Capitalism and the advent of globalisation definitely require a new geographical approach, but as Martin questions “must we now adopt a more globalized framework of analysis, or does the nation state still provide a satisfactory and meaningful entity with which to understand the workings and regulations of capitalism?” (Martin, R. (1994) Pg.254) I will first seek to define the nation state and the importance of its boundaries and then examine the impact of globalisation on these boundaries and the result it has on geography as a subject.
A contained unit: nation states.
The nation state is a “provider of services, a system of regulations, ideologies, legal regulations and police powers, flows of capital backed up by the threat of discipline and violence.” (Sidaway, J. (2001) The place of the nation-state. In Human Geography: Issues for the 21st century (ed. Daniels, P., Bradshaw, M., Shaw, D. and Sidaway, J.) Harlow: Prentice Hall Pg. 455) Every nation has a capital and a limit to its reaches.
Boundaries define the area and help to understand what happens inside. These boundaries are not naturally defined though; physiographic boundaries follow the line of topographic features such as coastline or mountain ranges, areas that are mainly uninhabited, but political arguments erupt over the fish in the sea or the source of mineral water. Political boundaries do not conform to linguistic boundaries: English is spoken throughout Canada yet there are substantial areas of French speakers. Although there are areas which have one main religion, minorities appear in almost every region. There are only groups of people, majorities in areas. Yet these people are bounded by a set of rules devised by the nation state. It is when this power starts to wean that you approach the limits of the power of the nation state. Theoretically, this should be near its boundary, at a place where perhaps homogeneity can be found within a different group or region. It is the place of the capital to know and understand the minorities within its boundaries, if it does not then internal struggle could lead to a call for an independent state or pressure from neighbouring states could lead to a call for the inclusion of the area into the neighbour’s territory.
The place of power is not a fixed location on a map though; previous centres may become peripheries, depending on the political organisation of space. Brazil moved its capital from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia near the Amazon Basin in an attempt to bring centripetal forces to the area and integrate this huge region within the nation as a whole.
The capital city acts as a source of unity and cohesion and from it comes a system that propagates the nation: “a system of actions and beliefs which must be continually re-enacted and re-imagined in order to seem important and real.” (Sidaway, J. (2001) Pg. 471.) The fact that this sense of nationality must be reinforced through flags and anthems, shows that nationhood is not a natural entity and without the delimiting nature of boundaries, the cohesive ability of a marked line, people would not think of themselves as belonging to, say Scotland for example and therefore Geographers would struggle to analyse the region of Scotland.
Breaking down barriers
“Since World War 2, geographical distributions of political weights, of basic institutions such as governments, capitals and constitutions have been rapidly changing. The modes of transport and communication have also evolved fast, reducing the role of distance and other physical features which used to be obstacles to human movement and activity.” (Gottmann, J. (1982) The basic problem of political geography: the organisation of space and the search for stability. Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geographie 73, 6, Pg. 340.) The growing scale of transnational flows and the sheer power of multinational companies is subverting the capacity of the state and weakening national identities. People no longer belong to Scotland or Britain; they belong to the European Union. The EU is a supranational organisation which reduces the interests of the state. The members share common political and economic goals. Great symbols of nations have been replaced by the Euro; there are no trade barriers between members; EU citizens can choose to live and work wherever they choose within the large boundaries of the community. The number of supranational organisations is increasing greatly as more small regions are assimilated into a larger community, increasing the reach of their power and becoming more global. This is happening so much that Beaverstock, Smith and Taylor believe that the “globality of modern society is clear for us all to see in the photo prints, communicated back to earth, of lights delimiting a global pattern of cities.” (Beaverstock, J. V., Smith, R. G. and Taylor, P.J. (2000) World-City Network: A new metageography? Annals of the Association of American Geographers 90, 1:Pg.123) They believe that globalisation is creating an alternative metageography through networks of world cities rather than the traditional mosaic of states we are so commonly used to. Rapid urbanization is leading to conglomerations within large cities, which could be labelled ‘world-cities,’ money flows easily and quickly around the world and the idea of exotic is almost extinct. The concept of physical boundaries is almost hard to imagine now as information bypasses borders and crosses the world. However, location is still important. People still work and live in a specific area, there are still differences between economies, ethnic groups, voting systems, etc. I still belong to an area, no matter how big or small it is.
Conclusion
There is the possibility that the concept of globalisation, of a homogenous state without borders could produce beneficial results. After all, as C. H. Williams points out, “the inherent tension between state nationalism and ethnic nationalism within the world system has already contributed to two major catastrophes this century.” (Williams, C. H. (1989) The question of national congruence? In - A World in crisis? Geographical Perspectives (ed. Johnson, R. J. and Taylor, P. J.) Oxford: Blackwell, Pg. 229.) If state interests were moved into a larger scale, boundaries removed, then a minority could become an equality. The weakening effect on nationalism could have a reducing effect on fascism and racism. Williams continues that the “integrative capacity of capitalism links previously disparate regions, interests and groups into an evolving world-system.” (Williams, C. H. (1989) Pg. 230.) Nation states would develop into transnational states and things would flow more freely around the world.
The removal of the demarcated boundary may encourage trade; however, it does not remove the invisible boundaries of language, culture and religion. These are at the heart of a nation, even in a multi-national state. They present barriers and effect the actions of the people in an area, making that area different from a neighbouring one. These differences are the essence of geography: traditional state boundaries may be loosing there importance, but other boundaries still exist and are still essential to the study of geography.
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