State Shapes and Boundaries

Political Geography Terms Recap

• State: territory (land) associated with a political system.
• Nation-State?
• Multi-National State?
• Country: territory (land) not necessarily connected with a political system.
• Nation: unified population (people) who share certain characteristics.
• Multi-State Nation?
• Stateless Nation?

Shapes of States

• The shape of a state controls the length of its boundaries with other states
• Shape affects potential for communication and conflict with neighbors.
• There are FIVE basic shapes of states that we identify:
• Compact, prorupted, elongated, fragmented, and perforated

1. Compact States

• Description: The distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly.
• The ideal theoretical compact state would be shaped like a circle with the capital at the center.
• Benefits: Efficient and easier to establish communications and defend the states borders
• Drawbacks: Compact states does not necessarily mean peaceful.
• Examples: Uganda, Afghanistan, Romania, Cambodia

2. Prorupted States

• Description: an otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension.
• Proruptions are created for TWO principal reasons:
• 1. To provide a state with access to a resource such as water.
• 2. Can separate two states that otherwise would share a boundary.
• Benefits: can access water, pretty efficient
• Drawbacks: some regions can become isolated
• Example: Angola

3. Elongated States

• Description: states with a long narrow shape.
• Many times are formed due to existing natural features like rivers or mountain ranges
• Benefits: Natural borders
• Drawbacks: many times have difficulty protecting all of their borders; can suffer from poor internal communication; potential isolation for parts of state
• Examples: Chile, Italy, Thailand

4. Fragmented States

• Description: land that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory.
• TWO TYPES
• Those that are separated by water
• Those that are separated by an intervening state.
• Benefits: access to water
• Drawbacks: potential for lack of unity and distance between territories, problematic to rule
• Examples: Indonesia, Philippines, Part of the U.S. (Alaska and Hawaii)

5. Perforated States

• Description: a state that completely surrounds another state
• Benefits: state that is surrounded must depend almost entirely on the perforated state for the import and export of goods
• Drawbacks: potential border disputes between the two states
• Example: South Africa

Other factors that Impact States

• Landlocked States: a state is completely surrounded on all sides by several other states
• Lacks a direct outlet to the ocean, which is vital to international trade
• Requires that the state has good economic and military relations with its neighbors to succeed
• Examples: Zimbabwe, Botswana, Paraguay, Mongolia, Ethiopia
• Enclaves: The small pieces of territory that are in a separate location from the rest of the state…leaving some residents cut off and isolated from the heart of the state
• Example: Russia

Purpose (goals) of a State

• Security / stability (both internally and externally)

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• Economics (standard of living & quality of life)

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• Ideology (values, morals, beliefs)

What is a boundary?

• Not just a line on the ground…it’s a vertical plane that cuts through the airspace and ground to determine ownership.
• Coal, gas, and oil reserves often cross these lines
• Belgium, Germany, & the Netherlands argued over coal & natural gas reserves.
• Kuwait oil drilling prompted the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War
• Boundaries/borders set the limits of the territory controlled by a state. (Who can collect taxes, set up laws, declare an official language, etc.)
• A state may claim all of the resources found within its boundaries.
• Will be very protective of boundaries
• Two types of boundaries: (with three subcategories each)
• 1. Physical: coincide with significant features of the natural landscape (mountains, deserts, water)
• 2. Cultural: Follow distribution of cultural characteristics (Geometric/Artificial, Religious, Language).

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Mountain Boundaries (Physical)

• Mountains are often effective boundaries because they can be difficult to cross.
• Contact between peoples on either side can be limited.
• Useful because they are generally permanent and sparsely inhabited.
• Can be difficult to determine the exact boundary line.

Desert Boundaries (Physical)

• Difficult to cross, sparsely inhabited, and usually permanent (deserts can move).
• Common in Africa and Asia.
• Can be difficult to determine exact boundary due to a lack of physical landmarks or features.

Water Boundaries (Physical)

• Most common are lakes, rivers, and oceans
• Visible on a map and relatively unchanging
• Border is drawn through the middle of the body of water, not at the shore
• Good barrier to prevent attack
• Water can sometimes change over time.
• Boundaries in oceans are 12 nautical miles offshore (according to the UN).

Complete control

Conserve & exploit resources

High Seas

UN Convention on Law of the Sea

Maritime Boundaries

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

Geometric/Artificial Boundaries (Cultural)

• Usually correspond to lines of latitude and longitude.
• Ex. Separating point between the U.S. and Canada.
• Usually are fixed lines
• Beneficial in separating territories or states into smaller sections for a variety of purposes,
• Districts, counties, providences, etc.

U.S.-

Canada

boundary

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Alberta-

Montana

Religious Boundaries (Cultural)

• When religious differences coincide with boundaries between states and actually are used to determine the boundary line
• In 1947, as they granted independence to India, the British partitioned India into two states based upon religion.
• The predominately Muslim side was allocated to Pakistan, and the predominately Hindu areas became India.
• When states are separated by religion, there often is a greater risk for conflict.

Language Boundaries (Cultural)

• Language has been important in helping to distinguish nationalities
• Language included in cultural traditions
• After WWI, the Allies at the Paris Peace Conference at Versailles used language to redraw the map of Europe.

Potential Boundary Problems

• Knowing what resources the land holds when boundaries are created, ex. oil!!
• Knowing the importance of airspace for flight patterns, satellite space, etc.
• Recognizing pre-existing cultural identities
• Nigeria has 250 different ethnic groups inside its borders
• Some nationalities inside borders want sovereignty
• Ex. The Balkans
• Boundary disputes result
• Frontiers – zones where no state exercises complete political control
• Steps of creating a boundary can sometimes be unclear:
• Defining it – verbalizing where the boundary is
• Delimitation – drawing it on a map
• Demarcation – marking it on the ground

Antarctica… Full of Frontiers?�

Boundary Stages

Examples of demarcation of borders

Origin-Based Boundary Lines (Genetic-Political Boundaries)

• Antecedent boundary: boundaries that were defined and delimited before humans settled there, ex. Malaysia
• Subsequent boundaries: boundaries that developed according to the cultural landscape after significant settlement there, ex. Vietnam/China
• Superimposed boundaries: boundaries that were forcibly drawn across a culturally unified landscape, ex. Papua New Guinea/Indonesia, Haiti/Dominican Republic
• Relict boundaries: boundaries that have ceased to function but possibly still exist culturally, ex. North & South Vietnam

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What kind of border is this?

THE GREAT WALL

What type of boundaries are these?

Tennessee

What types of boundaries does Tennessee have?