1. The Political Organization of Space
APHG
Topic IV:
The Political Organization of Space
Key Geographic
Characteristics
of States

2. Independent states are the basic building blocks of the contemporary world map.

3. The key geographic characteristics of states include
Shape
Size
Typology

4. There are several basic shapes of states in the world:
Compact
Fragmented
Elongated
Perforated
Prorupt

5. Compact states
A compact state is one in which the distance from the geometric centre to any point on the boundary does not vary greatly.
This shape was especially important before the advent of modern transportation and communication.

6. Fragmented states
A fragmented state is one consisting of two or more separate pieces.
This fragmentation makes certain interactions difficult.
Examples include the Philippines; the United States; East and West Pakistan before they were divided into two separate countries.

7. Elongated states
Elongated states are elongated (or attenuated).

8. Prorupted or protruded states
A prorupted state is one that extends out from a more compact core.

9. Perforated states
A perforated state is one that is perforated (in which a hole has developed) by another country.
Why isn’t Swaziland considered a perforation of South Africa?

10. There is a great variety of sizes of states in the world.
The largest state in the world is Russia, measuring 17,098,242 square kilometers.
Canada ranks second, with 9,970,610 square kilometers.
At the other end of the scale is Vatican City, the smallest state in the world with 0.44 sq. km.
Other very small states include Tuvalu, Nauru, St. Kitts and Nevis, Malta, and the Maldives.
See for more details.

11. Enclaves and exclaves
Enclaves and exclaves are special types of territorial irregularities.
Exclaves are small outliers of territory separated from the state by the territory of another state. Exclaves can lie on coasts but more often are landlocked within another country, in which case they are also considered to be enclaves.
Cabinda, part of Angola,
is separated from Angola
by the Democratic
Republic of the Congo.
Nagorno-Karabakh is an exclave of Christian Armenia and lies as an enclave within Muslim Azerbaijan.

12. Other exclaves include
Before German unification, West Berlin was an outlier of West Germany within the East German Democratic Republic.
Campione d’Italia - an Italian outlier in Switzerland
Kaliningrad - a Russian outlier between Poland and Lithuania
Baarle-Hertog - fragment of Belgium inside Holland
Kaliningrad - a Russian outlier between Poland and Lithuania

13. Enclaves An enclave is a counterpart to an exclave.
It is a small bit of foreign territory lying within a state but not under its jurisdiction.
It may be independent or it may be part of another territory.
Lesotho, for example, is an enclave within South Africa and is independent of South Africa.
Vatican City is an enclave of Italy.
Alaska? Not really an enclave because it’s not located within another country; it is really a fragment of the USA.
Nagorno-Karabakh is an exclave of Armenia and lies as an enclave within Azerbaijan; it was created by Soviet planners; when the USSR collapsed, old animosities resurfaced.

14. Landlocked countries
Landlocked countries face particular challenges because they have no ready access to oceans.
For example, Bolivia, Czech Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, and many landlocked countries in Africa.

15. State typology
Do the world’s international boundaries really differentiate among nations? Often, they don’t. The world map of states - politico-territorial entities - does not always coincide with the world map of nations - politico-cultural entities.

16. Consider this typology:
Perfect nation-state
Nation without a state
Multi-state nation
Bi-national state
Multi-national state
Ethnic exclaves
Ethnic enclaves
Autonomous regions - an autonomous region is a subdivision or dependent territory of a country that has a degree of self-governance, or autonomy, from an external authority.
Irredentism = assertion by the government of a country that a minority living across the border in a neighbouring country belongs to it historically and culturally, and the mounting of a propaganda campaign, or even a declaration of war, to effect that claim

17. Activity Identify each of the following 8 diagrams from the typology list above (there is no diagram for an autonomous region). Give a real-world example for each one.