Articles in Geopolitics
Intense Regionalism in the South Korean Presidential Election of 2012
South Korea is usually considered to be one of the world’s most homogenous countries. Regional differences in dialect are relatively minor, with only that of Jeju island being distinctive enough to merit designation as a separate language by linguistic splitters. A pronounced sense of Korean nationalism, moreover, is found across the country. But despite these commonalities, South Korea is still …
Israeli Elections 2013: Tell Me Who You Vote For and I’ll Tell You Who You Are
Although Wikipedia classifies the numerous political parties in Israel according to their ideologies, a more accurate description of an Israeli political party would emphasize the segment of the Israeli society that it represents. This point is underscored by the existence of such parties as the Dor Party, which represents the older citizens, the Holocaust Survivors Party, and the Yisrael BaAliyah Party, formed to represent the interests of Russian immigrants (the latter party eventually merged with the Likud). Given these strong demographic ties, it is not surprising that clear geographical patterns emerged from the national election of January 2013; these patterns are largely persistent over time.
Geographical Patterns in the Czech Presidential Election
The president of the Czech Republic occupies a largely ceremonial position, with little real power. The country’s recent presidential election, however, was a hotly contested and closely watched contest, in part because it was the first time that the office was filled through a direct election. Also of significance was the issue of historical memory, focusing on Czech relations with …
Military Conscription and Austrian Electoral Geography
Note to Readers: The invaluable website Electoral Geography 2.0: Mapped Politics has posted a number of interesting electoral maps over the past several months while GeoCurrents focused on linguistic issues. For the next week or two, we will examine several of these maps in detail, beginning with the portrayal of a seemingly minor but nonetheless intriguing election, the Austrian Conscription …
Maps as an Instrument of Propaganda, Part 1
Maps are ideally supposed to be objective depictions of reality, but they can also be used as an instrument of propaganda, portraying the world not as it is but as it is imagined by the cartographer. A recent post on the Russian historical website Diletant.ru includes a collection of such maps (posted also on the Propaganda History website), referred to as “symbolic maps”.
U.S. Electoral Geography: An Urban/Rural Divide?
As noted in an earlier GeoCurrents post, most states remain more “purple” than “red” or “blue”, whereas on the county level the situation is quite different, with differentiation into Democratic and Republican voting localities becoming ever more pronounced. It should also be noted that many of the counties that went overwhelmingly for one candidate or another are demographically homogeneous. For …
Changes in U.S. Electoral Geography from 2000 to 2012: A Renewed North/South Divide?
As noted in a previous post, the presidential contest of 2000 seems to have been a watershed event in U.S. electoral geography. Up until that point, successful Democratic candidates enjoyed considerable support in many predominantly rural counties dominated by Whites, particularly in the Upper South (see the map of the 1996 election). In order for the Democrats to have carried …
Iowa, Minnesota, and the Anomalous Zone on the U.S. Electoral Map
In recent U.S. presidential elections, rural counties have tended to vote heavily for the Republican candidates. As a result, most of the United States is shaded red on county-level electoral maps. Most of the low-population counties that do support Democratic candidates fall into one of several categories. In some cases the explanation is clearly demographic; the heavily African-American belt stretching …
Problems Brewing for Indigenous Peoples of the Russian Far North
As GeoCurrents reported in the past, native peoples of the Russian Far North struggle to fit into the modern global village while retaining their ethnic identity and cultural distinctiveness. In recent days, the situation seems to have rapidly changed for the worse, with Moscow threatening to close an indigenous peoples’ NGO and with the director of the Pomor Institute in Archangelsk being accused of treason.
Dutch Parliamentary Elections as a Test of EU’s Popularity in the Netherlands
Unlike the hotly contested presidential elections in the U.S., the general elections held in the Netherlands in September 2012, attracted little media attention. The Dutch elections mostly strengthened the status quo, although some important changes in the balance of powers were effected as well. Like the U.S. and Georgian votes, the Dutch elections were in large measure an informal referendum on the economic situation and foreign policy, specifically on the country’s relations to the EU.
Ukrainians Vote for Stronger Ties with Russia—But What About Social Issues?
Recent elections in Ukraine largely revolve around relations with Russia. While the parliamentary elections were generally characterized by geopolitical stasis, two details are significant: a continuous growth of the ruling Party of the Regions and a troubling expansion of the vote for the ultra-nationalist Svoboda (“Freedom”) Party.
The Republican Postmodern Turn, Silicon Valley, and California’s Political Transformation
The New York Times map of county-level changes in the U.S. presidential vote from 2008 to 2012 shows almost every county in California shifting red in the Republican direction. In most counties, the change was minor. Barack Obama still took California by almost 60 percent of the vote, a figure exceeded (among states) only by Hawaii (70.6%), Vermont (67%), Rhode …
California’s Changing Electoral Geography, Part I
The website of the California Secretary of State provides much valuable information on the recent election, which featured eleven state proposition. But the site also includes the five most pointless electoral maps I have ever seen, maps in which every county is depicted in an identical manner because the ballot initiative in question either carried all counties in the state …
Eccentric Billionaire’s Victory in Georgia’s Elections Spells Changes in Foreign Policy
The parliamentary elections conducted in Georgia in October 2012 became “a referendum on the past eight years” (in the words of The Economist) of President Mikheil “Misha” Saakashvili’s rule. His economic and administrative reforms have turned the former Soviet republic into a showcase where petty corruption has all but vanished, the transport system has been transformed, and the economy is growing fast. Yet, a party led by an eccentric billionaire has won the legislative elections in October 2012.
Puerto Ricans Appear to Endorse Statehood in Referendum
Lost in the extensive coverage of the 2012 U.S. Election is the recurrent and important issue of Puerto Rico’s relationship to the U.S. On Tuesday, the Puerto Rican electorate appeared to endorse statehood in a two-part non-binding referendum.
Terranova: The Black Petaltail - A Novel
Diversity Amid Globalization: World Regions, Environment, Development (5th Edition)
Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World (3rd Edition)
