Political Geography

States?

• State-an area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government that has control over its internal and foreign affairs.

Sovereignty

• A state has sovereignty, meaning it has independence from control of its internal affairs by other states.

What happened to countries?

• Country-is a synonym for the term state.

Shapes of States?

• 5 Basic shapes– 1) Compact– 2) Prorupted– 3) Elongated– 4) Fragmented– 5) Perforated

Compact States-Efficient• The distance from the center to

any boundary does not vary significantly.

• Ideally shaped like a circle and capital in the center.

Prorupted State-Access or Disruption?

• A compact state with a large projecting extension.

– 1) provide access to a resource (water)

– 2) can separate two states that would otherwise share a boundary

Elongated States-Potential Isolation

• States with a long and narrow shape.

• Suffer from poor communication

Fragmented States-Problematic• Includes several

discontinuous pieces of territory.

Two types:

1) areas separated by water (any state w/offshore islands)

2) those separated by an intervening state

Perforated States

• A state that completely surrounds another state.

• South Africa-surrounds Lesotho

Landlocked States• Lacks a direct outlet to the

sea because it is completely surrounded by other countries.

• Problems?-how to trade/transport goods?– -must rely on neighboring

countries

• Examples-Botswana, Zambia

Physical Boundaries• Mountain boundaries-

effective, if difficult to cross– Problems-where to put

boundary line?

• Desert boundaries- hard to cross-sparsely inhabited (Africa & Asia)

• Water boundaries- rivers, lakes, and oceans• Most common

physical boundary

Cultural Boundaries

• Geometric- imaginary lines drawn on maps– May follow

latitude/longitude lines

• Religious- Ireland (Catholic), Northern Ireland (Protestant)

World Conflicts• Students use internet to find examples of contemporary

world conflicts.1-Find a conflict you would like to report on and tell teacher

before starting research.2-Identify the following about the conflict.

A-causesB-states involvedC-nations of people involvedD-length of dispute (time)E-involvement of other states or organizations

3-Students will then plot and label the locations of the conflicts on a wall map.

American Attitude towards genocide?

Sudan Genocide

Political Attitude?