AP Human Geography
Chapter Eight – Political
Geography
Seth Adler
Seth Adler
I.
Where Are States Located?
a. The world contained only 50 countries until the 1940s.
A. Problems of Defining States
a. State – An area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government
that has control over its internal and foreign affairs.
(1)
The term “country” is a synonym for “state.”
b. Sovereignty – Being independent from control of its internal affairs by other states.
1. Korea: One State or Two?
a. Korea was split into 2 countries in the late 1940s after the US and Soviet Union
defeated Japan in WWII.
(1)
Divided along the 38o north latitude.
(2)
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) invaded the
Republic of Korea (South Korea) in 1950.
2. China and Taiwan: Once State or Two?
a. Most countries consider them to be 2 separate states, but according to China,
they are one.
b. Confusion began in the late 1940s after a civil war. The loosing Nationalists fled
to Taiwan, an island off the coast of China. They could at least govern one island.
c. In 1999, Taiwan’s president announced that it would become its own state.
d. Taiwan is the most populous state not in the UN.
3. Western Sahara (Sahrawi Republic)
a. Most people in Africa consider the Sahraiw Arab Democratic Republic to be its
own state, but Morocco claims the territory and want to build a wall around it.
b. Spain used to control the area but withdrew in 1976. That area was then
considered an independent state, but Morocco and Mauritania annexed parts of
that land. Three years later, Mauritania withdrew and Morocco claimed it all.
c. Morocco controls the most populous area, but the Polisario Front operates in the
vast deserts.
4. Polar Regions: Many Claims
a. Norway, Australia, France, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, and the United
Kingdom all claim parts of Antarctica.
(1)
Chile, Argentina, and the United Nations’ claims overlap.
b. The United States and Russia do not recognize any of the claims.
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c. The Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1959, says that countries may use the land for
scientific research but no military.
B. Varying Size of States
a. The largest state is Russia (17 million miles, 11% of the world’s landmass).
b. The smallest is Monaco.
c. Microstates – States with very small land areas
(1)
Microstates are usually islands.
C. Development of the State Concept
a. Before 1800s, Earth’s surface was divided into city-states, empires, and tribes. It was
unorganized.
1. Ancient and Medieval States
a. The development of states started in the ancient Middle East (Fertile Crescent).
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Ancient States
a. The Fertile Crescent stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea.
b. City-State – A sovereign state that comprises a town and surrounding
countryside
c. Egypt was a separate empire from 3000BC to the fourth century.
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Early European States
a. The Roman Empire comprised of 38 provinces.
b. The Roman Empire collapsed in the fifth century of attacks by people living on its
frontiers because of internal dispute.
(1)
Most of the fragmented states were ruled by kings and became countries
like England, France, and Spain.
(2)
Other countries such as Germany and Italy did not come together until the
19th century.
2. Colonies
a. Colony – A territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than being
completely independent.
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Colonialism
a. Colonialism – Effort by one country to establish territories and impose its laws on
that other territory.
b. European states established colonies for three main reasons: God, gold, and glory
Seth Adler

To promote Christianity

To extract useful resources and to serve as captive markets for their
products

To establish power by the number of colonies
c. The colonial era began in the 1400s, when European explorers sailed to Asia, but
ended up in the Western Hemisphere. Eventually, Europe lost most of its
colonies when independence was declared in the United States and in most Latin
states.
d. Imperialism – Control of a territory already occupied by another society
(1)
European colonization of Africa and Asia.
e. France had the second-largest territory.
(1)
After independence, most leaders retained close ties with France.
f. Most African and Asian colonies became independent after WWII.
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The Few Remaining Colonies
a. 43 colonies left.
(1)
Most are islands in the Pacific Ocean or Caribbean Sea.
(a)
The most populous is Puerto Rico.
(b)
Least populated is Pitcairn
(i)
Possession of UK.
(ii)
Settled in 1790 by the Bounty ship, captain William Bligh.
b. The State Department includes Australia’s Lord Howe Island, Britain’s Ascension
Island, and Chile’s Easter Island as colonies and includes Greenland, Hong Kong,
and Macao as colonies.
II.
Why Do Boundaries Between States Cause Problems?
a. Boundary – An invisible line marking the extent of a stat’s territory
A. Shapes of States
1. Five Basic Shapes
a. The five basic shapes are compact, elongated, prorupted, perforated, and
fragmented.
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Compact States: Efficient
a. Compact State – The distance from the center to any boundary does not vary
significantly
(1)
Circle with the capital in the center.
b. Beneficial because it helps with communication.
Seth Adler
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Elongated States: Potential Isolation
a. Elongated States – Long and narrow shape

