Political geography is the part of human geography that deals with the distribution of territory with respect to the space occupied by human beings. It is a very broad field of study, since its main object of study is political institutions, which can range from a small, well-organized and hierarchical group of people to a large economic or political bloc of an international nature and are not just about countries. This concept being complex, political geography is interested in all related aspects, such as the political process, government systems, repercussions of political actions, etc.[1][2].
Geographic space (populations, nations, territories, culture, areas, etc.) is another object of interest for political geography, a factor linked to political science, since the environment in which territorial institutions and policies are developed is also a topic of study.[3][4].
Countries by continent; historical background of political geography and its characteristics
The emerged and habitable areas of planet Earth are distributed over five continents and a multitude of islands, many attached to continents, which in turn are politically divided into 194 countries. The continent with the largest number of countries is Africa with 54, followed by: Europe with 50, Asia with 48, America with 35 and Oceania with 14.[note 1].
Throughout human history, Geography has been studied in a political environment, the doubts and questions of political phenomena and their scope were already being discussed by Jean Bodin and Montesquieu, although they minimized the perception of space as the physical medium of political events. It reappears again under the name of Geopolitics in the last years of the century as a scientific specialty, however, in Germany a great geographer stood out who achieved an advance in the idea of this branch of human geography under the view of a Germany that extended its domains and increased its power, I am referring to Friedrich Ratzel (1844-1904) whose books Politische Geographie (1897) and Der Lebensraum (1901) speak more in detail of his vision in political geography. Ratzel studies the relationships between societies and the territory they occupy, and uses some concepts from the field of natural sciences to interpret political events. Thus, the consideration of the State as a territorial "organism" and the idea of the vital space for which States that wish to expand their territorial sphere compete; without missing the analysis of certain physical characteristics, such as the geographical location, the borders and the shape of the territory of the State.[5].
Territorial complexity
Introduction
Political geography is the part of human geography that deals with the distribution of territory with respect to the space occupied by human beings. It is a very broad field of study, since its main object of study is political institutions, which can range from a small, well-organized and hierarchical group of people to a large economic or political bloc of an international nature and are not just about countries. This concept being complex, political geography is interested in all related aspects, such as the political process, government systems, repercussions of political actions, etc.[1][2].
Geographic space (populations, nations, territories, culture, areas, etc.) is another object of interest for political geography, a factor linked to political science, since the environment in which territorial institutions and policies are developed is also a topic of study.[3][4].
Countries by continent; historical background of political geography and its characteristics
The emerged and habitable areas of planet Earth are distributed over five continents and a multitude of islands, many attached to continents, which in turn are politically divided into 194 countries. The continent with the largest number of countries is Africa with 54, followed by: Europe with 50, Asia with 48, America with 35 and Oceania with 14.[note 1].
Throughout human history, Geography has been studied in a political environment, the doubts and questions of political phenomena and their scope were already being discussed by Jean Bodin and Montesquieu, although they minimized the perception of space as the physical medium of political events. It reappears again under the name of Geopolitics in the last years of the century as a scientific specialty, however, in Germany a great geographer stood out who achieved an advance in the idea of this branch of human geography under the view of a Germany that extended its domains and increased its power, I am referring to Friedrich Ratzel (1844-1904) whose books (1897) and (1901) speak more in detail of his vision in political geography. Ratzel studies the relationships between societies and the territory they occupy, and uses some concepts from the field of natural sciences to interpret political events. Thus, the consideration of the State as a territorial "organism" and the idea of the vital space for which States that wish to expand their territorial sphere compete; without missing the analysis of certain physical characteristics, such as the geographical location, the borders and the shape of the territory of the State.[5].
