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Political Geography
Learning Outcomes
After reading, studying, and discussing the chapter, students should be able to:
Learning Outcome 8.1.1: Explain the three eras of rapid growth in UN membership.
Learning Outcome 8.1.2: Explain why it is difficult to determine whether some territories are states.
Learning Outcome 8.1.3: Explain the concept of nation-state and how it differs from earlier ways to govern.
Learning Outcome 8.2.1: Understand the difference between a nation-state and a multinational state.
Learning Outcome 8.2.2: Describe the differences among states formerly in the Soviet Union.
Learning Outcome 8.2.3: Describe patterns of distribution of ethnicities in Russia and the Caucasus.
Learning Outcome 8.2.4: Explain the concept of colonies and describe their current distribution.
Learning Outcome 8.3.1: Describe the types of physical boundaries between states.
Learning Outcome 8.3.2: Describe the types of cultural boundaries between states.
Learning Outcome 8.3.3: Describe five shapes of states.
Learning Outcome 8.3.4: Describe differences among the three regime types.
Learning Outcome 8.3.5: Explain the concept of gerrymandering and three ways it is done.
Learning Outcome 8.4.1: Describe the principle alliances in Europe during the Cold War era.
Learning Outcome 8.4.2: Describe the principle economic alliances in Europe in the period since World War II.
Learning Outcomes 8.4.3: Explain the concept of terrorism.
Learning Outcomes 8.4.4: Describe ways that states have sponsored terrorism.
Chapter 8 Outline
Key Issue 1: Where Are States Distributed? Political geography is concerned with the study of the way governments
organize and administer space on Earth’s surface, and especially the geographic dimensions of conflict. One of Earth’s
most fundamental cultural characteristic is the division of our planet’s surface into a collection of spaces occupied by
individual countries. Wars have broken out in recent years—both between small neighboring states and among cultural
groups within countries—over political control of territory. Old countries have been broken up into collections of smaller
ones. Geographers use geographic methods to examine the causes of political change and instability and to anticipate
potential trouble spots around the world.
A state is an area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government that has control over its internal
and foreign affairs. It occupies a defined territory on Earth’s surface and contains a permanent population. A state has
sovereignty, which means independence from control of its internal affairs by other states.
The United Nations The most important global organization is the United Nations. The United Nations has provided a
forum for the discussion of international problems. On, occasion the UN has intervened in conflicts between or within
member states, authorizing military and peacekeeping actions. The UN seeks to promote international cooperation to
address global economic problems, promote human rights, and provide humanitarian relief. The UN members can vote to
establish a peacekeeping force and request states to contribute military forces. The UN tries very hard to maintain strict
neutrality in separating warring factions.
The League of Nations was the world’s first attempt at in international peacekeeping organization. The League of Nations
was never an effective peacekeeping organization because it could not stop aggression by these states against neighboring
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countries. The United States never joined the League of Nations and it fell apart in the 1930s. The United Nations was
created at the end of World War II and only had 51 member states. The number of UN members reached 193 in 2011.
Korea: One State or Two? Not all states are universally recognized or well defined. Korea was divided in half into two
occupation zones by the United States and the former Soviet Union after they defeated Japan in World War II. The
division of these zones became permanent in the late 1940s, when the two superpowers established separate governments
and withdrew their armies. In 1992, North Korea and South Korea were admitted to the United Nations as separate
countries. Progress toward reuniting Korea was halted by North Korea’s decision to build nuclear weapons.
China and Taiwan: One State or Two? Most countries consider China (officially the People’s Republic of China) and
Taiwan (officially the Republic of China) as separate and sovereign states. China does not consider Taiwan to be a
separate state but part of China. The question of who was the legitimate government of China plagued U.S. officials in the
1950s and 1960s. The United States considered the Nationalists in Taiwan the official government of China until 1971.
The United Nations voted that year to transfer China’s seat in the UN from the Nationalists in Taiwan to the Communist
government in China. Taiwan is now the most populous state not in the United Nations.
