Chapter 8 Learning Guide Political Geography Key Issue 1 Where Are States Located? Pgs. 238 247 Problems of Defining States 1. Define state: 2. Define sovereignty: 3. There is some disagreement about how many states there actually are in the world because of regions which may, or may not, actually be states. Complete the chart to demonstrate three cases. Korea (North & South) One state if you agree that People s Democratic Republic of China (China) and/or Republic of China (Taiwan) One state if you agree that Western Sahara or Sahrawi Republic One state if you agree that Two states if you agree that Two states if you agree that No state if you agree that Varying Size of States 4. List the 6 largest states in order.
5. How many microstates are recognized? What do many have in common? List 6 that you can find on a map, and state where they are. (If you can only come up with 3 on your own, you ll have to look up three more!) Development of the State Concept 6. Complete the graphic organizers on the topics indicated below as they related to the history of the concept of political states and their developments. Ancient States Early European States
7. By definition, what is a colony? 8. Define colonialism: 9. Summarize three reasons Europeans sought colonies. 10. Define imperialism: 11. Which country had the largest empire? Second largest? 12. Use the chart below to contrast the basic colonial policies of these two countries. Colonial Practices of Colonial Practices of 13. List the largest remaining colonies in the world and who possesses each.
Chapter 8 Learning Guide Political Geography Key Issue 2 Why Do Boundaries Cause Problems? Pgs. 247 256 1. Define boundary: Shapes of States 2. Complete the chart based on your reading. The text gives examples of African countries that you should provide (map pg. 250). Shapes Compact Greatest advantage Examples Elongated Biggest problem Prorupted Reason for prorupting the shape of a state Perforated How is the perforator state dependent on the perforatee? Fragmented Different kinds
3. Define landlocked state: 4. Where are most of the world s landlocked states? 5. Why there? 6. What problems do landlocked states have? 7. Shade and label all 15 of Africa s landlocked states.
Types of Boundaries 8. Define physical boundary: 9. Define cultural boundary: 10. Complete the chart below to describe the advantages of each type of physical boundary. Deserts Mountains Water 11. What are three types of cultural boundaries that have often been used? Give an example of each type of cultural boundary and describe. Case Study: Cyprus 12. Bullet in the most significant facts regarding the boundary and ethnic situation in Cyprus. Annotate the map as appropriate.
13. Define frontier: 14. List characteristics of frontiers: Boundaries Inside States 15. Define unitary state: 16. Define federal state: 17. Regarding unitary states, what are the three characteristics that tend to favor it for a country? 18. Where are unitary states most common? 19. Why is the federal state system more effective for larger states? 20. List good examples of federal states that fulfill these conditions rather well. 21. Why has tiny Belgium adopted a federal system? 22. Why has enormous China adopted a unitary system? 23. Multinational states often adopt unitary systems for what reason? Also, describe an example where this has occurred.
Case Study: France 24. Describe the internal political organization of France in the box below. France: Internal Political Organization 25. Why are boundaries of legislative districts occasionally redrawn? How often is this done in the U.S.? 26. How is this type of boundary redrawing different in the U.S. than in Europe? 27. What is gerrymandering? 28. What are the three types of gerrymandering? Explain them. 29. How is gerrymandering combined with ethnicity for political use?
Chapter 8 Learning Guide Political Geography Key Issue 3 Why Do States Cooperate With Each Other? Pgs. 257 260 Political & Military Cooperation 1. When was the United Nations established? By whom? 2. Identify the reason for which membership in the UN grew significantly in each of the following periods. 1955 1960 1990s 3. Who are the five permanent members of the Security Council? 4. Identify some of the problems the UN faces as it attempts to operate and influence world affairs. 5. Why is the idea of two superpowers a relatively new one? 6. Define balance of power: 7. Describe the purpose of NATO.
8. Describe the purpose of the former Warsaw Pact countries. 9. List 3 facts about the OSCE (Organization on Security & Cooperation in Europe). 10. Complete the chart on notable non-military regional organizations. Regional Organization Members Purpose OAS (Organization of American States) AU (African Union) The Commonwealth Economic Cooperation 11. What states have joined the superpowers based on their economic successes? What former power has slipped from its earlier status? 12. The leading (economic) superpower since the 1990s is not a single state. What is the leading (economic) superpower in the world today? Answer #s 13-16 regarding the European Union 13. When was it formed?
