GEOG 329 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Authoritarianism, Balkan Mountains, Balkanization
Document Summary
Territorial organization of the state: centralism and federalism. Two main spatial-political forms of state(unitary and federal) Centripetal/centrifrugal forces: physical geography of territory, political history, distribution of populations, cultures, economies: centripetal: bring people together, centrifrugal: take things apart. Unitary state(latin: unitas- unity: control of local authrotieis by central. Federal state(foederis- league: local political units retain management of internal affairs(e. g exclude defense, foreign affairs, confederation(union of sovereign states, us confederation(sovereign states ton get together, federation, things can start as a confederation federation. Currently about 166 unitary states and 27 federal states in the world. Advantages of unitary states: political and social cohesiveness, equality, open to statism(authoritarianism) and cultural homogenization. Advantages of federal states: address problems of communications, reflect local identities/cultures/economic interests, accommodate expanding territories, open to fragmentation(pragmatism, identity, balance of forces and management) Regional governments: devolutoion" of power from central government to sub-national" regions regional governments(e. g spain: unitary state with high level of development)