Western Sahara (Sahrawi Republic) Most African countries consider the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic a
sovereign state. Spain controlled the territory until withdrawing from the area in 1976. An independent Sahrawi Republic
was declared. Morocco and Mauritania annexed the territory, but Mauritania decided to withdraw three years later.
Morocco now claims most of the territory and has built a wall around it to keep the rebels out. The United Nations has
tried but failed to reach a resolution in this situation.
Polar Regions: Many Claims The South Pole contains the only large landmass on Earth’s surface that is not part of a
state. These states claim portion of the South Pole: Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, and the United
Kingdom. Chile and the United Kingdom have conflicting and overlapping claims. The United States, Russia, and other
countries do not recognize the claims of any countries in Antarctica. States may establish research stations there for
scientific investigations, but no military activities are permitted.
Ancient States The state concept developed in the Middle East. The first states were territories surrounding cities. A citystate is a sovereign state that comprises a town and the surrounding countryside. Walls clearly delineated the boundaries
of the city. The city controlled the agricultural land surrounding the city that produced food for the urban residents. The
countryside also provided the city with an outer line of defense against attack by other city-states. One city may gain
military dominance over the others and form an empire.
Medieval States The largest unified political territory of the preindustrial times was the Roman Empire. The Roman
Empire controlled most of Europe, North Africa, and Southwest Asia. The empire comprised 38 provinces, each using the
same set of laws that had been created in Rome. The Roman Empire eventually collapsed in the fifth century. The
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European portion of the empire was fragmented into a large number of estates owned by competing kings, dukes, barons,
and other nobles. Victorious nobles seized control of defeated rivals’ estates. A handful of powerful kings emerged as
rulers over a large numbers of these European estates beginning about the year 1100. The consolidation of neighboring
estates under the unified control of a king formed the basis for the development of states.
Nation-states in Europe A nation-state is a state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity.
To preserve and enhance distinctive cultural characteristics, ethnicities seek to govern themselves without interference.
The concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves is known as self-determination. By the early twentieth
century most of Western Europe was made up of nation-states.
After World War I the Allied leaders used language as the main criteria to create new states in Europe and adjust the
boundaries of existing ones. Boundaries were drawn around the states of Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, and Romania to
conform closely to the distribution of Bulgarian, Hungarian, Polish, and Romanian speakers. During the 1930s, the Nazis
claimed that all Germanic speaking parts of Europe constituted one nationality and should be unified into one state. The
Nazis invaded Austria and the German-speaking part of Czechoslovakia. It was not until the Nazis invaded Poland
(clearly not a German speaking country) that France and England tried to stop them.
Key Issue 2: Why Are Nation-states Difficult to Create?
Nation-states in Europe Denmark and Slovenia are close to being examples of true nation-states. Danes make up 90
percent of the population in Denmark. The Danes have a strong sense of unity that derives from shared cultural
characteristics and language. Slovenia was a republic within Yugoslavia that became independent in 1991. Slovenes
comprise 83 percent of the population. The relatively close boundaries between the boundaries of the Slovene ethnic
group and the country of Slovenia has promoted the country’s relative peace and stability compared to other former
Yugoslavian republics. Both Denmark’s and Slovenia’s ethnic minorities are economic migrants from other countries in
Europe.
In the twenty-first century, ethnic identity has once again become important in the creation of nation-states in much of
Europe. The breakup of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia during the 1990s gave numerous ethnicities
the opportunity to organize nation-states. These ethnic groups were no longer content to just control a local government
unit, but sought to be the majority in a completely independent nation-state. The ethnic groups with smaller populations
unfortunately found themselves existing as minorities in multinational states or divided among more than one of the new
states.
Independent Nation-states in Former Soviet Republics For decades, the many ethnicities within the Soviet Union were
unable to realize their nationalist aspirations and form independent nation-states. The Soviet Union consisted of 15
republics, based on its 15 largest ethnicities. With the breakup of the Soviet Union into 15 independent countries, a
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number of less numerous ethnicities are now divided among these states. Reasonably good examples of nation-states have
been carved out of the Baltic, European, and Central Asian republics. Peaceful nation-states have not been created in any
of the small Caucasus republics.
