Concepts to Study for the Political Organization of Space Test!
Please remember these are presented as concepts to understand for the test. You will then apply these concepts to the
questions on the test.
1. Purpose of Boundaries invisible lines that mark the extent of a state’s territory and control
a. Why are boundaries important? Boundaries show the extent to which governments have
power and who has authority to the area, access to the resources, who protects the area, etc.
b. How are boundaries established? Boundaries can be achieved through negotiation between
countries, through wars, and through purchasing.
2. (3) Types of Boundaries (all of these are political boundaries)
a. Cultural- boundaries drawn around certain ethnic or religious groups. Pakistan is an
example. This boundary was created for Muslim
b. Physical/natural- boundaries drawn along physical features. Rivers, mountains, lakes,
deserts are all examples of physical features governments have used to establish political
boundaries.
c. Geometric- boundaries drawn as straight lines with good purpose or reasoning. ExampleNorthern boundary between the US and Canada.
3. Purpose of Frontiers frontiers created “no-man” zones between countries. They acted as a buffer
zone so countries did not have to come in contact with each other. Frontiers are still found in the
Middle East where borders are disputed between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Saudi
Arabia.
a. What has largely replaced frontiers? Boundaries!
4. Boundaries form shapes of states: there are 5 basic shapes of states. Each state in the world falls
into one of these categories of shapes.
a. What are the shapes of states?
i. Compact- circular in shape. The distance from the center to the out boundary is
roughly the same all around the state. Pro- good communication/easy to rule
because of the compactness of the state. Con- could be land-locked by other countries
or easy for other states to take over.
ii. Perforated- country that has another country inside of it. Example- South Africa
Pro- could be good if you have good relations with the country that’s inside your
boundaries. Con- could be bad if you have bad relations with the country, or if you
are their ally and they get attacked, you would be in jeopardy of being attacked too.
iii. Fragmented- discontinuous country. Fragmented parts. Example- the US or any
state that has island parts. Pro- could give you influence in different parts of the
world or give you access to diverse resources. Con- could cause communication
issues and the non-mainland areas could become isolated or excluded. Also, could be
hard to protect.
iv. Elongated- country is long and skinny or longer than it is wide. Example- Chile,
Portugal. Pro- can give you access to more resources Con- lack of communication or
hard to manage transportation within the country.
v. Prorupted- a compact country that has a large extension coming out of it. This is
done for access to resources or to separate 2 countries that would be sharing a
border. Pro- gives access to resources con- could be hard to protect the protrusion.
b. Know the pros and cons of each
c. Be able to identify the shapes if asked
5. What are Centripetal Forces? **POSITIVE** Things that unite a country- examples: reciting the
Pledge of Allegiance and singing the National Anthem is a uniting force for Americans.
6. What are Centrifugal Forces? **Fragment/FOUL** things that fragment a country- example:
religious and ethnic disputes (remember the Myanmar article???)
a. What can centrifugal forces lead to? Devolution!!
7. Devolution the break down or destruction of a state.
8. Nationalism pride in one’s country
9. Colonialism European powers seeking to expand their kingdom. Remember the 3 G’s: God, Gold,
and Glory
10. Territoriality- efforts to control pieces of land for political and social gains
11. Sovereignty absolute power or authority
12. Gerrymandering (what is it and purpose?) redrawing legislative lines/districts for political gain
13. Purpose of Supranational organization sovereign nations work together for a common purpose
either regionally or internationally. This might include giving up control of their own affairs to
work together on goals they all share.
a. Give examples of supranational organizations European Union- economic purpose to unite
European countries and make trade easier with the euro as their form of currency. NAFTAEconomic purpose to make trade easier between Canada, US, and Mexico.
14. Types of Governments
a. Theocracy Government ran by religion (religious law used as the legal system)
b. Democracy when people have power to vote and make decisions in government- different
types of democracy include parliamentary democracy, direct democracy, and representative
democracy. The US has a democracy. The largest democracy in the world is in INDIA!
c. Dictatorship/Totalitarian limits the power of the people. When one person has total control
of a state.
d. Monarchy governments run by a royal family. King and queen. Different types of monarchy
exist- constitutional monarchy and theocratic monarchy.
15. Conflict between Israel and Palestine
a. Why is there a dispute? Israel was created out of Palestine as a state for the Jews. The
predominantly Arab country of Palestine does not want to recognize Israel as a sovereign
state and does not acknowledge the current boundaries.
b. What role did the UN play in this situation? The UN created Israel as a state for the Jews.