Political Geography

The fact that China is doing this in the first place is a profound geopolitical statement. They are in effect disregarding international law and acting as though they own the region. This also fly's in the face of countries in the Area such as Vietnam and the Philippines who have territorial water claims in that area of the region itself has been a matter of dispute for decades. This is partially due to the fact there is key oil and gas resources and china intends to use the islands they have made to claim and seize those deposits. trade also goes through the area making it possible for China to shut down regional trade if it gains these waters. This is a clear power display and shows China wants to supersede the U.S. not work with it. Hopefully the issue is resolved peacefully given that it has been causing heightened tensions with the Chinese Navy patrolling the area. The international community should have acted earlier to stop this because now it will be far more difficult and makes nations like the U.S. look weaker. Not to mention the vast environmental consequences for destroying reefs filled with unique wildlife thus disrupting the ecosystem.

En une année pour construire un port et un terrain d’atterrissage à partir d'un atoll submergé....

Inquiétant.

The parliament in London is shifting more power to Scotland and other areas in what is called devolution.  This reflects a push for more independence of countries in the UK that are not England. In order to keep the UK together concessions must be made, this devolution is the British Parliament's efforts to keep the UK intact.

Unit 4 political geography 

This picture explains how devolution works and provides a specific example with the breaking down of power of the imperialist England and it's control into an equally represented United Kingdom. This is an example of devolution at it's best.

This picture relates to unit 4 because it shows how devolution, which is a major part of unit 4, works. It explains it's parts and gives specific geographic examples as in the U.K. this overall relates to unit 4.

Devolution is the transfer of powers from a central government to more regional power, in this case, the UK. The UK devolved its powers to England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. These countries have had independent parliaments since 1997. Some "reserved powers" have not been devolved from the UK such as foreign affairs, military defense, international and  economic policies. This change of power has stirred questions on public spending and tax policies, and is still a debate and event to keep your eye on.

I feel that devolution has many benefits that outweigh the negative consequences such as money spending. Countries can function in a more independent manner and govern themselves within their defined boundaries in a more efficient way. This topic and article gives greater insight to our political unit and provides great insight for each country's respective parliament.