Why is the world divided territorially?

Globalization is a great step in making different countries connects with each other through different means. But in the first place, why are the countries separated geographically and also politically. In geographical terms, the world is separated by different bodies of water. From what I remember in my highschool days, the melting of ice caps caused other land forms to be submerged by water. That’s why some countries are only islands, while some are big and connected, etc. In terms of political aspect, the world is divided due to different laws and government. But the more prominent division of this world that affects people’s way of living is in terms of the political aspect or territorially.

Territory means that a certain area is under the control or jurisdiction of a group of people (Elden, 2008). In simple terms, this means that an area may it be water or land is held responsible by a certain group of people or the state. I think the world became divided territorially because different group of people have made different civilizations in certain lands. Our ancestors started their way of life by being Nomadic, meaning they’re hunters who go to different places to seek for food. But once they had difficulty in gathering food by means of hunting, they’ve settled in areas that they think they can prosper and gather food better and that’s when they became farmers. Agriculture has helped our ancestors create different ancient civilizations that evolved into our current modern civilizations. Once our ancestors have settled in and created their civilizations in a particular area, they’ve become more populated and some have travelled by the seas in search of more lands to conquer. From what I remember again in my high school lessons, two dominant nations; Spain and Portugal divided the world in terms of territory. I think this is one example of the beginning of different nations trying to conquer more territories. Because I think people then believe that the more land or area a certain nation or state conquers is proportioned to their power.

But if you will look closely at these nations, being divided territorially also means being divided within. America is divided into different states, the Philippines is also divided into three main regions and so are many other nations/countries. I think this kind of division is a political plan because a big nation like America has different people within it. And again different people have different ways of thinking and governing their people. This is a more convenient way because laws are better understood within the state and the country is more organized politically speaking. But sometimes, this division can also be a cause of chaos and misunderstanding among people within that nation.
But nowadays, I think the division of the world is no longer a problem but only geographically speaking. As I’ve said, globalization has led us to making the world more connected and intertwined. But politically speaking, people in the world are still divided. I think territories may play a part in this division but I think people are more involved in still making this world divided. There are some of us who doesn’t want to connect with other nations because of certain differences.

References:
Elden, S. Chapter 9:Why is the world divided territorially?, Global Politics, 2008
McNeil, W. World History