignty of a state1)
“Res communis”
shared by all statesa)
incapable of appropriation by any stateb)
related by another regime, the Common
Heritage of Mankind (CHM)
c)
e.g., the High Seas, Outer Spaced)
2)
“Res nullius”
land that is capable of appropriation the is
unclaimed by any state
a)
very little “res nullius” remainsb)
e.g., unclaimed areas of Antarcticac)
How do states acquire territory?
Occupation
Territory acquired must be res
nullius
}
Occupying state exercises
“effective control” over the
territory
}
i)
Cession
Transfer of territory from one
state to another
}
ii)
Prescription
A state peaceably occupying a
territory with the knowledge of,
and without protest by, the
orginal claimant may, after time,
acquire title to that territory
}
iii)
Conquest***
Acquisition of territory through
war and subsequent annexation
}
iv)
Accretion
Enlargement of a state’s territory
through natural forces
}
E.g., a river changes course and
sediment builds, creating new
territory
}
v)
Acquisition of territory over time
Acquisition of territory by
accretion is rare
}
In the past, territory was
commonly acquired by
occupation, cession, prescription,
and by conquest
}
Today the rules of the
international law prevent the
acquisition of territory through
conquest (by force)
Acquisition of territory
through occupation is rare
today
Almost no “res
nullius”
w
–
Cession is the most
common way to acquire
territory
–
}
◊
§
3)
§
o
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Political Geography (week 7/ page 1-31)
Document Summary
If human geography is about the role played by space in the conduct of human affairs, politics is about the struggle for power: specifically the power to exercise control over people and the spaces they exercise. Recall, humans are divided into different cultural groups, based on variables such as language, religion, and ethnicity. Nation: refers to a cultural group, or a large collection of people self-identifying as a distinct group. Is a formally demarcated political unit (a geographical unit) Is a set of institutions (the political state) Makes the rules governing life within its territory (sovereignty) Has the potential for violence and coercion (representatives are authorized to use force on its behalf military, police, etc. ) Conceptual state creation: theories of state creation and expansion. Seven laws concerning the spatial growth of states. Generalizations based on observations of a supposed ideal world. Notion of the state as a living organism. Viewed the state as a living organism (biological view) o.
