May 26, 2016S. Mathews1 Human Geography By James Rubenstein Chapter 8 Key Issue 2 Why Do Boundaries Cause Problems?

May 26, 2016S. Mathews2 Boundary Invisible line that marks the extent of a state’s territory. The process of selection is often difficult and commonly generates conflict.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews3 Shapes of States  Affects the potential for communications and conflict.  As a centripetal force, it can influence the ease or difficulty of internal administration.  Five basic shapes.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews4 Compact State A state in which the distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly. When capitals are in the center, communications with regions can be more efficient.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews5 Compact States

May 26, 2016S. Mathews6 Prorupted States An otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension. Usually provides a state with access to a resource like water. The Democratic Republic of Congo is an example.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews7 Democratic Republic of Congo Proruption

May 26, 2016S. Mathews8 Elongated States A state with a long, narrow shape. The best examples are Chile, Italy, and Gambia. Many suffer from poor internal communication.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews9 Chile 2,500 miles long, and a maximum of 90 miles wide. Chile

May 26, 2016S. Mathews10 Italy 700 miles long and a maximum of 120 miles wide.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews11 Gambia Surrounded by Senegal on three sides is 300 miles long and only about 15 miles wide.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews12 Fragmented States A state that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory. Russia is the world’s largest state is fragmented. The U.S. is also fragmented.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews13 Kaliningrad The Rest of Russia

May 26, 2016S. Mathews14 Alaska is separated from the United States by Canada

May 26, 2016S. Mathews15 India and Bangladesh

May 26, 2016S. Mathews16 Perforated States A state that completely surrounds another one. Lesotho is surrounded by South Africa and highly dependent on South Africa for survival.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews17 Lesotho is surrounded by South Africa. South Africa is perforated state. Lesotho

May 26, 2016S. Mathews18 Landlocked States A state that does not have a direct outlet to the sea. Direct access to an ocean is critical to states because it facilitates international trade.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews19 Landlocked State

May 26, 2016S. Mathews20 Frontier A zone separating two states in which neither state exercises political control. Provides an area of separation. Almost universally, Frontiers between states have been replaced by boundaries

May 26, 2016S. Mathews21 Frontiers  Separate Saudi Arabia from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen.  A 3,000 square mile “Neutral Zone” (frontier) between Saudi Arabia and Iraq was transformed into a boundary in 1990.

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May 26, 2016S. Mathews23 Best Boundaries Those to which all affected states agree, regardless of the rationale used to draw the line. One of the world’s most visible boundaries is the Great Wall of China.

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May 26, 2016S. Mathews25 Physical Boundaries Boundaries that coincide with significant features of the natural landscape (mountains, deserts, and water).

May 26, 2016S. Mathews26 Mountain Boundaries  Can be effective if they are difficult to cross.  Contact between nationalities living on opposite sides may be limited.  Useful because they are rather permanent and usually sparsely inhabited.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews27 Desert Boundaries  Can effective divide two state.  Also can be difficult to cross and sparsely inhabited.  The Sahara provides fairly stable boundaries between the countries of North Africa.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews28 Water Boundaries  Rivers, Lakes, and oceans are commonly used as boundaries.  Readily visible on a map.  Rivers can slowly change course.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews29 Ocean Boundaries  May cause problems.  The Law of the Sea, signed by 117 countries in 1983, standardized territorial limits at 12 nautical miles from the coast.  Disputes are taken to the Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews30 Cultural Boundaries coincide with differences in ethnicity, include Geometric (lines), Religious, and Language.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews31 Geometric Boundaries  Coincide with differences in ethnicity.  Geometric.  Religious.  Language.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews32 Geometric or Straight Line Boundary

May 26, 2016S. Mathews33 Religious Boundaries In only a few cases, religion has been the basis of a boundary-  South Asia was separated into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan and Bangladesh.  Northern Ireland’s Protestants and Ireland’s Catholics.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews34 Language Boundaries Has long been a significant means of distinguishing distinctive nationalities in Europe.  States of England, Spain, and Portugal grew around distinctive languages.  Italy and Germany emerged as states unified by language.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews35 Cyprus’s “Green Line” Boundary  Cyprus gained independence from Britain in  Since 1974, Cyprus has been divided into Greek and Turkish portions.  Only Turkey recognizes the Turkish sector as independent.

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May 26, 2016S. Mathews37 Unitary State An internal organization of a state that places most power in the hands of central government officials.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews38 Federal State An internal organization of a state that allocates most powers to units of local government.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews39 France: Curbing a Unitary Government  106 departments and 36,000 communes have been administered by appointees of central government.  In recent years, the French government has granted additional powers to departments and communes.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews40 Poland: A New Federal Government  Switched from a Communist unitary government to a federal system.  1989 constitution created 2,400 new municipalities headed by locally elected officials.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews41 Electoral Geography  In the U.S., boundaries are redrawn to ensure that each district has approximately the same population.  Redrawing is entrusted to the state legislatures, who often follow a process known as gerrymandering.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews42 Gerrymandering Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews43 Gerrymandering The term was named for Elbridge Gerry. As governor of Massachusetts, Gerry signed a bill redistricting his state to benefit his party. An opponent observed that the new district resembled a “salamander” and the name “Gerrymander” was coined.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews44 Types of Gerrymandering  “Wasted Vote” spreads opposition support across many districts in the minority.  “ Excess Vote” concentrates opposition support into a few districts.  “Stacked Vote” links like minded voters in odd shaped districts.

May 26, 2016S. Mathews45 “Stacked Vote” Gerrymandering  The reality in the U.S..  Ruled illegal by the Supreme Court in 1985, but did not require the dismantling of existing oddly shaped districts.  Only 1/10 th of Congressional seats are competitive.