The Largest Multinational State: Russia Russia officially recognizes the existence of 39 nationalities, many of which
are eager for independence. Independence movements are flourishing because Russia is less willing to suppress these
movements forcibly than the Soviet Union. Particularly troublesome for the Russians are Chechens, a group of Muslims
who speak a Caucasian language and practice distinctive social customs. The Chechens declared independence in 1991,
but Russia ignored their declaration. The Russians fought hard to retain control of the territory because it contains large
petroleum deposits and they did not want other ethnicities to also try to break away.
Turmoil in the Caucasus The Caucasus region is situated between the Black and Caspian seas and gets its name from the
mountains that separate Azerbaijan and Georgia from Russia. When the Caucasus region was part of Soviet Union the
Soviet government promoted allegiance to the Soviet state and quelled disputes among ethnicities, by force if necessary.
With the breakup of the region into several independent countries, long-standing conflicts among ethnicities have erupted
into armed conflicts. Every ethnicity in the Caucasus wants to carve out a sovereign nation-state. The region’s ethnicities
have had varying degrees of success in achieving this objective, but none has fully achieved it.
Colonialism A colony is a territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than being completely independent.
Colonialism is an attempt by one country to establish settlements and impose its political, economic, and cultural
principles in another territory. European states started establishing colonies in the Western Hemisphere in the 1400s. The
European colonial era ended in the Western Hemisphere by 1824. European states then started to establish colonies in
Africa and Asia. Most African and Asian colonies became independent after World War II. The United Kingdom and
France had the largest colonial empire.
The Remaining Colonies Only a handful of colonies remain today. The U.S. Department of State lists 68 places in the
world that it calls dependencies or areas of special sovereignty. The list includes 43 with indigenous populations and 25
with no permanent population. Most current colonies are islands in the Caribbean Sea. The most populous remaining
colony is Puerto Rico, which is a commonwealth of the United States.
Key Issue 3: Why Do Boundaries Cause Problems?
A boundary is an invisible line that marks the extent of a state’s territory. Boundaries completely surround an individual
state to mark the outer limits of its territorial control and to give it a distinctive shape. Historically, frontiers rather than
boundaries separated states. A frontier is a zone where no state exercises complete political control. Frontiers between
states have been replaced by boundaries.
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Physical Boundaries Physical boundaries such as deserts, mountains, and water are all used to separate states and may be
effective in part because they represent a physical barrier to movement. Physical boundaries also make good boundaries
because they are easily seen, both on a map and on the ground.
Cultural Boundaries Two types of cultural boundaries are common—geometric and cultural. Geometric boundaries are
simply straight lines drawn on a map. Cultural boundaries such as religious boundaries and language boundaries can be
problematic because they rarely divide all individuals perfectly between each side of the boundary. An example of a
boundary reinforcing differences on either side is that of Cypress, which is divided between Turkish and Greek control.
Compact States: Efficient In a compact state, 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 and with the shortest
possible boundary to defend. A compact state has efficient communication and transportation.
Elongated States: Potential Isolation An elongated state has a long and narrow shape. Elongated states may suffer from
poor internal communications. A region located at an extreme end of the elongation might be isolated from the capital,
which is usually placed near the center.
Prorupted States: Access or Disruption An otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension is a prorupted
state. Proruptions can provide a state with access to a resource, such as water. Proruptions are also used to separate two
states that would otherwise share a boundary.
Perforated States: South Africa A state that completely surrounds another one is a perforated state. In this situation,
the state that is surrounded may face problems of dependence on, or interference from, the surrounding state. South Africa
completely surrounds the state of Lesotho.
Fragmented States: Problematic A fragmented state includes several discontinuous pieces of territory. Fragmented
states separated by water can face problems and costs associated with communications and maintaining national unity.
Fragmented states separated by an intervening state sometimes have problems dealing with the states in between the
fragments.
Landlocked States Landlocked states have difficulty engaging in international trade because they lack direct access to
the ocean. A landlocked state is completely surrounded by other countries. Landlocked states are most common in Africa,
where 14 of the continent’s 54 states have no direct access to the ocean. The prevalence of landlocked states in Africa is a
remnant of the colonial era. Landlocked states must cooperate with neighboring states that have seaports.
