Altered maps VIII: World borders just got garbage-dayed

[bombshoo]

What's your criteria for Western Sahara? Shouldn't they be virtually nonexistent? At the very least putting them above Morocco, when Morocco controls most of their territory seems odd.

 

[gangleri2001]

There's a bit of the land that it's controlled by the Poliusario Front. Maybe he refers to that bit of land.

 

[Theige]

Inspired by this map.

Care to explain the differences?

 

[TheLastOne36]

The year is 1699.

Spoiler :

Crimean Khanate, Wallachia, Moldavia, Translyvania, Safavid Empire, Tunis, Tripoli, Algeirs, and Morroco are all vassals of the Ottoman Empire.

Gujarat is a close Ottoman ally.

The North Italian Confederation is a vassal of the Holy Roman Empire

The Polygar Confederation is a vassal of the Nayak of Mysore.

Kamarupa and the Shan States are vassals of Bengal

Everyone is a vassal of the Ming, but specefically Manchu, Tibet, Korea, Ryukyu, Japan, Dai Viet, Lan Xang, Cambodia, Ayyuthya, and the Shan States.

Always nice to see your biased of Poland in your maps.

Inspired by this map.

Dunno what you mean by Governmental Authority, but in Venezuela, what the Government says goes.

 

[Traitorfish]

Dunno what you mean by Governmental Authority, but in Venezuela, what the Government says goes.

But that doesn't mean that state diktats are competently enforced. China is far more authoritarian than the UK, but it has massive corruption, a huge black market, and a military which has limited interest in paying much attention to what the central government has to say (and is responsible for a large part of the former two).

 

[Karalysia]

Always nice to see your biased of Poland in your maps.

I must have biases against a lot of countries seeing the amount that don't exist. Also what is this "Poland" you speak of?

 

[amadeus]

Map of Halford Mackinder's 1943 view of the world, shamelessly copied from Gerard Chaliand's Strategic Atlas: A Comparative Geopolitics of the World's Powers (1985 edition)

This apparently came after he repudiated his previous claims in 1919 that who controls the heartland controls the world. Instead, it seemed that the sea powers would come to dominate as they would be able to encircle and contain it.

I scanned this and cleaned it up a little bit. This book has a lot of interesting maps and in time I might come to scan and post some more.

Question: is it possible in this day and age to think so generally about strategy? With so many different regional and international powers rising in different places under different circumstances, painting the world with just a few colors like the one above would seem at best inadequate to account for all of the tiny details that make up the present geopolitical situation.

 

[TheLastOne36]

I must have biases against a lot of countries seeing the amount that don't exist. Also what is this "Poland" you speak of?

(Bohemia controlling all of Wielko and Malopolska is fairly unrealistic)

Nah, I was just observing the way your mind works.

 

[Tee Kay]

What's your criteria for Western Sahara? Shouldn't they be virtually nonexistent? At the very least putting them above Morocco, when Morocco controls most of their territory seems odd.

For Western Sahara I consider the Moroccan administration.

Care to explain the differences?

Non-existant - Central government authority virtually non-existant or severely limited outside the capital city.

Feeble - Central government has little legitimacy, is challenged by powerful internal rebels who control large parts of their territory, worsened by high corruption and unstable politics. There may be a large risk of a coup.

Weak - Central government is corrupt and little legitimacy, but the rebels situation may not be as bad as in the previous category. Politically unstable. Government authority may not reach all parts of the country due to poor infrastructure and strong local or tribal identities.

Strained - Central government authority challenged by rebel movements, high corruption, poor infrastructure and strong regional identity, though the situation is not as serious as in the previous category. Government may lack legitimacy in the eyes of some. Any country scoring lower than 2.5 in the Corruption Perception Index automatically gets demoted to this category.

Problematic - Central government has a good degree of legitimacy but corruption is a major concern and the government's writ is not necessarily respected. Any country scoring less than four in CPI automatically gets demoted to this category.

Adequate - Central government has a large degree of legitimacy. Corruption is a concern but less so. Any country scoring less than five in CPI gets demoted to this category.

Strong - Central government authority extends strongly to all areas of the country. Strong government institutions. Relatively low levels of corruption.

Question: is it possible in this day and age to think so generally about strategy? With so many different regional and international powers rising in different places under different circumstances, painting the world with just a few colors like the one above would seem at best inadequate to account for all of the tiny details that make up the present geopolitical situation.

Right. Mackinder wrote that in 1943, when the United States produces most of the world's oil, European colonial empires were still in existance and you'd be laughed at if you think China's going to become the world's second largest economy in sixty years' time. Before that, he came up with Heartland theory when the Great Game between Britain and Russia was in full swing. If he was alive today I bet he'd repudiated his 1943 theory too.

 

[amadeus]

I'm sure he would have, but I don't think it'd really be possible to produce a similar map for today, would it?

 

[Tee Kay]

I'm sure he would have, but I don't think it'd really be possible to produce a similar map for today, would it?

I haven't given much thought to it but it seems possible. It just won't be accurate ten or twenty years from now.

 

[TheLastOne36]

Venezuela sounds like a combination of Strained and Weak.

 

[Dachs]

Map of Harold Mackinder's 1943 view of the world, shamelessly copied from Gerard Chaliand's Strategic Atlas: A Comparative Geopolitics of the World's Powers (1985 edition)

This apparently came after he repudiated his previous claims in 1919 that who controls the heartland controls the world. Instead, it seemed that the sea powers would come to dominate as they would be able to encircle and contain it.

I scanned this and cleaned it up a little bit. This book has a lot of interesting maps and in time I might come to scan and post some more.

Question: is it possible in this day and age to think so generally about strategy? With so many different regional and international powers rising in different places under different circumstances, painting the world with just a few colors like the one above would seem at best inadequate to account for all of the tiny details that make up the present geopolitical situation.

hahaha, Halford Mackinder

the answer to your question is "no, but it wasn't possible - or, rather, realistic - in an earlier day and age to think that way either"

 

[amadeus]

Well, certainly not with some of the countries that would fall under the "sea powers" group - Colombia and Venezuela? I also don't get how Denmark is part of the heartland but Wyoming is a sea power.

 

[Dachs]

The actual lines are irrelevant; the concept was stupid long before the map was made.

 

[Agarwaen]

 

[PiMan]

North Korea nothing special?

 

[DJNotNice]

North Korea nothing special?

Don't want to encourage them; Kim Jong-Il is the troll of the world.

 

[sophie]

North Korea nothing special?

The country is an annoying little ant trying desperately to be noticed. We tried squashing it this one time, but apparently there's a big foamy-mouthed dog that has a certain fondness for the ant and won't take kindly to our squashing attempts. Therefore, the next best solution is to keep our food away and just ignore it

 

[ZeletDude]

Spoiler :

Countries where the death penalty is used;

Blue is abolished for all crimes.
Yellow is abolished for all crimes except special circumstances.
Orange is retains but has not been used for at least 10 years.
Red is retains it.