Malawi

Chile

Italy

Gambia
b. May suffer from poor communication, especially if located at the far end with
the capital usually in the center.
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Prorupted States: Access or Disruption
a. Prorupted State – A compact state with a projecting extension
b. The British provided Afghanistan with a proruption to prevent Russia from
sharing a border with Pakistan
1. To provide a state with access to a resource, such as water.
a. Congo’s proruption to the west allows it to have access to the Atlantic.
2. To separate two states that otherwise would share a boundary.
a. Namibia has a proruption to the east called the Caprivi Strip.
(1)
When it was a colony of Germany, it disrupted communications to the
British colonies.
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Perforated States: South Africa
a. Perforated State – A state that completely surrounds another one
b. South Africa
(1)
Surrounds Lesotho
c. Gambia is surrounded by Senegal
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Fragmented States: Problematic
a. Fragmented State – Includes several discontinuous pieces of territory
1. Fragmented states by water:

Tanzania, created in 1964 by the mainland of Tanganyika.

Indonesia, had over 13 thousand islands so the government encourages those
on densely populated islands to migrate to sparely inhabited ones.
2. Fragmented states separated by an intervening state.

Angola is separated by Congo

Russia has a part called Kaliningradthat is separated by Lithuania and Belarus.
It is the only part of Russia connected to the Baltic Sea.

Panama was separated by the canal in 1914 but became an elongated state
when the US withdrew in 1999.
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
India’s Tin Bigha corridor, a timy strip of land, separated Dahagram and
Angarpota from Bangladesh.
2. Landlocked States
a. Landlocked State – Lacks a direct outlet to sea because it is completely
surrounded by several other countries.
b. Most common in Africa.
(1)
14 out of 54 countries are landlocked.
(2)
Railroads were built to transport materials.
B. Types of Boundaries
a. 2 types:

Physical boundaries coincide with significant features of the natural
landscape.

