CHAPTER 8

POLIT

ICAL

GEOGRAPHY

KEY IS

SUE #1

WHERE A

RE STA

TES

LOCAT

ED?

WHERE ARE STATES LOCATED?

Problems of defining statesAlmost all habitable land belongs to a country todayIn 1940, there were about 50 countriesToday, there are 193 countries (as evidenced by United Nations membership)

Some places are difficult to classifyKorea: One state or two?Western Sahara (Sahrawi Republic)Claims to polar regions

UNITED NATIONS MEMBERS

Fig. 8-1: The UN has increased from 51 members in 1945 to 191 in 2003.Montenegro was added in 2006 and South Sudan in 2011.

ANTARCTICA: NATIONAL CLAIMS

Fig. 8-2: Antarctica is the only large landmass that is not part of a state, but several countries claim portions of it.

WHERE ARE STATES LOCATED?

Varying sizes of statesState size varies considerably

Largest state = Russia11 percent of the world’s land area

Smallest state = MonacoMicrostate = states with very small land areasAbout two dozen microstates

WHERE ARE STATES LOCATED?

Development of the state conceptAncient states

The Fertile CrescentCity-state

Early European statesColonies

Three motives: “God, gold, and glory”Today = some remaining colonies

THE FERTILE CRESCENT

Fig. 8-3: The Fertile Crescent was the site of early city-states and a succession of ancient empires.

COLONIAL POSSESSIONS, 1914

Fig. 8-4: By the outbreak of World War I, European states held colonies throughout the world, especially throughout Africa and in much of Asia.

COLONIAL POSSESSIONS, 2003

Fig. 8-5: Most of the remaining colonies are small islands in the Pacific or Caribbean.

KEY IS

SUE #2

WHY

DO BOUNDARIE

S

CAUSE PROBLE

MS?

WHY DO BOUNDARIES BETWEEN STATES CAUSE PROBLEMS?

Shapes of statesFive basic shapes:

Compact Pros…Cons…Examples…

ElongatedPros…Cons…Examples…

ProruptedPros…Cons…Examples…

PerforatedPros…Cons…Examples…

FragmentedPros…Cons…Examples…

WHY DO BOUNDARIES BETWEEN STATES CAUSE PROBLEMS?

Landlocked states-lacks a direct outlet to the sea b/c it is completely surrounded by other countries.

Green denotes the 42 landlocked countries located in the world.Purple denotes the 2 doubly landlocked countries in the world.

AFRICAN STATES

Fig. 8-6: Southern, central, and eastern Africa include states that are compact, elongated, prorupted, fragmented, and perforated.

INDIA: THE TIN BIGHA CORRIDOR

Fig. 8-7: The Tin Bigha corridor fragmented two sections of the country of Bangladesh. When it was leased to Bangladesh, a section of India was fragmented.

WHY DO BOUNDARIES BETWEEN STATES CAUSE PROBLEMS?

Types of boundariesPhysical

Desert boundariesMountain boundariesWater boundaries

PHYSICAL BOUNDARIES

WHY DO BOUNDARIES BETWEEN STATES CAUSE PROBLEMS?

Frontier-a zone where no state exercises complete political control.

**The only regions that still have frontiers, rather than boundaries, are Antarctica and the Arabian Peninsula.

FRONTIERS IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA

Fig. 8-8: Several states in the Arabian Peninsula are separated by frontiers rather than precise boundaries.

WHY DO BOUNDARIES BETWEEN STATES CAUSE PROBLEMS?

Cultural Geometric boundariesHuman features (language, religion, ethnicity)

AOZOU STRIP: A GEOMETRIC BOUNDARY

Fig. 8-9: The straight boundary between Libya and Chad was drawn by European powers, and the strip is the subject of controversy between the two countries.

DIVISION OF CYPRUS

Fig. 8-10: Cyprus has been divided into Green and Turkish portions since 1974.

WHY DO BOUNDARIES BETWEEN STATES CAUSE PROBLEMS?

Boundaries inside statesUnitary states-puts most power in the hands of the central gov’t.Example: France

Federal states-divides power b/t a central gov’t and units of local gov’t.Example: PolandGlobally, there is a trend toward federations

WHY DO BOUNDARIES BETWEEN STATES CAUSE PROBLEMS?

Electoral geographyBoundaries within the United States are used to create legislative districts

Gerrymandering-process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefitting the party in power.Three types: wasted, excess, and stacked voteIllegal (1985 U.S. Supreme Court decision)

GERRYMANDERING: FLORIDA AND GEORGIA

Fig. 8-11: State legislature boundaries were drawn to maximize the number of legislators for Republicans in Florida and Democrats in Georgia.

GERRYMANDERING

KEY IS

SUE #3

WHY

DO STA

TES

COOPERAT

E WIT

H EACH

OTHER?

WHY DO STATES COOPERATE WITH EACH OTHER?Political and military cooperationThe United Nations (est. 1945)Regional military alliances

Balance of power Post–World War II: NATO or the Warsaw Pact

Other regional organizations OSEC (est. 1965) OAS (est. 1962) OAU (est. 1963) The Commonwealth of Nations

Economic cooperationEuropean Union

COMECON

THE EUROPEAN UNION AND NATO

Fig. 8-12: NATO and the European Union have expanded and accepted new members as the Warsaw Pact and COMECON have disintegrated.

ECONOMIC AND MILITARY ALLIANCES IN COLD WAR EUROPE

Figure 8-21

EUROPEAN BOUNDARY CHANGES

Fig. 8-13: Twentieth-century boundary changes in Europe, 1914 to 2003. Germany’s boundaries changed after each world war and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

KEY IS

SUE #4

WHY

HAS TERRORIS

M

INCREASED?

WHY HAS TERRORISM INCREASED?

TerrorismSystematic use of violence to intimidate a population or to coerce a governmentFrom the Latin word meaning “to frighten”Use of bombing, kidnapping, hijacking, and murder to instill fear and anxiety in a population

WHY HAS TERRORISM INCREASED?

Terrorism by individuals and organizationsAmerican terroristsSeptember 11, 2001, attacksAl-Qaeda

Jihad

WORLD TRADE CENTER

Ikonos satellite images of the World Trade Center June 30, 2000, before the attack.

WORLD TRADE CENTER SITE

SEPTEMBER 15, 2001

Ikonos satellite images of the World Trade Center September 15, 2001, after the attack.

AFTERMATH OF WORLD TRADE CENTER ATTACK

WHY HAS TERRORISM INCREASED?

State support for terrorismThree increasing levels of involvement

Providing sanctuarySupplying weapons, money, and intelligence to terrorists

Using terrorists to plan attacks

WHY HAS TERRORISM INCREASED?

State support for terrorismExamples

LibyaIraqAfghanistanIranPakistan

ETHNIC GROUPS IN SOUTHWEST ASIA

MAJOR TRIBES IN IRAQ