1. States & shapes
Wednesday, November 2

2. Wednesday, November 2
REVIEW TERMS!!

3. Boundaries Frontiers Boundaries Defined: a thin, imaginary line.
Historically, frontiers separated states
Defined: a geographic zone where no state exercises power.
Tangible, geographic areas
Frontiers have all but disappeared only Antarctica and the Arabian Peninsula have significant neutral zones.
Defined: a thin, imaginary line.
Mark the extent of a state’s territory and the control that its leaders have.

4. Boundaries
Boundaries completely surround an individual state to mark its outer limits, giving it a distinctive shape. Because boundary lines mark the place where two or more states come into direct contact, they have the potential to cause conflict among them.

5. What determines the location of boundaries?
Physical features
Rivers
Shores
Mountains
Negotiations or war with neighboring regions or countries

6. Boundaries
PHYSICAL
Physical boundaries are easy to see & often make good boundaries
Not always permanent or reliable.
Boundary Types
Mountains
Deserts
Rivers, lakes and oceans

7. Physical Boundaries Mountains Deserts
Limit contact between people living on opposite sides
Usually have sparse populations
Effective borders when they are difficult to cross
Examples:
Andes Mountains
Generally prove to be reliable and pretty permanent
Often have boundaries that are difficult to spot in reality
Difficult to cross & sparsely populated
Common in Africa & Asia
Sahara desert separates Libya, Algeria, and Egypt from their southern neighbors Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and the Sudan

8. Physical Boundaries Oceans The U.N. Law of the Sea
Most commonly used as boundaries
Visible & relatively unchanging
Boundaries typically set in the middle of the water
Can be problematic:
Transport troops
Boundary is not coastline but out at sea.
1983
Signed by 117 countries
Recognizes borders at 12 nautical miles
Exclusive fishing rights up to 200 nautical miles
***for defense & resources

9. Boundaries
CULTURAL
Cultural boundaries are also called consequent boundaries.
Cultural boundaries can be based on:
Religion
Language
Ethnicity

10. Cultural boundaries Religion, Language & Ethnicity
Partition of Pakistan from India (1947)
Effort to separate Muslims from Hindus.
Ireland & Northern Ireland
Following WWI, Allies used language in creating new states and drawing new boundaries.
Bulgaria
Hungary
Poland
Romania
“Balkanization”
**Austria-Hungary

11. Geometric boundaries 38th Parallel
Defined: These are imaginary lines that generally have a good reason behind their creation.
Created by using a grid system
Examples?
**Austria-Hungary

12. Boundaries within states
Local government boundaries are sometimes drawn to separate different nationalities or ethnicities
In the US, they are sometimes drawn to provide an advantage to a political party
Unitary State:
an internal organization of a state that places most power in the hands of the central government officials
Federal state
an internal organization of a state that allocates most powers to units of local government

14. Unitary states What does it look like?
Highly centralized government in the capital city serving as the focus of power
No effort made to accommodate minorities or outlying regions.
Where could you find these states?
Prior to WWII, many European countries (France & Spain)
Former Soviet Union
North Korea
Best fit: Works best in nation-states characterized by few internal cultural differences and a strong sense of national unity

15. federal states What does it look like?
Organizing state territory into regions, substates (States) or provinces.
Regions have much control over government policies and funds
Varies from state to state.
Where could you find these states?
United States
Nigeria
India
Best fit: Works best with larger states.
Decentralized power!
*Nigeria: Sharia law only applies to muslims in the north wanting stricter laws to help root out corruption in office.
Christians & Animists in the south – law doesn’t apply
36 states chose their own judicial system

16. Electoral geography
In democracies, an important connection between citizens and states is the electoral process (ie. methods used in a country for selecting a leader or deciding directly on issues). Electoral Geography: is the study of the spatial configuration of electoral districts and the voting patterns that emerge in particular elections reflect and influence social and political affairs.

17. Electoral districts
Legislative districts in the US are redrawn every 10 years to reflect relative population changes
Reapportionment: process by which districts are moved according to population shifts
In the US, state legislatures are responsible for drawing congressional districts
Party in power attempts to draw lines to keep them in power
In most European countries independent commissions are created to draw the districts

18. Named for Elbridge Gerry, Gov. of Mass.
Definition: the process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power.
Named for Elbridge Gerry, Gov. of Mass.

19. GERRYMANDERING…explained!

20. Types of Gerrymandering
Basically three types:
Wasted Vote: spreads opposition supporters across many districts in minority numbers
Excess Vote: concentrates opposition supporters into a few districts
Stacked Vote: links distant areas of like-minded voters through oddly shaped boundaries
Leads to the party in power owning a majority of support in a majority of the districts
Often used to create districts made up largely of ethnic minorities. Ex. 12th district in NC