Chapter 4, Section 3 Political Geography Objectives: 1 - define 4 categories of government 2 - identify 3 important geographic characteristics used to describe a country 3 - distinguish between natural and artificial boundaries 4 - identify main types of regional political systems

Nations of the World… Currently we have 245 countries in the world (debatable, depends on HOW you define a country) State = country -- an independent unit that occupies a specific territory and has full control of internal and external affairs Nation -- a group of people with a common culture living in a territory with a sense of unity Nation-State -- a nation and a state occupy the same territory Question: Is it possible for a nation not to have a territory? --Palestine, the Kurds, the Basque

Types of Government Democracy - citizens hold political power either directly or through representatives…examples? Monarchy - a ruling family headed by a king or queen holds political power and may or may not share the power with citizen bodies…UK, Saudi Arabia Dictatorship - an individual or group holds complete political power…North Korea Communism - nearly all political power and means of production are held by the government in the name of all the people…examples?

Geographic Characteristics of Nations 3 geographic characteristics of a country: Size - does size equate power? Use examples to prove it… 2) Shape - goods, govern-ability, relations to other nations…chile versus germany 3) Location - relative location, Singapore versus Bolivia, landlocked

National Boundaries Why do you think boundaries are important? Language, taxes, legal code, claiming resources Natural Boundaries -based on physical features: rivers, lakes, chains of mountains ex. Rio Grande, others? -what if physical features change? Artificial Boundaries -fixed line following latitude and longitude lines see 49degrees N b/w US and Canada (book) -what other artificial boundaries can we find? -how did this idea of setting boundaries affect Africa? -what other artificial boundaries are there? In China? Let’s look at a map of Senegal…

Questions for thought? What is the difference between natural and artificial boundaries? Discuss the three geographic characteristics that describe a country. Which, do you think, is most significant?