EQ 8.3

HOW ARE BOUNDARIES ESTABLISHED AND WHY DO BOUNDARY DISPUTES OCCUR?

Boundary –

a vertical plane that cuts through the rocks below and the airspace above, dividing one state territory from another.

• • •

Types of boundaries/ Shapes of States

Types of boundaries –

Political boundaries

• •

Physical boundaries Geometric boundaries

Boundaries inside states –

federal states

–

Trend toward federal government

–

Electoral geography

Shapes of states –

Five basic shapes

–

Landlocked states

Establishing Boundaries

• • • • Define: through treaty or legal document.

Delimit: by drawing it on a map Demarcate: visible means of marking the boundary on the ground.

Administrate: how the boundary will be maintained

Great Wall of China

The wall was built in the 3rd century B.C. and extended during the following century.

• Five basic shapes • Compact = efficient – distance from center to any boundary does not vary significantly • Good communications likely • Elongated = potential isolation – states with long or narrow shape, ex. Chile • Trouble with communications likely • Prorupted = access or disruption – large protruding extension (access to resource or separate 2 states sharing a boundary) • Fragmented = problematic – several discontinuous pieces of territory, ex. Indonesia or Russia/Kaliningrad • Separated by water or an intervening territory • Perforated = state that completely surrounds another state, ex. South Africa surrounds Lesotho • Landlocked states – lacks direct outlet to sea, surrounded by other countries—created problem of international trade

Cambodia: Compact

A Compact state is a state in which the distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly.* Compact states are very efficient and easy to run if the capital is placed in the center of the state.

* Definitions from An Intro to Human Geography.

Namibia: Prorupted

An otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension.* Prorupted states can benefit if the proruption leads to a resource such as water. It can also work as a separator between two sparring states.

Chile: Elongated

A state with a long, narrow shape.* These types of states are harder to manage because of the possibility of extreme distance form the capital and poor communication within.

Note: Italy and Norway are considered fragmented states also.

Indonesia: Fragmented

A state that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory.*These types of states are a little more difficult to govern because of the isolation between areas.

Note: Many states are fragmented as well as another shape.

South Africa: Perforated

A state that completely surrounds another one.* Perforated states are somewhat hard to govern because the two states involved must be agreeable with each other.

The interior state is usually landlocked and dependant upon the outer state to support it.

Note: Italy is considered a fragmented state also.

• • Types of boundaries – Physical • Desert boundaries • Mountain boundaries • Water boundaries – Cultural • Geometric boundaries • Religious Boundaries • Language Boundaries • Ethnic Boundaries Frontiers – a zone where no state exercises complete political authority

Boundaries are of two types: physical and cultural

• • • Neither type of boundary is better or more “natural,” and many boundaries are a combination of both types.

Important physical features on Earth’s surface can make good boundaries because they are easily seen, both on a map and on the ground. Three types of physical elements serve as boundaries between states: – mountains, – deserts, – and water.

Cultural Boundaries

• • The boundaries between some states coincide with differences in ethnicity. Other cultural boundaries are drawn according to geometry; they simply are straight lines drawn on a map.

Ethnic Groups in Southwest Asia

Fig. 8-14: Ethnic boundaries do not match country boundaries, especially in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.