Challenges to State Sovereignty (College Board AP® Human Geography): Study Guide

Autonomous regions

• Devolution occurs when states fragment into autonomous regions 

  • Autonomous regions are subnational political units which exercise a degree of self-government in their area but are not independent 

  • Examples of autonomous regions occur in: 

    • Spain (Catalonia and Basque Country)

    • Belgium (Flemish and Walloon regions)

    • Canada (Nunavut) 

  • Devolution can also create subnational political-territorial units

    • Nigeria is divided into 36 states, partly to give its many ethnic groups, such as the Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo, a degree of self-government

  • Balkanization refers to the fragmentation of a region into smaller, often ethnically distinct units

    • An example of balkanization was the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, where ethnic groups like Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks were involved in violent conflict

  • In some cases, a state disintegrates completely

    • The Soviet Union broke up into 15 independent states in 1991

    • Sudan split in 2011, when South Sudan became independent after a referendum

Impact of advances in communication technology

• Advances in communication have facilitated devolutionary actions

  • Internet technology can be used to 

    • spread a group’s message

    • attract new members

    • communicate with the outside world

  • Social media is used to help groups organize protests and communicate quickly

  • Videos taken can show abuse by government forces

• Advances in communication can also facilitate democratization

• Media and internet technology can bring outside information to people who live in autocratic countries

• Communication technology makes it easier for groups to send information and get support from outside groups

• States can also use technology to spread their propaganda to populations by taking control of the media

Supranationalism

• Several states forming an organization to achieve common goals and benefits for all member states is referred to as supranationalism 

  • Supranational organizations are generally political, military, economic, or environmental

  • These organizations usually require states to give up some sovereignty by limiting the independent political or economic actions member states can take

What drives supranationalism?

• Global efforts to deal with shared problems and opportunities help to further supranationalism, including:

  • addressing transnational challenges that cross borders, such as terrorism, migration and drug trafficking

  • tackling environmental challenges, such as climate change and pollution of shared rivers and seas

  • creating economies of scale by combining markets, so businesses can produce more at a lower cost per unit

  • making trade agreements that reduce tariffs and other barriers between members

  • forming military alliances for shared defense

Supranational organizations

Economic supranationalism

• Economic supranationalism refers to multiple states joining together to form an alliance or organization to increase economic growth and cooperation 

  • Examples of economic supranational organizations include 

    • the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

    • the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

    • North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

      • NAFTA was replaced by the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) in 2020

    • European Union (EU)

Military supranationalism

• Military supranationalism refers to military alliances between countries, generally formed for mutual defense

  • The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an example of a military supranational organization

Political supranationalism

• Political supranationalism refers to the process of multiple countries uniting for common, larger goals

  • The United Nations (UN) is an example of a political supranational organization

  • The African Union (AU) is a political supranational organization of 55 African states, which works on peace and security, and on economic integration across the continent

Environmental supranationalism

• Environmental supranationalism refers to the establishment of institutions that aim to address environmental issues that affect multiple countries

  • The Paris Agreement on climate change is an example of environmental supranationalism, as member countries commit to limiting their greenhouse gas emissions

  • The Arctic Council brings together the eight Arctic states to cooperate on environmental protection and sustainable development in the Arctic

Impacts of supranational organizations

• Membership in a supranational organization can limit the independent actions of individual states as states have to give up some aspects of their sovereignty to gain membership

  • For example, membership in NATO would require a country to send its troops to take part in a joint military activity

  • Member countries belonging to the European Union give up some independent trade policy, and those that use the Euro also give up control of their own currency