14. By what states? 15. For what purpose? 16. What are some important changes in recent years?
Chapter 8 Learning Guide Political Geography Key Issue 4 Why Has Terrorism Increased? Pgs. 260 268 1. By definition, what is terrorism? 2. List typical methods/acts of terrorists. Terrorism By Individuals & Organizations 3. Why is terrorism different from other acts of political violence? 4. List some places in which Americans were attacked by terrorists in the late 20 th century. In #s 5-9, identify each of the following terms as they relate to the terrorist organization known as Al-Qaeda. 5. Osama bin-laden: 6. Afghanistan: 7. Yemen & Somalia: 8. the base : 9. fatwa:
10. In what ways does Al-Qaeda, its religious and political views, and its methods pose a challenge to Muslims? 11. In what ways does Al-Qaeda, its religious and political views, and its methods pose a challenge to Americans? State Support for Terrorism 12. List three ways in which states (particularly in the Middle East in recent decades) have given support to terrorists. 13. Note in which of the above ways each of the following states has supported terrorism and then briefly describe it. State Libya Type of Support (from question #12) Brief Summary of Issues Afghanistan Iraq Iran
Chapter 8 Learning Guide Political Geography Key Issue 1 Where Are States Located? Pgs. 238 247 Problems of Defining States 1. Define state: Area organized into a political unit ruled by an established government that has control over its internal & foreign affairs; it occupies a defined territory & has permanent population 2. Define sovereignty: Ability of a state to govern its territory without intervention from other states 3. There is some disagreement about how many states there actually are in the world because of regions which may, or may not, actually be states. Complete the chart to demonstrate three cases. Korea (North & South) One state if you agree that The Korean govt s should unify into one Two states if you agree that According to the UN they are 2 separate states People s Democratic Republic of China (China) and/or Republic of China (Taiwan) One state if you agree that China has control of Taiwan Two states if you agree that Nationalists control Taiwan & agree with most countries that they are separate sovereign states Western Sahara or Sahrawi Republic One state if you agree that The Polisario Front has rightful control of the territory No state if you agree that Morocco has control of the territory Varying Size of States 4. List the 6 largest states in order. Russia, Canada, United States, China, Brazil & Australia 5. How many microstates are recognized? What do many have in common? List 6 that you can find on a map, and state where they are. (If you can only come up with 3 on your own, you ll have to look up three more!) 24; many are islands in the Caribbean, Pacific & Indian Oceans
Development of the State Concept 6. Complete the graphic organizers on the topics indicated below as they related to the history of the concept of political states and their developments. Ancient States Early European States - City-States - Walls created boundary to cities - City controlled agricultural land to produce food for urban residents - Countryside provided city with defense from other city-states - Large # of estates owned by kings, barons, dukes & nobles - Handful of powerful kings became rulers of multiple European estates - Consolidation of estates under kings created basis for states 7. By definition, what is a colony? Territory legally tied to a sovereign state rather than being completely independent 8. Define colonialism: Effort by one country to establish settlements in a territory and to impose its political, economic & cultural principles on that territory 9. Summarize three reasons Europeans sought colonies. God spread of Christianity Gold extract useful resources Glory establish power through a number of colonies 10. Define imperialism: Control of a territory already occupied and organized by an indigenous society
11. Which country had the largest empire? Second largest? Largest British; 2 nd Largest - French 12. Use the chart below to contrast the basic colonial policies of these two countries. Colonial Practices of British Empire - Protected diverse cultures, local customs & educational systems through decentralized approach - Generally made peaceful transitions to independence Colonial Practices of French - Assimilate colonies into French culture - Educate elite group to provide leadership 13. List the largest remaining colonies in the world and who possesses each. Puerto Rico in the possession of U.S. Pitcairn Island in the possession of United Kingdom