Before Ratzel, the study of political geography had never formed a systematic discipline. Jean Bodin had sought the ties that unite the State to the land that supports it; According to him, natural conditions exert a powerful influence on the ways of life and mentality of people and, subsequently, on their political formations. We find the same idea among the philosophers of the century and particularly in Montesquieu who, to understand political institutions, appeals not only to history, but also to economics, geography, climate; He recognizes that the differences in needs in different latitudes have differentiated the ways of life, and therefore, the laws: regarding the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire, he will have profound visions about the inconveniences of its disproportionate extension. It is Ratzel who first understood the complexity of the conditions of existence and functioning of States, who knew how to give his study the character of science. It conceives the State as an organism that results from the synthesis of a fragment of earth and humanity, which was the object of a scientific discipline that analyzes, classifies and compares.[6].
After Ratzel's postulates and the criticisms regarding them were not positive since he would describe Germany's actions in the Great War justifying them under his theories and concepts; Consequently, several geographers dedicated themselves to developing a vision whose center were military and strategic problems, such as the figures of Alfred Mahan and Halford John Mackinder. But this would only be the next step towards new changes in the way of seeing this science, the events that occurred in the Second Great War and after this caused the political geographer to obtain surprising advances in terms of concepts and methods.
Any society that settles in a territory and makes it its own is organized under a coherent and hierarchical methodology, after the passage of time and the development of the lands together with its inhabitants, they turn it into a modern society which acquires the name of State. This State is divided into two fronts which are internal and external: inside society, it must ensure the health and well-being of the population, satisfy their needs, guarantee basic services, distribute natural resources and more; while external actions, which are carried out with other States, must be taken under the conception of a strategic nature along with the control of their assets and wealth, with methods to obtain and satisfy needs such as agreements and negotiations.
Power is one of the characteristics that has become important in this science, because many geographers ensure the use of it to be able to carry out various internal and external relationships, mainly external ones that are at an international level; This power can be conferred to several factors that may be the most studied, such as economic, political and military, as well as cultural and social.
We can see this more clearly when analyzing one of its forms known as the 4 pillars of power; These pillars are characteristics of a State, in addition to its influence and respect in international relations with other actors. These four pillars are: overwhelming military force, surplus economic energy, ideological leadership and a cohesive system of government..
In conclusion, all these authors who have contributed to the topic agree that Political Geography is a science that is based on theories, concepts, methodology, objects of study, and is a branch of Human Geography. Taking as a basis for this the study and analysis of political conflicts in a geographical space, with the objective of analyzing the means for satisfying the interests of social groups based on the organizational process that involves laws, institutions and dominant values; all this under global, regional, national and local scales where actors can carry out their dynamic and complex actions in the face of social, economic, cultural factors, among others.
• - Political science.
• - Political economy.
• - Political right.
• - Political map.
• - Geography.
• - Physical geography.
• - Friedrich Ratzel.
• - International relations.
References
[1] ↑ Europa y Asia comparten siete países que se ubican entre ambos continentes «países euroasiáticos», por tanto a la suma de los países por continentes hay que restar siete: 54 + 35 + 14 + 50 + 48 – 7 = 194 ¿Por qué? Porque si no los restamos los estaríamos contando dos veces. Saber es práctico. «Cuantos países hay en el mundo?». (enlace roto disponible en Internet Archive; véase el historial, la primera versión y la última).: https://www.saberespractico.com/curiosidades/cuantos-países-hay
[6] ↑ García Ballesteros A., Bosques Sendra J. (1985). «Evolución y tendencias actuales de la Geografía Política». Dialnet. Documents dÁnálisi Geográfica (6): 115-132. Consultado el 15 de enero de 2021.: https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=237618
[7] ↑ Demangeon, Albert (2017). «Geografía política». Revistas Científicas Complutenses. Geopolitica(s). Revista De Estudios Sobre Espacio Y Poder 8 (1): 115-123. doi:10.5209/GEOP.56576. Consultado el 15 de enero de 2021.: https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/GEOP/article/view/56576
Politische Geographie
Der Lebensraum
Before Ratzel, the study of political geography had never formed a systematic discipline. Jean Bodin had sought the ties that unite the State to the land that supports it; According to him, natural conditions exert a powerful influence on the ways of life and mentality of people and, subsequently, on their political formations. We find the same idea among the philosophers of the century and particularly in Montesquieu who, to understand political institutions, appeals not only to history, but also to economics, geography, climate; He recognizes that the differences in needs in different latitudes have differentiated the ways of life, and therefore, the laws: regarding the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire, he will have profound visions about the inconveniences of its disproportionate extension. It is Ratzel who first understood the complexity of the conditions of existence and functioning of States, who knew how to give his study the character of science. It conceives the State as an organism that results from the synthesis of a fragment of earth and humanity, which was the object of a scientific discipline that analyzes, classifies and compares.[6].