Cultural boundaries follow the distribution of cultural characteristics.
1. Physical Boundaries
a. Deserts, mountains, and water
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Desert Boundaries
a. Common in Africa and Asia
(1)
-
Sahara
Mountain Boundaries
a. The Andes mountains separating Chile and Argentina.
(1)
-
Cannot decide on the exact crest of the mountain peak.
Water Boundaries
a. Rivers, lakes, and oceans are examples.
b. Common in East Africa.
c. Precise position in water is hard to set.
(1)
Rivers
(i)
(2)
Rio Grande has moved.
Oceans
(i)
Some claim to have a border 3 nautical miles out at sea.
(ii)
The Law of the Sea sets the limit to 12 nautical miles.
(iii)
May fish within 200 miles.
Seth Adler
2. Cultural Boundaries
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Geometric Boundaries
a. Straight lines.
b. US/Canada border along the 49o North Latitude.
(1)
Established in 1846 between the US and Great Britain.
c. Chad/Libyan border.
(1)
-
Created in 1899 by the French and British.
Religious Boundaries
a. In South Asia, when the British split India.
b. Ireland
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Language Boundaries
a. Europe
(1)
England, France, Portugal, and Spain were separated
(2)
Germany and Italy were created
b. After WWI, leaders of the victorious countries met at the Versailles Peace
Conference to redraw the map of Europe.
(1)
Geographer Isaiah Bowman played an important role.
(2)
Boundaries were then drawn around countries like Hungary, Bulgaria, and
Poland to keep speakers together.
3. Cyprus’s “Green Line” Boundary
a. Cyprus is an island located close to Turkey. It contains 2 nationalities, the
Greeks (78%) and Turks (18%). After becoming independent in 1960, the
constitution allowed Turks to have power over education and culture.
b. Several Greek officers who favored unification of Cyprus and Greece took
control of the island, so Turkey invaded Cyprus to protect the island. The
leaders were removed but the Turkish army remained. The northern part of the
island declared itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983, but only
Turkey recognizes it as a country.
c. A wall and a buffer zone were placed in between the 2 sections so they became
geographically isolated. Recently, part of the wall has been demolished and
people are allowed to cross.
4. Frontiers
a. Frontier – A zone where no state has complete political control.
(1)
A frontier provides a tangible area, whereas a boundary is infinitely thin.
Seth Adler
b. Frontiers have recently been converted into boundaries.
(1)
New technology allows countries to watch uninhabited land.
(2)
Saudi Arabia was separated from Kuwait and Iraq with diamond shaped
neutral zones until 1981.
C. Boundaries Inside States
a. Made to separate ethnicities or to provide an advantage to a political party.
1. Unitary and Federal States
a. Unitary State – Places most power in the hands to the central government
officials
(1)
Useful in small countries.
(2)
Common in Europe.
(3)
China is a unitary state to promote communism.
b. Federal State – Allocates strong power to local governments
(1)
United States is an example.
(2)
Multinational states.
(3)
More suitable for large states such as Canada and Russia because the
capital may be too remote to control everything.
(4)
Belgium is a federal state to separate the Flemish and Waloons.
2. Trend Toward Federal Government
-
France: Curbing A Unitary Government
a. The basic local government is the “departement.” Each 96 of them has an elected
council, but is controlled by the powerful “prefet.”
b. The second tier of local government is the “commune.” Each of the 36 thousand
of them has a mayor.
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Poland: A New Federal Government
a. Switched to a federal government after independence from the Communists.
b. Under the unitary government, building and roads deteriorated because of lack of
sufficient funds.
c. In 1999, Poland adopted a three-tier government.
(1)
16 wojewodztwa (provinces)
(i)
12-42 powiats (counties)
(a) 3-19 gmina (municipalities)
(2)
Elected government officials had no experience.
Seth Adler
3. Electoral Geography
a. Redrawn periodically to equalize the populations.
(1)
Every 10 years they are redrawn.
b. Gerrymandering – The process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the
purpose of benefiting the party in power
(1)
Named after Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814), governor of Massachusetts and
vice president of the United States.
(2)
When an opponent observed the oddly shaped voting districts that looked
like a salamander, he called it “gerrymandering.”
c. Three forms:
(1)
Wasted Vote spreads opposition supporters across many districts, but as a
minority.
(2)
Excess Vote concentrates opposition supporters into few districts.
(3)
Stacked Vote links distant areas of like-minded voters together with oddly
shaped boundaries.
(i)
Used to elect ethnic minorities.
d. Illegal in 1985.
e. Does not really effect elections.
III.
Why Do States Cooperate With Each Other
A. Political and Military Cooperation
a. During the Cold War, organizations were established to prevent a WWIII.
1. The United Nations
a. Created at the end of WWII by the Allies (1945). Started off with 49 states but
grew to 192.
b. Rapidly grew in 1955, 1960, and 1990s.
(1)
1955 – (16 countries) Liberated European countries from Nazi rule.
(2)
1960 – (17 countries) African colonies of Britain and France.
(3)
1990 – (26 countries) From the breakup of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.
c. Replaced the League of Nations, which was founded by President Woodrow Wilson,
but never joined.
d. Members can vote to use force but any of the permanent delegates from China,
France, Russia, the UK, and the US can veto it.
2. Regional Military Alliances
Seth Adler
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Era Of Two Superpowers
a. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union were the world’s 2
superpowers. Because they were so large, they built military bases in many
countries so armies could be deployed anywhere.
b. Before WWI, there were 8 superpowers: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,
Russia, the UK, and the US. Because they all had a lot of power, no single state
could dominate, so they formed temporary alliances.
c. Balance of Power – A condition of equal strength between opposing alliances
d. Both superpowers used military force to control their allies.
(1)
The Soviet Union sent troops into Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia
(1968).
(2)
The United States sent troops into the Dominican Republic (1965),
Grenada (1983), and Panama (1989).
-
Military Cooperation In Europe
a. After WWII, most European states joined one of two military alliances, NATO
or the Warsaw Pact.
(1)
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was a military alliance
between 16 democratic states and 14 European states.
(2)
The Warsaw Pact was an alliance between to Communist countries to
protect each other in case of an attack.
-
Other Regional Organizations

The Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
a. 56 members include the US, Canada, and Russia.
b. Founded in 1975.
c. Concerned with ending conflicts in Europe.

