Political Geography
World Geography and Cultures
Chapter 4
Political geography looks at…
How the world has been
divided into many political
regions
Why people form political
units like countries and
states
Ease of management
Natural or artificial
boundaries
Common culture and/or
interests
How the different political
units interact with each
other
Geopolitics
1
State vs. Nation
State/Country
An independent political
unit that occupies a
specific territory and
controls its internal and
external affairs
• Territory and government
Nation
A group of people with a
common culture living in
a territory and having a
strong sense of unity
• People
It’s good to be da king…
Monarchy
A form of government in
which a ruling family
holds political control
Constitutional monarchy
A government in which a
parliament makes and
enforces most laws, a
prime minister is the
chief lawmaker
The monarchy exists as a
cultural icon and global
representative of the
country
2
Communism
Originally introduced by Karl
Marx and Max Engles
Presents the idea that all
means and profits from
production should be shared
equally among the people
From each according to ability –
To each according to need
No economically based social
classes
Strong centralized
government needed to
maintain communist economy
Generally flawed system
especially in large countries
Geographic Characteristics of Countries
Size
Shape
Elongated
Compact
Fragmented
Prorupted
Perforated
Location
Landlocked
Transportation routes
3
Why are Boundaries Important?
Within their (sovereign) boundaries
a state can
Collect taxes
Set up a legal code
Regulate trade
Declare official languages
Claim resources
Control population
Natural boundary
Based on physical features of the land
Artificial boundary
Generally follows latitude and
longitude and are created by humans
Regional political systems
Countries form
smaller political
units (country, state,
county, city) to
make governing
more effective
Usually the smaller
units will have more
direct contact with
the people
4
Informal or Perceptual Region
These are regions
which are defined by
people’s perceptions
Relative location
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