Political Geography

• NATIONAL POLITICAL SYSTEMS

  State is an independent political unit occupying a defined, permanently populated territory and having full sovereign control over its internal and external affairs.
• NATIONAL POLITICAL SYSTEMS

  Examples of STATES:

  • United States of America
  • Australia
• NATIONAL POLITICAL SYSTEMS

  Country – as a synonym for the territorial and political concept

  of “state.”
• NATIONAL POLITICAL SYSTEMS

  Not all recognized territorial entities are states.
• NATIONAL POLITICAL SYSTEMS

  Not all recognized territorial entities are states.

  Antarctica, for example, has neither an established government nor a permanent population; it is therefore, not a state.
• NATIONAL POLITICAL SYSTEMS

  Nation is a group of people with a common culture occupying a

  particular territory, bound together by a strong sense of unity arising from shared beliefs and customs.
• NATIONAL POLITICAL SYSTEMS

  Examples of Nation:

  • South and North Korea
• NATIONAL POLITICAL SYSTEMS

  Nation-state refers to a state whose territorial extent coincides with that occupied by a distinct nation or people or, at least, whose population shares a general sense of cohesion and adherence to a set of common values.
• NATIONAL POLITICAL SYSTEMS

  Examples of Nation-State:

  • Japan
  • Iceland
• NATIONAL POLITICAL SYSTEMS

  Binational or Multinational is one that contains more than one nation. Often, no single ethnic group dominates the Population.
• NATIONAL POLITICAL SYSTEMS

  Part-nation – a single nation may be dispersed across and pre-dominantly in two or more states. People’s sense of nationality exceeds the areal limits of a single state.
• NATIONAL POLITICAL SYSTEMS

  Stateless Nation – a people without a state.
• GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STATES

  SIZE -The area that a state occupies may be large, as is true of China, or small, Liechtenstein. Size alone is not critical in determining a country's stability and strength, but it is a contributing factor.
• GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STATES

  SIZE -The area that a state occupies.

  Russia – world’s largest country, 17 million square kilometers, 11% of the land surface of the world.
• GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STATES

  SHAPE -Like size, a country’s shape can affect the well-being of a state by fostering or hindering effective organization.
• GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STATES

  Compact state – Assuming no major topographical barriers, the

  most efficient form would be a circle, with the capital located in the center.
• GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STATES

  Prorupt states – are nearly compact but possess one or sometimes two narrow extensions of territory; proruptions tend to isolate a portion of a state.
• GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STATES

  Elongated states – the least efficient shape administratively; parts of the country far from the capital are likely to be isolated because great expenditures are required to link them to the core.
• GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STATES

  Fragmented states – includes countries composed entirely of islands (e.g., the Philippines and Indonesia), countries that are partly on islands and partly on the mainland, and those that are chiefly on the mainland but whose territory is separated by another state.
• GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STATES

  Exclave – An outlier of one state is located within another state.
• GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STATES

  Enclave/Perforated state – completely surrounds a territory that it does not rule, as the Republic of South Africa surrounds Lesotho.
• GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STATES

  LOCATION -The significance of size and shape as factors in national well-being can be modified by a state’s location, both absolute and relative.
• GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STATES

  Landlocked states, those lacking ocean frontage and surrounded by other states, are at a geographical disadvantage.
• GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STATES

  CORES AND CAPITALS - Many states have come to assume their present shape and thus the location they occupy as a result of growth over centuries.
• GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STATES

  CORES AND CAPITALS -They grew outward from a central region, gradually expanding into surrounding territory.
• GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STATES

  Core Area (the original nucleus) of a state usually contains its densest population and largest cities, the most highly developed transportation system, and the most-developed economic base.
• GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STATES

  Capital (the capital city) is the largest or the primate city, dominating the structure of the entire country.
• BOUNDARIES: THE LIMITS OF THE STATE

  Before boundaries were delimited, nations or empires were likely to be separated by frontier zones, ill-defined and fluctuating areas marking the effective end of a state’s authority.
• BOUNDARIES: THE LIMITS OF THE STATE

  International boundaries – separates each of the world’s states; these are lines that establish the limit of each state’s jurisdiction and authority.
• BOUNDARIES: THE LIMITS OF THE STATE

  Natural or Physical boundaries – are those based on recognizable physiographic features such as mountains, rivers, and lakes.
• BOUNDARIES: THE LIMITS OF THE STATE

  Artificial or Geometric Boundaries – Frequently delimited as sections of parallels of latitude or meridians of longitude, they are found chiefly in Africa, Asia, and the

  Americas.
• BOUNDARIES: THE LIMITS OF THE STATE

  Artificial or Geometric Boundaries -Many such boundaries were established when the areas in question were colonies, the land was only sparsely settled, and detailed geographic knowledge of the frontier region was lacking.
• BOUNDARIES: THE LIMITS OF THE STATE

  Artificial or Geometric Boundaries :many such boundaries were established when the areas in question were colonies, the land was only sparsely settled, and detailed geographic knowledge of the frontier region was lacking.

  For example: The western portion of the United States-Canada border, which follows the 49th parallel.
• BOUNDARIES: THE LIMITS OF THE STATE

  Boundaries Classified by Settlement

  Antecedent boundary – one drawn across an area before it is well populated , i.e., before most of the cultural landscape features developed.
• BOUNDARIES: THE LIMITS OF THE STATE

  Boundaries Classified by Settlement

  Subsequent boundaries – Boundaries drawn after the development of the cultural landscape.
• BOUNDARIES: THE LIMITS OF THE STATE

  Boundaries Classified by Settlement

  
  

  Consequent boundary – One type of subsequent boundary also

  called(ethnographic) boundary. A border drawn to accommodate existing religious, linguistic, ethnic, or economics differences between countries.

  
  

  For example: The boundary between Northern Ireland and Eire (Ireland)
• BOUNDARIES: THE LIMITS OF THE STATE

  Boundaries Classified by Settlement

  
  

  Superimposed boundaries – Are forced upon existing cultural landscapes, a country, or a people by a conquering or colonizing power that is unconcerned about preexisting cultural patterns.
• BOUNDARIES: THE LIMITS OF THE STATE


  Boundaries Classified by Settlement

  Relic boundary – If a former line that no longer functions as such is still marked by some landscape features or differences on the two sides.
• BOUNDARIES: THE LIMITS OF THE STATE

  Boundaries as Sources of Conflict

  • Landlocked States
  • Waterbodies as National Boundaries
  • Minority Group Identification
  • Resource Disputes
• BOUNDARIES: THE LIMITS OF THE STATE

  Boundaries as Sources of Conflict

  Landlocked States - For example: Bolivia has access to the Chilean port of Arica, the Peruvian port of Ilo, and

  the Argentinian city of Rosario on the Parana river. Where it was a problem in the past.