Governments

 Although each of 195 sovereign states that make up the United Nations, are unique, they all have some form of government.

A very small number, including Saudi Arabia and Oman, are absolute monarchies. The king, in these cases, heads the government, the judiciary, and the legislature. While the people in an absolute monarchy might vote on local matters, and the monarch might be advised by an elected body, the government exists entirely in the will of the king.

Much more common in the modern world are constitutional monarchies. These monarchs (King Charles III and his late mother, the long-serving Queen Elizabeth II are by far the best known) serve important ceremonial and symbolic functions, but have few if any powers and are actively discouraged from attempting to influence government policy or public opinion. In Great Britain, the monarch is head of state. He opens meetings of Parliament, and whatever political party happens to be in power (the Conservative Party at the time of this writing) forms His Majesty’s Government. Parties currently out of power (Labor and several smaller parties) sit in Parliament as the Loyal Opposition. Judges hear cases on behalf of the monarch, and render decisions in her name. Taxes are collected by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. The national anthem is “God Save the King.” Yet Britain is a democracy. The House of Commons (where most of the power lies), is elected by the people. The Prime Minister is appointed by and is responsible to Parliament. Should a Prime Minister’s party lose its majority in Parliament, the PM moves out of Number 10 Downing Street the next day.

Most of the 54 nations that make up the Commonwealth of Nations regard King Charles as their head of state as well, extending his monarchy to countries as diverse as Canada, Australia, and Jamaica. As in Great Britain, the King’s role is entirely ceremonial in these Commonwealth countries, and is usually carried out by a Governor General the King appoints (but who also has no power).

Countries that have abandoned monarchy altogether usually identify themselves as republics. Though titles vary, most republics have an elected president who serves a set term as head of state. While the United States makes the President both head of state and head of government, many republics separate the elected office of president from the office of Prime Minister. Prime Ministers are appointed by the country’s parliament (following the British example) and are usually leaders of the ruling political party.

Alas, having a republican form of government does not guarantee democracy. Some of the world’s most ruthless dictators—Saddam Hussein of Iraq comes to mind—have been presidents and have even held elections to legitimize their hold on power.

Whether the government is led by king, president, or prime minister, no single person can do all of the work of government. The head of government (or, sometimes the parliament) appoints the various ministers or secretaries whose portfolios include defense, finance, education, environmental protection, transportation, justice and so on.

Most countries have unitary governments. In this system, local governments might be elected locally, but their authority (and usually their budgets) are under the control of the national government. In the United States, individual state governments are unitary. A county council or mayoral decision can be over-ruled by the governor or state legislature, much to annoyance of those local officials.

A few countries, including the United States and Switzerland and the old Soviet Union, are federal republics. In this system, individual states or republics retain sovereign power over many aspects of government and these decisions cannot be overruled by the central (or federal) government. In most federal republics, defense, finance (including the printing of money),and international relations, are the sole responsibility of the central government.

Political Entities

Nations

Nation-States

Multinational states

Multistate nations

Autonomous and semiautonomous regions

Indian Reservations

Colonial Possessions and Territories

Sovereignty

Colonialism

Imperialism

Independence movements

Devolution along national lines

Political Power: control over people, land, resources

Neocolonialism

Shatterbelts

Choke points

Territoriality: connection of people, their culture, and their economic systems to the land.

Political Boundaries: relic, superimposed, subsequent, antecedent, geometric, consequent

Internal and External boundaries

Political boundaries are defined, delimited, demarcated, and administered to establish limits of sovereignty

Contested Boundaries

Political boundaries often coincide with cultural, national, or economic divisions. Some boundaries are created by demilitarized zones or policy, such as the Berlin Conference.

Maritime Boundaries

Boundaries and national and regional identities, interactions, and disputes.

UN Convention on the Law of the Sea

Territorial seas

Exclusive Economic zones

Voting Districts

Redistricting

Gerrymandering

Unitary States

Federal States

Causes of Devolution: physical geography, ethnic separatism, ethnic cleansing, terrorism, economic and social problems, irredentism

Challenges to Sovereignty

Devolution: States fragment into autonomous regions, subnational political-territorial units. Examples include Spain, Belgium, Canada, Nigeria.

State Disintegration: Eritrea, South Sudan, East Timor, Soviet Union, Yugoslavia

Communication Technologies and Devolution, supranationalism, democratization.

Global efforts to address transnational and environmental challenges and to create economies of scale, trade agreements, military alliances help to further supranationalism.

UN, NATO, ASEAN, Arctic Council, African Union.

Centrifugal forces and failed states, uneven development, stateless nations, ethnic nationalist movements

Centripetal forces: ethnonationalism, equitable infrastructure development, cultural cohesion.