After Ratzel's postulates and the criticisms regarding them were not positive since he would describe Germany's actions in the Great War justifying them under his theories and concepts; Consequently, several geographers dedicated themselves to developing a vision whose center were military and strategic problems, such as the figures of Alfred Mahan and Halford John Mackinder. But this would only be the next step towards new changes in the way of seeing this science, the events that occurred in the Second Great War and after this caused the political geographer to obtain surprising advances in terms of concepts and methods.
Any society that settles in a territory and makes it its own is organized under a coherent and hierarchical methodology, after the passage of time and the development of the lands together with its inhabitants, they turn it into a modern society which acquires the name of State. This State is divided into two fronts which are internal and external: inside society, it must ensure the health and well-being of the population, satisfy their needs, guarantee basic services, distribute natural resources and more; while external actions, which are carried out with other States, must be taken under the conception of a strategic nature along with the control of their assets and wealth, with methods to obtain and satisfy needs such as agreements and negotiations.
Power is one of the characteristics that has become important in this science, because many geographers ensure the use of it to be able to carry out various internal and external relationships, mainly external ones that are at an international level; This power can be conferred to several factors that may be the most studied, such as economic, political and military, as well as cultural and social.
We can see this more clearly when analyzing one of its forms known as the 4 pillars of power; These pillars are characteristics of a State, in addition to its influence and respect in international relations with other actors. These four pillars are: overwhelming military force, surplus economic energy, ideological leadership and a cohesive system of government..
In conclusion, all these authors who have contributed to the topic agree that Political Geography is a science that is based on theories, concepts, methodology, objects of study, and is a branch of Human Geography. Taking as a basis for this the study and analysis of political conflicts in a geographical space, with the objective of analyzing the means for satisfying the interests of social groups based on the organizational process that involves laws, institutions and dominant values; all this under global, regional, national and local scales where actors can carry out their dynamic and complex actions in the face of social, economic, cultural factors, among others.
• - Political science.
• - Political economy.
• - Political right.
• - Political map.
• - Geography.
• - Physical geography.
• - Friedrich Ratzel.
• - International relations.
References
[1] ↑ Europa y Asia comparten siete países que se ubican entre ambos continentes «países euroasiáticos», por tanto a la suma de los países por continentes hay que restar siete: 54 + 35 + 14 + 50 + 48 – 7 = 194 ¿Por qué? Porque si no los restamos los estaríamos contando dos veces. Saber es práctico. «Cuantos países hay en el mundo?». (enlace roto disponible en Internet Archive; véase el historial, la primera versión y la última).: https://www.saberespractico.com/curiosidades/cuantos-países-hay
[6] ↑ García Ballesteros A., Bosques Sendra J. (1985). «Evolución y tendencias actuales de la Geografía Política». Dialnet. Documents dÁnálisi Geográfica (6): 115-132. Consultado el 15 de enero de 2021.: https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=237618
[7] ↑ Demangeon, Albert (2017). «Geografía política». Revistas Científicas Complutenses. Geopolitica(s). Revista De Estudios Sobre Espacio Y Poder 8 (1): 115-123. doi:10.5209/GEOP.56576. Consultado el 15 de enero de 2021.: https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/GEOP/article/view/56576