Chapter 8 Learning Guide Political Geography Key Issue 2 Why Do Boundaries Cause Problems? Pgs. 247 256 1. Define boundary: Something that separates a state from its neighbors; an invisible line marking the extent of the state s territory Shapes of States 2. Complete the chart based on your reading. The text gives examples of African countries that you should provide (map pg. 250). Shapes Compact Elongated Prorupted Perforated Fragmented Greatest advantage Good communications can be established to all regions Biggest problem Poor internal communications Reason for prorupting the shape of a state To provide a state with access to a resource or to separate two states that would normally share a boundary How is the perforator state dependent on the perforatee? For the import and export of goods Different kinds States separated by water; states separated by another state Examples Rwanda & Burundi Malawi & Mozambique Congo & Namibia South Africa Madagascar; Angola 3. Define landlocked state: State that has no outlet to the sea because it s surrounded by other states 4. Where are most of the world s landlocked states? Africa 5. Why there? Due to colonial era where Britain & France set up regions, and now those regions are independent states 6. What problems do landlocked states have? They have trouble accessing sea ports to send & receive goods
7. Shade and label all 15 of Africa s landlocked states. Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Central African Republic Chad Ethiopia Lesotho Malawi Mali Niger Rwanda Swaziland Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe Types of Boundaries 8. Define physical boundary: Boundary that coincides with significant features of the natural landscape 9. Define cultural boundary: Boundary that follows the distribution of cultural characteristics 10. Complete the chart below to describe the advantages of each type of physical boundary. Deserts Mountains Water - Difficult to cross - Sparsely inhabited - Permanent - Not really inhabited - Difficult to cross - Good protection against attacking state
11. What are three types of cultural boundaries that have often been used? Give an example of each type of cultural boundary and describe. Geometric Boundary (i.e. line at 49 th parallel that separates U.S. & Canada) Language Boundary (i.e. lines drawn between/around Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland & Romania after WWI at Versailles Conference) Religious Boundary (i.e. line that separates India (Hindus) & Pakistan (Muslims) Case Study: Cyprus 12. Bullet in the most significant facts regarding the boundary and ethnic situation in Cyprus. Annotate the map as appropriate. - Population: 78% Greek & 18% Turkish - Greek & Turkish halves separated by UN buffer - Peace & unification plan accepted by Turkish side but rejected by Greek side 13. Define frontier: Zone where no state has complete political control 14. List characteristics of frontiers: Tangible geographic area; provides separation; sparsely inhabited Boundaries Inside States 15. Define unitary state: States where most power is in the hands of central gov t officials 16. Define federal state: States that give strong power to units of local gov ts within the country 17. Regarding unitary states, what are the three characteristics that tend to favor it for a country? 1. Few internal differences; 2. Strong national unity; 3. Smaller states 18. Where are unitary states most common? Europe
19. Why is the federal state system more effective for larger states? National capital may be too far/remote to provide effective control over regions 20. List good examples of federal states that fulfill these conditions rather well. United States, Russia, Canada 21. Why has tiny Belgium adopted a federal system? To accommodate 2 cultural groups: Flemmish & Waloons 22. Why has enormous China adopted a unitary system? To promote Communist values 23. Multinational states often adopt unitary systems for what reason? Also, describe an example where this has occurred. So that the values of one nationality can be imposed on others. Kenya & Rwanda one ethnic group has become dominant over weaker groups Case Study: France 24. Describe the internal political organization of France in the box below. France: Internal Political Organization - Strong national gov t that dominates local gov t decisions - 96 local gov t departments with elected general council & appointed prefet - 36,686 local communes with an elected mayor & council - 22 regional councils that are elected & can raise taxes
25. Why are boundaries of legislative districts occasionally redrawn? How often is this done in the U.S.? To ensure each district has same population; every 10 years following the census 26. How is this type of boundary redrawing different in the U.S. than in Europe? In U.S. it s done by state legislature; in Europe it s done by an independent commission to create compact homogeneous regions 27. What is gerrymandering? Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefitting the political party in power 28. What are the three types of gerrymandering? Explain them. Wasted Vote: Spreads opposition supporters across many districts but in the minority Excess Vote: Concentrates opposition supporters into a few districts Stacked Vote: Links distant areas of likeminded voters through odd shaped boundaries 29. How is gerrymandering combined with ethnicity for political use? Using stacked vote gerrymandering is attractive for creating districts inclined to elect ethnic minorities. By creating an ethnic district, it ensures the candidates election by that district
