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Political Geography

Political Geography . What’s the difference? . State - describes an independent unit that occupies a specific territory and has full control of its internal and external forces (country) Nation - group of people with a common culture living in a territory and having a strong sense of unity

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Political Geography

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  1. Political Geography

  2. What’s the difference? • State- describes an independent unit that occupies a specific territory and has full control of its internal and external forces (country) • Nation- group of people with a common culture living in a territory and having a strong sense of unity • Nation-state- when a nation and a state occupy the same territory

  3. Types of Government • All countries have a specific type of government • Democracy • Monarchy • Dictatorship • Republic • Theocracy

  4. Democracy • In a democracy citizens hold political power, either directly or through elected representatives • Ex. United States, Canada

  5. Republic • Citizens of a country have an active role in the affairs of the government, and the government is not headed by a hereditary ruler such as a king.

  6. Difference between Democracy & Republic ? • In a Democracy, the Majority has unlimited power over the Minority. It has been referred to as "Majority over Man". • In a Republic, the Majority is Limited and constrained by a written Constitution which protects the rights of the Individual and the Minority. The purpose of a Republic form of government is to control the Majority

  7. Monarchy • A ruling family headed by a king or queen holds political power and may or may not share the power with the citizens • Ex. United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia

  8. Dictatorship/Totalitarian system • An individual or group holds complete political power • Ex. North Korea, Afghanistan

  9. Theocracy • A government ruled by or subject to religious authority • Ex. Iran

  10. Geographic Characteristics of a Country • Three geographic characteristics are very important in describing a country • 1) SIZE – its not always true that the physical size of a country determines its wealth and power EX: UK • Although larger nations often have more resources and more people on which to build military and economic power • 2) SHAPE- the shape of a country can have an impact on how easily it can be governed, how goods are moved to all areas of the country and how it relates to neighboring countries

  11. Shapes • Compact State: the distance from the geographic center of the area to any point on the boundary does not vary greatly, EX. Hungary.

  12. Elongated State: state that is geographically long and narrow, EX. Chile.

  13. Enclave: portion of a state that is totally surrounded by another state, EX. Armenia

  14. Fragmented State: state split into many pieces, EX. Philippines and Indonesia.

  15. Landlocked State: state not having direct access to an ocean, EX. Bolivia.

  16. Microstate: state that is extremely small, EX. San Marino

  17. Perforated State: state that totally surrounds another state, EX. South Africa.

  18. Prorupt State: state having a portion of territory that is elongated, EX. Thailand

  19. Frontier - zone where no state exercises political control, EX. Antarctica

  20. Back to Geo. Characteristics of a Country • 3) LOCATION - The relative location of a country can be very important. It can determine resources, economy, relationship with neighbors, etc. • EX. How do you think landlocked countries are affected by their location

  21. Lastly….Boundaries • Natural Boundaries- based on physical features of the land • Artificial boundaries – fixed line generally following latitude or longitude lines EX. 49N line that separate US & Canada • Cultural boundaries – boundaries based on cultural aspects such as language

  22. Boundary Disputes • May be a source of friction between competing political entities (flashpoints) • May serve as peaceful reminders of contrasting but accepted differences

  23. Centripetal forces • A clearly bounded territory promotes unity/national stability • Centrifugal forces • The more boundaries possessed by a state, the greater is the likelihood of conflict which disrupts unity/national stability

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