The Changing The Changing Global Political Global Political

LandscapeLandscape

New World Order

• Shaped by forces that connect nations and states

• Supranational unions (EU)• Risk of nuclear war would recede• States more closely linked than ever

before• However – national self-interest still

a powerful centrifugal force

Devolution When regions w/in state gain political strength & growing autonomy at expense of central gov’t

Counterforce to supranationalism Internal centrifugal forces Devolutionary events most often occur

on margins of state Allies of devolution:

1. Distance2. Remoteness3. Peripheral location

Types of Devolution

• Balkanization•Fragmentation of a region into smaller,

often hostile political units• Examples:

• Yugoslavia/Balkans, Former USSR, Czechoslovakia, Austria-Hungary, British India

• Regions within a state demand and gain political strength and growing autonomy at the expense of the central government• Examples:

•UK, Spain (Basque), France (Corsica), Canada (Quebec, Nunavut, native peoples)

1. Breakup of a state

UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO BALKANIZE A COUNTRY:

• Bosnia: Serbians in Bosnia fought to break away from Bosnia & join Serbian dominated Yugoslavia

• Kashmir: Muslims in state of Jammu and Kashmir are fighting to break away from India

• Nigeria: SE part of Nigeria declared themselves to be independent State of Biafara

• Sri Lanka: Tamil Tigers fought to break away from Sri Lanka, but ended up declaring truce

• "Kurdistan": Kurdish people of Turkey, Iraq, & Iran have periodically fought to create new State of Kurdistan

• Iraq: Shiite Muslims living in marshes of SE Iraq fought to break away from Sunni Muslim dominated gov’t of Saddam Hussein, but now are fighting for representation in new gov’t

Ethnic Regions in Former Yugoslavia

•Yugoslavia’s 6 republics until 1992 included much ethnic diversity. •Brutal ethnic cleansing occurred in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo during the civil wars of the 1990s.

The Break Up of the Former Yugoslavia

2. Ethnonationalism• Love for your nation (same thing as

the 1648 nationalism term)• Ethnicity is often based on cultural

commonalities• Peoples sharing a strong sense of

ethnicity feel they are part of a group• Ethnonationalism can be a fundamental

force promoting devolution• Spain – Basque, Catalonia: 17 Autonomous

Communities established (greater autonomy desired by Basques & province of Catalonia)

• Canada—the French speaking province of Canada (Quebec)

• Czechoslovakia—peacefully divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Velvet Divorce/ Revolution)

• Break-up of Yugoslavia (Figure 17-2)• Dayton Accords (split

up Bosnia)• Yugoslavia – six

“republics”; Dayton Accords (1995) split Bosnia b/t Serb “Republic” & Muslim-Croat “Federation”

2. Ethnonationalism, cont.

Examples of Ethnonational Devolutionary Movements• Ethnic groups see themselves as distinct nations with the right to control their own territory• Scotland, Wales & N. Ireland

(UK)• Basque & Catalonia (Spain)• Flanders & Wallonia (Belgium)• Quebec (Canada)• Tamils in Sri Lanka• Former USSR• Former Yugoslavia• Former Czechoslovakia• Hawaii, US

Basque Country

European Regions Seeking Autonomy

Belgium- devolution roots are culturalWalloons (French) & Flemish (Dutch)

Scotland & Wales – voted in favor of greater autonomy especially in parliaments, mixed feelings for independence

3. Economic forces

• Catalonia (province in Spain)• 1979 government signed autonomy

agreement• Own parliament, official status of

language, taxing and education powers transferred

• Discussion of Italy, France, Corsica• Italy – cultural - island of Sardinia• France – cultural -island of Corsica

4. Spatial Influences

• Devolutionary events occur on margins of states

• Many islands are also subject to devolutionary forces

a. Gateway states• political entities situated in border

zones b/t geopolitical power cores• state absorbs & assimilates cultures

& traditions of its neighbors w/out being dominated by them

• proposed by SB Cohenb. Irredentism

• Mov’t to reunite a nation’s homeland when part of it is contained within another state.

• Part that is ruled by the other state is the irredenta

c. Shatterbelt •a region caught between powerful forces whose boundaries are continually redefined

Devolutionary Pressures in Europe, 2002

Changes resulting from devolution in Europe

• Formation of new states/government• More power to regions (formation of new

legislatures, local control over policies)• Local ethno-nationalism (linguistic/religious

revival)• Regional separatism• Political instability (civil war, fighting,

hostility, ethnic cleansing)• Economic instability• Mass migration (refugees, emigration)

Devolution in Other Parts of the World• Sudan—Muslim north and non-Muslim

south• Sri Lanka- Sinhalese (Buddhist) and Tamil

(Hindu)• Canada (Quebec)• US/ Puerto Rico/ Hawaii• China/Taiwan• Brazil – economic differences (south

misuse of taxes)

Ethnic Groups in Africa

The Sinhalese are mainly Buddhist and speak an Indo-European language, while the Tamils are mainly Hindu and speak a Dravidian language.

Sri Lanka

Quebec

Hawaii

U.S. overthrew Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, annexed Hawaii in 1898, granted statehood in

1959.

China v. Taiwan

Middle East Redrawn?

Ethnic Divisions in South Asia

At independence in 1947, British India was divided into India and Pakistan, resulting in the migration of 17 million people and many killings. In 1971, after a brutal civil war, East Pakistan became the country of Bangladesh.

1. “Near Abroad” – Russian cultural regions along the post-Soviet periphery

2. USSR split into 15 republics; Russia still has devolutionary problems (e.g. Chechnya)• Tried to replace USSR with CIS• All former republics had lots of

economic ties• Latvia, Lithuania, & Estonia did not

join the Commonwealth

Devolution of USSR

The devolution of the Soviet Union

Former USSR

Ethnic Groups in Russia

Description: International system after the collapse of the USSR; balance of nuclear terror no longer determines the destiny of states (US is only superpower) Multipolar world – US, Europe, Russia & China

– future is uncertain (peace or conflict) Globalization – expansion of economic,

political & cultural activities to a global scale, states’ traditional position is weakened by networks of interaction

Democracy – has affected virtually all regions; little progress in North Africa & Southwest Asia (e.g. one-party democracy)

New World Order (changes)

More changes in New World Order:

1. Antiquated boundary framework – 21st c. world w/ 19th c. borders (most devolving movements occur in periphery of states)

2. Rise of terrorism – superpowers supplied allies w/ weapons during Cold War; increasing threat of nations w/ nukes, chemical & biological weapons, suicide missions = potential to unite or divide world

More changes in New World Order (cont.)3. Growing influence of religion• A global phenomenon • religious fundamentalism vs. secularism,

stereotypes (Islamic world vs. Judeo-Christian world)

• When the move to religion is associated w/ fundamentalist ideas, results can be explosive

4. Effects of religious fundamentalism• Jews settling in Israeli-occupied territories fueled

regional territorial conflicts • Upsurge of Shiite fundamentalism led by an

exiled ayatollah in Iran• Problems in Algeria, Sudan, & Malaysia