National Scale: Regime Types An autocracy is a country that is run according to the interests of the ruler rather than the
people. An anocracy is country that is not fully democratic or fully autocratic, but rather displays a mix of the two types.
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Democracies and autocracies differ in three essential elements: selection of leaders, citizen participation, and checks and
balances. The Arab Spring shows how the world is becoming more democratic.
Local Scale: Unitary and Federal States State organization of internal territory falls into a continuum from a unitary
state (strong central government) and a federal state (strong local and regional government). The unitary government
system works best in nation-states characterized by few internal cultural differences and a strong sense of national unity.
Smaller states are also more likely to adopt a unitary government system. Local government poses considerable authority
to adopt their own laws in a federal state. The federal system empowers different nationalities, especially if they live in
separate regions of the country. The federal system is more suitable for large states because the national capital may be
too remote to provide effective control over isolated regions.
Electoral Geography The process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power is
called gerrymandering. The boundaries separating the 435 legislative districts within the United States are redrawn
periodically to ensure that each district has approximately the same population. Boundaries must be redrawn because
migration inevitably results in some districts gaining population and losing population. The political party in control of the
state legislature naturally attempts to redraw boundaries to improve the chances of its supporters to win seats.
Key Issue 4: Why Do States Cooperate and Compete with Each Other?
Era of Two Superpowers During the Cold War era, The United States and Soviet Union were the world’s two
superpowers. To maintain strength in regions that were not contiguous to their own territory, the United States and Soviet
Union established military bases in other countries. Both superpowers repeatedly demonstrated they would use military
force if necessary to prevent an ally from becoming too independent. Because the power of the United States and Soviet
Union was so much greater than the power of all other states, the world comprised of two camps, each under the influence
of one of the superpowers.
After World War II, most European states joined one of two military alliances dominated by the superpowers-NATO
(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) or the Warsaw Pact. NATO was a military alliance among 16 democratic states,
including the United States and Canada plus 14 European states. For NATO allies, the principle objective was to prevent
the Soviet Union from overrunning West Germany and other smaller countries. The Warsaw Pact was a military
agreement among seven communist Eastern European countries to defend each other in case of attack. The Warsaw Pact
provided the Soviet Union with a buffer of allied states between it and Germany to discourage a third German invasion of
the Soviet Union in the twentieth century.
Economic Alliances in Europe Economic power is eclipsing political and military power on the world stage. The
European Union (EU) has emerged as the world’s leading superpower because it turned Europe into the world’s
wealthiest market. The main task of the European Union is to promote development within the member states through
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economic and political cooperation. The EU now has 27 member countries, and several more European countries will
likely join the EU in the next decade.
A single bank, the European Central Bank, was given responsibility for setting interest rates and minimizing inflation in
the EU countries. Most importantly, a common currency, the euro, was created for electronic transactions beginning in
1999 and in notes and coins beginning in 2002. European leaders bet that every country in the region would be stronger
economically if it replaced its national currency with the euro. For the first few years that was the case, but the future of
the euro has been called into question by the severe global recession that began in 2008. Economically strong countries,
especially Germany, have been forced to subsidize the weaker states.
Alliances in Other Regions Economic cooperation has been an important factor in the creation of international
organizations that now can be found far beyond Western Europe. Other regional political and military organizations
include the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Organization of American States, the African Union,
and the Commonwealth.
Terrorism against Americans The systematic use of violence by a group in order to intimidate a populace or coerce a
government into granting demands is considered terrorism. Terrorists attack common citizens instead of military
personnel or political figures. A terrorist considers all citizens responsible for the actions he or she opposes. It is generally
considered that terrorists operate outside of government, but this definition is problematic when applied to state sponsors
of terror. Distinguishing terrorism from other acts of political violence can also be difficult.
September 11, 2001, Attacks The United States has experienced a number of terrorist attacks since the late 1980s, but
the attacks of September 11, 2001, caused dramatic concern. The twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York
City were the two tallest buildings in the United States before they were destroyed in the attacks. The Pentagon was also
damaged. The attacks resulted in nearly 3,000 fatalities.