The Organization of American States (OAS)
a. All 35 states in the Western Hemisphere.
b. Headquarters in Washington D.C.
c. Promotes social links between its members.

The African Union (AU)
a. Includes 53 countries in Africa.
b. Established in 2002.
c. Wants to end colonialism and promote economic integration.

The Commonwealth
a. Includes the UK and 52 other states that used to be British colonies.
b. Members seek economic and cultural cooperation.
Seth Adler
B. Economic Cooperation
a. The era of bipolar balance ended in 1992.
1. The most important element in state power in economic wealth rather than military.
2. The leading superpower is not a single state, but an economic union of European
states.
b. The European Union was established in 1958 and included Belgium, France, Italy,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany. Its goal was to heal the scars
created by WWII. It now includes 27 countries.
c. Seven Eastern European countries that were in the Warsaw Pact formed the Council for
Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON). It was designed to promote trade and
sharing of natural resources. It was disbanded in the early 1990s after the fall of
Communism.
d. Much of the EU’s budget serves the subsidies farmers and depressed regions. Now, it
has removed barriers and the introduction of the euro.
IV.
Why Has Terrorism Increased?
A. Terrorism by Individuals and Organizations
a. The term Terror was first used during the French Revolution, known as the Reign of
Terror. Headed by Maximilien Robespierre, the Committee of Public Safety guillotined
several thousand political opponents. In modern times, terrorism applies to people
operating outside of the government.
b. 4 US presidents have been assassinated: Lincoln (1865), Garfield (1881), McKinley
(1901), and Kennedy (1963). Terrorism is different that assassinations. They are not
aimed at specific people. They aim at civilians.
1. Terrorism against Americans

December 21, 1988: Pan Am Flight 103

February 26, 1993: A car bomb placed underneath the World Trade Center

April 19, 1995: A car bomb in Oklahoma City

June 25, 1996: A truck bomb blew up an apartment building in Saudi Arabia,
killing 19 US soldiers

August 7, 1998: US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed

October 12, 2000: The USS Cole was bombed in Yemen
a. Theodore J. Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber, sent bombs through the mail to
executives of companies who harm the environment.
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2. September 11, 2001, Attacks
a. Deaths:

93 on Flight 11

65 on Flight 175

2,605 on the ground at the World Trade Center

64 on Flight 77

125 on the ground at the Pentagon

44 on Flight 93
3. Al-Qaeda
a. Founded by Osama Bin Laden, a multi-millionaire by his father who was a billionaire
with a construction site and close connections to the royal family in 1990.
b. Jihad means holy war.
c. Bin Laden was kicked out of many countries including Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and
Sudan.
d. Other bombings since 9/11:

May 12, 2003: (35d) Car bomb at apartments in Saudi Arabia

November 15, 2003: (29d) Truck bomb at synagogues in Turkey

November 20, 2003: (32d) The British-owned HSBC Bank in Istanbul

May 29, 2004: (22d) Oil company in Saudi Arabia

July 7, 2005: (56d) Bombed subways and busses in London, England

July 23, 2005: (88d) Bombing of resort hotels in Egypt

November 9, 2005: (60d) Bombing of American-owned hotels in Jordan
e. Jemaah Islamiyah is an al-Qaeda franchise in Indonesia:

October 12, 2002: (202d) Bombing of a nightclub in Bali

August 5, 2003: (12d) Car bombs at a Marriott hotel in Jakarta

September 9, 2004: (~10d) Car bombs at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta

October 1, 2005: (23d) Attacks on downtown and in a food court in Bali
f. Other groups loosely associated with al-Qaeda:

November 28, 2002 (13d) A Somali group killed Kenyan dancers and Israeli
tourists in Mombasa, as well as firing missiles at and Israeli airplane

