ch.8 – political geography - parkway schools · ch.8 – political geography ap human geography...
TRANSCRIPT
Key Issue #1:� Where are States Located
� Problems with Defining States� Development of State Concept
Background to Political Geography� Geographers study how people have organized earth’s
land surface, reasons for the observed arrangements, and conflicts that result from the organization.
� State (country) is an area organized into a political unit, ruled by a government that has control over its internal and foreign affairs
� 50 U.S. states are subdivisions with a single state� 192 recognized states by the United Nations (only 50 in
the 1940s)� Antarctica only large landmass not apart of a state
Development of “State” Concept� City-States
(Mesopotamia)� Empires &
Kingdoms� Colonization
(uninhabited lands)
� Imperialism (control of occupied territory)
� Breakup of Imperial Empires
5 Basic Shapes of States
� Compact States (Efficient)
� Prorupted States (Access or Disruption)� Elongated States (Potential Isolation)
� Fragmented States (Problematic)
� Perforated States (Dependency)
Compact States� Distance from center to
any border does not vary significantly
� Capital often in center of country
� Communication, control, etc. can be more easily established
� Does not mean peacefulness
Prorupted States
� Compact state with large projecting extension
� Proruptions created for either natural resources or separating two other countries from bordering one another
� Can have similar problems as Compact States
Elongated States� Long and narrow
shape� May suffer from poor
communication and control
� Isolation from capital� Varying degrees of
culture throughout country
Fragmented States
� Several discontinuous pieces of territory
� Could be separated by water or an intervening state
� May have difficulties with communication, control, etc.
Perforated States� A state completely
surrounded by another state or a country surrounding another state
� Total dependency on country surrounding them
� Isolation from resources, foreign affairs, etc.
� Often landlocked states
Types of Boundaries
� Physical Boundaries:� Mountains� Desert� Water
� Cultural Boundaries:� Geometric� Religious� Language
Key Issue #3:Why Do States Cooperate with Each Other?
Political and Military CooperationEconomic Cooperation
Political and Military Cooperation� United Nations – Started by Allies after WWII,
peacekeeping organization, provides a forum for countries to meet and resolve issues.
� NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) –military alliance between 16 states
� Warsaw Pact – military alliance between communist Eastern European states
� Most Warsaw Pact states joined NATO after military confrontation subsided
� Other Regional Organization (OAS, AU, The Commonwealth)
Economic Cooperation
� EU (European Union) – economic organization between European states, led by Germany
� COMECON – economic organization of former communist nations
� NATO – see previous slide
Key Issue 4: TerrorismTerrorism – systematic use of violence by a group in order to intimidate a population or gov’t
Violence is considered necessary by terrorists to bring publicity to goals & grievances that are not being addressed
Backlash against globalization and spread of popular culture
Terrorism or Justified Violence?If a Palestinian suicide bomber kills a dozen
Jewish teenagers in a Jerusalem restaurant, is that an act of terrorism or a justified wartime retaliation against Israeli government policies and military actions against the Palestinian people?
Terrorism is ALL a matter of perspective