Download Centripetal and centrifugal forces

How do countries remain together, and why do they split apart?
CENTRIPETAL AND CENTRIFUGAL
FORCES
Definitions:
 Centripetal Force: Ways to pull a country
together.
 Centrifugal Force: Ways that a country is
pulled apart.
Centripetal Forces:
 Raison d’ Etre (Reason for existence).
 Nationalism—a strong belief in the greatness





of the nation.
Shared ideology, culture and/or religion.
Popular national hero or leader (Lincoln,
Gandhi, Mandela).
Common outside threat.
Transportation networks.
Physical geography.
Examples of states with
strong centripetal forces:
 United States—strong national identity and
strong raison d’ etre.
 Russia—recent events with the Crimean
annexation have caused strong feelings of
Centrifugal Forces:
 Religion.
 Language.
 Culture.
 Ethnic groups.
 Multinational nation.
 Immigration.
 Physical geography.
 Fragmented or elongated state.
Types of fragmentation:
 Balkanization: Fragmentation into smaller,
often hostile, units.
 Named for the Balkan Peninsula in Europe.
 Why are the Balkans so diverse?
 Trade brought a huge diversity of languages,
cultures and religions.
 Devolution:
 A section of a nation demands and receives
increased autonomy.
 The major difference between devolution and
Balkanization is that a devolved region still
remains a part of the state.
 Irredentism:
 Extension of national policy to a national
group living in another country.
 Often stirs up desires of fragmentation in
another state.
Examples of Centrifugal
Fragmentation:
Sources:
 “Cultural Geography: Cultural Conflicts,”
http://www.harpercollege.edu/mhealy/g101il
ec/intro/clt/cltcon/cltconfr.htm