World Political Map: USSR, Yugoslavia, and State Types
The World Political Map
The world political map: The geographical expression of the interstate system.
Features: Provides a snapshot of the States at any given time because the world is in constant change.
Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR)
This consisted of 15 republics: Russia, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Features:
- Socialist State: The state owns and controls the means of production.
- The State’s decisions are mandatory and regulated market elements.
- The state determines the amount and quality of products imported and exported.
- The biggest trade is done with other countries with similar economic systems.
- The state removes the exploitation of workers, determining wages in line with central decisions and not in connection with the operation of the market.
Failure: The crisis broke loose because the system did not yield the expected result. Capitalist countries outscored the USSR, including technological advancements and welfare levels.
Disintegration of Yugoslavia
In 1920 was the first political unification of the various peoples who inhabited the Balkan peninsula with the creation of a new state called Monarchist Yugoslavia.
Types of States:
- In 1920: Monarchy State
- In 1945: Multinational State
Tito: Could reunite the country by force and proclaimed again the existence of Yugoslavia, considering it a multinational state.
Death: Resurgence of nationalism, but the federation survived another decade.
Ethnic Cleansing: Consisted of the forced displacement of the non-Serb civilian population through violent means to occupy the territory and repopulate it effectively.
Status
A political unit that regulates the life of different communities living in the territory.
Components:
- A territory
- A people
- A government organization or legal system
Types of States:
- National, made up of a nation, e.g., Argentina.
- Label: 2 or more nations, e.g., Paraguay.
- Territorial: 2 or more nations that do not live in harmony, e.g., USSR.
Sovereignty and Territory
Sovereignty: The branch of government can make decisions.
Land: Has a periphery, which is the strip that constitutes the border and separates it from its neighboring countries.
International Limits: Are conventional and arbitrary lines, the product of human choice, separating two contiguous States.
The Border: The strip of land that straddles the international boundary, so all limits generate two borders.
Sea: This consists of the following zones:
- Territorial sea: 12 nautical miles wide from the lowest tide line, where the state exercises full sovereignty.
- Contiguous zone: 12 nautical miles wide where you can take control measures to prevent and punish violations of its regulations.
- Exclusive Economic Zone: 200 nautical miles wide from the baselines. There, the state has sovereign rights for exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing living and nonliving resources of both the water and the seabed and subsoil.
Air: There is no boundary between airspace and cosmic space. The most accepted is the one that sets the limit at an altitude of 100 km above sea level.
The Bipolar World (1945-1989)
Cold War was characterized by a state of permanent tension between the two antagonistic blocs represented by the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
Characteristics: The U.S. advocated democracy, freedom, and private initiative; the communist bloc defended socialism and state ownership of the means of production.
The Multipolar World (1989-2001)
Most of the changes that caused the shift from a bipolar to a multipolar world occurred in the communist bloc and ended in 1991. The U.S. remained a major world power, especially from a military standpoint. In economics, there are three superpowers: the United States, Japan, and the European Union, focused on West Germany.
Features: The world was divided into geopolitical blocks with common characteristics and problems.
Unilateral World (2001-Present)
The attacks on the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington kicked off this new stage in the international order.
Features: Decision limits the ability of States, especially the least developed, to lose autonomy and representation. In turn, it hinders international cooperation to address global problems.