Chapter 8 Learning Guide Political Geography Key Issue 3 Why Do States Cooperate With Each Other? Pgs. 257 260 Political & Military Cooperation 1. When was the United Nations established? By whom? End of WWII in 1945 by the victorious Allies 2. Identify the reason for which membership in the UN grew significantly in each of the following periods. 1955 16 countries that had been liberated from Nazi Germany during WWII 1960 17 countries that had ben former colonies of Britain & France 1990s 26 countries that resulted from the break up of the Soviet Union & Yugoslavia 3. Who are the five permanent members of the Security Council? China, France, Russia, United Kingdom & United States 4. Identify some of the problems the UN faces as it attempts to operate and influence world affairs. Relies on individual countries to supply troops; must maintain strict neutrality which is difficult to do 5. Why is the idea of two superpowers a relatively new one? Prior to WWI there were 8 great powers that made temporary alliances 6. Define balance of power: Equal strength between opposing alliances 7. Describe the purpose of NATO. Military alliance of 16 democratic states to prevent Soviet Union from overrunning smaller countries 8. Describe the purpose of the former Warsaw Pact countries. Communist Eastern European countries to defend each other in case of attack & to provide Soviet Union with buffer states between it an Germany 9. List 3 facts about the OSCE (Organization on Security & Cooperation in Europe). 1. 56 members; 2. Active forum for countries concerned with ending European conflicts; 3. Calls upon member states for troops
10. Complete the chart on notable non-military regional organizations. Regional Organization Members Purpose OAS (Organization of American States) All 35 western hemisphere states except Cuba Promotes social, cultural, political & economic links among members AU (African Union) 53 African countries Promoting economic integration in Africa The Commonwealth United Kingdom & 52 other states once under British control Economic & cultural cooperation Economic Cooperation 11. What states have joined the superpowers based on their economic successes? What former power has slipped from its earlier status? China, Germany & Japan have had economic successes while Russia has slipped due to economic problems 12. The leading (economic) superpower since the 1990s is not a single state. What is the leading (economic) superpower in the world today? European Union Answer #s 13-16 regarding the European Union 13. When was it formed? 1958 14. By what states? Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Italy & West Germany 15. For what purpose? Designed to heal (rebuild) Western Europe economically after WWII 16. What are some important changes in recent years? Removed barriers to free trade; Introduction of Euro as common currency; Created Europe as world s wealthiest market
Chapter 8 Learning Guide Political Geography Key Issue 4 Why Has Terrorism Increased? Pgs. 260 268 1. By definition, what is terrorism? Systematic use of violence by a group in order to intimidate a population or coerce a gov t into granting its demands 2. List typical methods/acts of terrorists. Spread of fear through: bombing, kidnapping, hijacking, taking hostages, assassination, etc. Terrorism By Individuals & Organizations 3. Why is terrorism different from other acts of political violence? Attacks are aimed at ordinary people instead of military targets or political leaders 4. List some places in which Americans were attacked by terrorists in the late 20 th century. 1993 World Trade Center; 1995 Oklahoma City bombing; 1998 U.S. embassies in Kenya & Tanzania In #s 5-9, identify each of the following terms as they relate to the terrorist organization known as Al-Qaeda. 5. Osama bin-laden: Founder of Al-Qaeda which was responsible for Sept. 11, 2001 attacks 6. Afghanistan: bin-laden s place of residence where he supported fight against Soviet gov t in 1980s and returned in 1990s 7. Yemen & Somalia: Where bin-laden instigated attacks against U.S. troops 8. the base : The foundation ; another name for Al-Qaeda 9. fatwa: Religious decree that Muslims had a duty to wage a holy war against U.S. citizens 10. In what ways does Al-Qaeda, its religious and political views, and its methods pose a challenge to Muslims? How to express disagreements with U.S. gov t policies yet renounce terrorism
11. In what ways does Al-Qaeda, its religious and political views, and its methods pose a challenge to Americans? Ability to distinguish difference between peaceful but unfamiliar practices & principles of Muslims & abuse of Islam by terrorists State Support for Terrorism 12. List three ways in which states (particularly in the Middle East in recent decades) have given support to terrorists. 1. Providing sanctuary for terrorists wanted by other countries; 2. Supplying weapons, money & intelligence for terrorists; 3. Planning attacks using terrorists 13. Note in which of the above ways each of the following states has supported terrorism and then briefly describe it. State Libya Type of Support (from question #12) Planning attacks using terrorists Brief Summary of Issues - Libyan gov t sponsored bombing of German nightclub - Libyans planted bombs that killed people on Pan Am flight over Scotland & UTA flight over Niger Afghanistan Provided Sanctuary Taliban sheltered bin-laden & Al- Qaeda Iraq Supplying Weapons Belief by U.S. that they were creating weapons of mass destruction Iran Provided Sanctuary Believed by U.S. to have harbored members of Al-Qaeda