POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY TEST REVIEW

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POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY TEST REVIEW
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STATE

• A politically organized territory
• Administered by a sovereign government
• Recognized by a significant portion of the
  international community.
• A state must also contain
• a permanent resident population
• an organized economy

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NATION - STATE

• A country whose population possesses a
  substantial degree of cultural homogeneity and
  unity.

Classic Example of a Nation-State Japan
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Defining Boundaries

• Boundary invisible lines that mark the extent
  of a states territory and the control that its
  leader have.
• Boundaries help give the shape of a state.

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Frontier vs. Boundary

• A frontier is a geographic zone where no state
  exercises power.
• Historically, nations have fought over frontiers
  to gain territory.
• French Indian War
• No Mans Land (WW1)

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Types of Boundaries

• Physical Boundaries

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Types of Boundaries

• Cultural Boundaries

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Types of Boundaries

• Geometric Boundaries
• Evolution of United States Boundaries

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Geographic Characteristics

• Shape
• Compact
• Prorupt
• Elongated
• Fragmented
• Perforated

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• Prorupt - A state that is nearly compact but
  possess one or two narrow extensions of
  territory, which isolates a portion of the state.
  

• The proruption can be a physical (penninsula)
  elongation of land or may have economic or
  strategic significance access to resources,
  sea, establishment of a buffer zone, etc

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Shape - Can affect a state by fostering or
hindering effective organization.

• .   

• Compact The most efficient form.
• A state whose territory is nearly circular.
  Because all places could be reached from the
  center in a minimal amount of time making it the
  most efficient for roads, railway lines, other
  infrastructure.

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• Elongated A state whose territory is long and
  narrow. The least efficient shape
  administratively. It may sacrifice national
  cohesion to promote eco strength.

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• Fragmented Entirely made up of islands or
  terr. Is separated by another state.
• - contains isolated parts, separate and
  discontinuous.

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•   Perforated - A state that completely surrounds
  a territory that it does not rule.
• That area is called an enclave and it may be
  independent or part of another state.
• (Enclaves are terr. outliers located inside
  another state.)
•  

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Where you at?!?

• Relative Location of a state could help the
  wealth of a state or hurt the states economic
  means.
• Singapore is a tiny country, but is located in a
  great spot that controls trading throughout Asia.
• Landlocked states states lacking access ocean
  frontage and completely surrounded by other
  states.
• Landlocked states are at a disadvantage for
  trade, sea resources, transportation, and
  communication.

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Landlocked States
Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan are doubled
landlocked countries.
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Boundary Disputes

• Almost half of the worlds states have been
  involved in boundary disputes
• Positional Dispute occurs when states argue
  about where the boundary actually is
• Ex Argentina and Chile

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Boundary Disputes

• Territorial Disputes arise over ownership of a
  region, usually around mutual border
• Usually one state claims the other should belong
  to them due to ethnic and language commonalities
• Ex German invasion of Poland

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Boundary Disputes

• Resource Dispute dispute involving natural
  resources that lie in border areas
• Ex Iraq and Kuwait
• Functional Dispute arise when neighboring states
  cannot agree on policies that arise in a border
  area
• Ex US and Mexico border

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Gerrymandering
Redistricting for partisan purposes
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Organization of States

• Core Area the heartland of an area identified
  by levels of population concentration and
  transportation networks
• Multicore State a state with more than one core
  area
• Example Nigeria

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The Capital City

• In most states, the capital is not only the
  center of government, but also the economic and
  cultural center
• Primate City the largest city in a nation and
  one where the second largest city is
  significantly smaller
• Forward Capital the capital city serves as a
  model for national objectives
• Ex Japan

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Colonialism and Imperialism

• Colonies Dependent areas given fixed and
  recorded boundaries where none existed before
• Imperialism empire building

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Europeans did not want to fight each other over
the land, so in 1884 fourteen countries gathered
to lay down rules for dividing Africa. This
became known as the Berlin Conference.
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The conflicts that exist in Africa today and in
history stem from the how the Europeans didnt
take into consideration the different tribes and
cultures when drawing those boundaries. When the
Europeans left, it became a fight among these
tribal groups because there was a lack of
stability.and the conflicts continue even today.
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Systems of States

• Unitary System one that concentrates all
  policymaking powers in one central geographic
  place (European States)
• Confederal System spreads the power among many
  sub-units and has a weak federal government
  (Switzerland)
• Federal System divides power between strong
  central government and sub-units (US, Canada,
  Australia)

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Challenges to the Modern State

• Centripetal Forces bring people together
• Includes Nationalism, Institutions, Television,
  and Transportation
• Centrifugal Forces destabilizes the government
  and encourages the country to fall apart
• Includes Multinationalism, Religious Conflicts,
  and Separatist Movements

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ORGANIC STATE THEORY

• Founded by Friedrich Ratzel
• The state is an organism conforming to natural
  laws and forced to grow expand into new
  territories in order to secure resources needed
  for survival.
• The state has a life cycle (birth to death)
• Adolf Hitler used this theory to invade
  surrounding countries and build German
  nationalism.

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HEARTLAND THEORY

• Founded by Sir Halford Mackinder
• World power is based on the assumption that the
  land based state controlling the EURASIAN
  heartland has the key to world domination.

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RIMLAND THEORY

• Founded by Nicholas Spykman (book The Geography
  of Peace, 1914)
• The state controlling the area AROUND the area
  surrounding the Eurasian heartland has the key to
  world domination.

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SEA POWER THEORY

• Founded by Alfred Mahan
• Interested in sea boundaries
• The nation that controls the seas, controls the
  world (trade)

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DOMINO THEORY

• Cold War and Eastern Europe
• Destabilization from any cause in 1 country can
  result in the collapse of order in a neighboring
  country leading to a chain of events that affect
  adjoining states in turn.

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Supranational Organizations

• Cooperating groups of nations that operate on
  either a regional or international level for all
  major decisions and rules

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Supranational Organizations

• European Union (EU)
• 27 Member States
• Economic and Political agreements
• Three Pillars of the EU
• Trade and other economic matters including a
  single currency and European Central Bank
• Justice and home affairs asylum, border
  crossing, immigration, and international justice
• Common foreign and security policy joint
  positions and actions, common defense policy

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Forces of Change

• Democratization
• Movement toward Market Economies
• Revival of Ethnic or Cultural Politics

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The Kurds
The Kurds are a group of stateless people located
in the Caucasus Region. The Kurds are found in
six different countries 15 Million in East
Turkey, 5 Million in West Iran, 4 Million in
North Iraq, and small numbers in Armenia,
Azerbaijan, and Syria.