Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Migration and Territoriality


We were born to explore the world – so how come the government controls us from traveling our own planet? Yes, the reason may be to protect national security, but isn’t it unfair for others to be deprived of their right to freedom?
People migrate illegally to avoid the expensive fares required to travel from one place to another. The licit way requires tedious exams, interviews and a big load of requirements to accomplish. In Mexico, we’ve learned from the assigned readings by Etkins that it has been a depressing issue on the increasing number of illicit immigrants. It left a bloody path, a move that they risked their lives to travel in that manner. Maybe it was because out of need or urgency to do it, but was it worth it?
There is a big difference between geography and territoriality. They are somehow used interchangeably but the former means the physical sense while the latter, the political sense. So the question is, why is the world, or a place, divided into states or territories? One factor is because of the economy.[1] Since each place is different and nourished with different resources, it is the duty of the people residing in that place to protect the resources found in their territory. They are in charge of propagating their land and country, as well. Every State has the obligation to protect its national interest. Another factor is to protect the inhabitants in each state. We are not born to be of the same class, race or language. The world is also divided into territories to avoid conflicts or war between each nation state because each place is different.
With that, the State has the power to impose such regulations. They have the legal authority to manage the economic affairs for the nation. This is called hegemony, if we follow Antonio Gramsci – an Italian political theorist.[2] Although they have supreme power, their power is limited only as to the betterment of the community.

Other source/s:
Why is the world divided territorially? Retrieved at http://adrianhull.posterous.com/why-is-the-world-divided-territorially October 2, 2011


[1] Chapter 9 (Etkins), p. 205
[2] Chapter 3(Tereault), p. 37

No comments:

Post a Comment