March 11, 2004: (192d) A local group blew up trains in Madrid, Spain
B. State Support for Terrorism
a. Three levels:

Providing a sanctuary for terrorists wanted by other countries

Supplying money, weapons, and intelligence to terrorists

Planning attacks using terrorists
Seth Adler
1. Libya
a. Accused of sponsoring a 1986 bombing of a nightclub in Berlin and killing a US
soldier.
b. First started in 1981, when the US shot down a Libyan warplane. The plane was
conducting exercises in international waters, but Libya claimed it was in their area.
c. The US also attacked Tripoli and Benghazi to try to kill Colonel Muahmmer elQaddafi.
d. Libya renounced terrorism in 2003 and provided compensation to the victims of the
Pan Am 103. They are no longer considered a state sponsor of terrorism.
2. Afghanistan
a. The US attacked Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003) to get rid of the leaders who
were supporters of terrorism.
b. The US attacked Afghanistan when they were under the rule of the Taliban
(“Students”), who were thought to be sheltering Bin Laden.
c. The Taliban rule suppressed a civil war that began in 1973 when the king was
overthrown by Mohammed Daoud Khan who was murdered 5 years later by military
officers who were sympathetic to the Soviet Union, but when mijahedeen (holy
warriors) started a rebellion in 1979, the Soviet Union sent in 100,000 troops.
d. Although outnumbered, the mijahedeen used guerrilla warfare and after 10 years,
the Taliban gained control.
e. The Taliban rule ended in 2001 when the US invaded to capture Osama Bin Laden.
3. Iraq
a. The US attacked in 2003 because it was thought that Saddam Hussein had created
biological weapons of mass destruction that could fall into the hands of terrorists.
b. US confrontation with Iraq started in 1979, when Hussein came into power and
attacked Iran and Kuwait.
c. The 1991 Gulf War, known as Operation Desert Storm, drove Iraq out of Kuwait but
failed to remove Hussein from power. It was widely supported.
d. Inspectors from the UN in the 1980s found:

A nuclear radiation weapon program

A program making weapons from the VX nerve agent

A biological weapons program
e. Hussein’s Ba’ath Party had a belief that several hundred million Arabs living in North
Africa and Central Asia should be joined together, whereas al-Qaeda terrorists
justified their attacks on the basis of their interpretation of Islam.
f. The US was unable to link Hussein with the making of weapons or connections with
al-Qaeda.
Seth Adler
g. Iraq is divided into 150 tribes (‘ashira) divided into several clans (fukhdhs), which
include several houses (beit), which include several extended families (kham). Tribes
are grouped into a dozen federations (qabila). Most Iraqis have a stronger
connection to a tribe or clan than to a national government.
h. The ethnic groups are split into regions; Kurds in the North, Sunnis is the center,
and Shi’ites in the South. The Kurds welcomed the US but the others oppose the
US.
i. The US expected an enthusiastic welcome after removing Hussein from power, but
instead they became embroiled by violent struggles among the tribes.
4. Iran
a. Hostility began in 1979, when a revolution forced Iran’s pro-US Shah Mohammad
Reza Pahlavi to give up the throne. The majority of the population wanted a more
democratic society. The Shiite Muslim leader, Ayatollah Ruholiah Khomeini, then
rewrote the constitution to place final authority with the ayatollah and seized the
US Embassy.
b. When Iraq was forced to cede the Shatt al-Arab waterway to Iran in 1975, they
tried to take advantage of the Iranian Revolution to take back the waterway in 1980.
Instead, they caused an 8-year long war that ended with a peace treaty from the
UN.
c. After the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president in 2005, relations
between Iran and the US deteriorated. The US accused Iran of harboring al-Qaeda
members and getting support from Iraq because they were also Shiite Muslims. Iran
also has developed nuclear weapons.
5. Pakistan
a. Created in 1947 when South Asia was split into Muslim and Hindu states.
b. Although the majority of Pakistan’s population is Muslim, Pakistan is a multiethnic
state with 60% other ethnicities.
c. Osama Bin Laden was thought to be hiding in Pakistan after escaping from Tora Bora.