The al-Qaeda network led by Osama bin Laden was implicated in the 9/11 attacks. Osama bin Laden moved to
Afghanistan from Saudi Arabia in the mid-1980s to support the fight against the Soviet army and the country’s Sovietinstalled government. Osama used his several hundred million dollar inheritance to fund al-Qaeda around 1990 to unite
jihad fighters in Afghanistan. Osama left Afghanistan in 1989, and was later expelled from both Saudi Arabia and Sudan.
He returned to Afghanistan in 1994. In 1996, he issued a declaration of war against the United States because of U.S.
support for Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda is not a single unified organization and the number of people involved is unknown. In addition to the
to the original organization founded by Osama bin Laden responsible for the World Trade Center attack, al-Qaeda also
encompassed local franchises concerned with country-specific issues, as well as imitators and emulators ideologically
aligned with al-Qaeda but not financially tied to it.
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Sanctuary for Terrorists Afghanistan and (probably) Pakistan have provided sanctuary for al-Qaeda terrorists. The
Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in 1995 and imposed strict Islamic fundamentalist law on the population. The
Taliban rule came to an end in 2001, following the U.S. invasion. Destroying the Taliban was necessary in order for the
United States to go after al-Qaeda leaders who were living in Afghanistan as guests of the Taliban. The United States also
believes that Pakistan security was aware that Osama bin Laden was living in a fortified compound located in the city of
Abbottabad which is only 75 miles from Pakistan’s capital.
Supplying Terrorists The United States removed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in 2003 because the U.S. government
believed that he had biological and chemical weapons that could eventually fall into the hands of terrorists. UN experts
concluded that Iraq had these weapons at one time but destroyed them in 1991 after its Desert Storm defeat. U.S. officials
believed instead that Iraq hid the weapons, though they were never able to find them. The United States also said that
close links existed between Iraq’s government and al-Qaeda. Saddam Hussein was not an observant Muslim and did not
derive his philosophies from religious principles. The United States also accused Iran of harboring al-Qaeda members.
State Terrorist Attacks: Libya The government of Libya was accused of sponsoring a 1986 bombing of a nightclub in
Berlin, Germany, that was popular with U.S. military personnel then stationed there. Libyan agents were found to have
planted bombs on Pam Am Flight 103 that killed 270 people over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, as well as 170 people on
UTA Flight 772 over Niger in 1989.
Thinking Geographically Questions
8.1: A century ago the British geographer Halford J. Mackinder indentified a heartland in the interior of Eurasia (Europe
and Asia) that was isolated by mountain ranges and the Arctic Ocean. Surrounding the heartland was a series of fringe
areas, which geographer Nicholas Spykman later called the “rimland,” oriented toward the oceans. Mackinder argued
that whoever controlled the heartland would control Eurasia and hence the entire world. To what extent has Mackinder’s
theory been validated during the twentieth century by the creation and then the dismantling of the Soviet Union?
I don’t believe that his theory was correct at all. The Soviet Union was extremely powerful, but it has fallen apart. After
the Soviet Union collapsed, the United States became the undisputed world superpower. China will soon be equal to the
United States in economic and military power. Many experts think that China will eventually surpass the United States
and become the world’s great superpower. China is obviously located in Eurasia, but it does not control the heartland.
With the exception of Moscow and maybe a couple of other large cities in Russia, most of the country is doing very poor
economically. Russia is the only country I can think of where the life expectancy of its people is actually declining.
Alcoholism has become a huge problem in Russia. Russia is doing so bad that some people wish that the communist era
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never ended. If the Russians do end up finding large amounts of oil in the Arctic Ocean or Siberia, it could propel the
country to superpower status again.
8.2: The world has been divided into a collection of countries on the basis of the principle that ethnicities have the right of
self-determination. National identity, however, derives from economic interests as well as from such cultural
characteristics as language and religion. To what extent should a country’s ability to provide its citizens with food, jobs,
economic security, and material wealth, rather than the principle of self-determination, become the basis for dividing the
world into independent countries?
If a country can’t provide for its citizens, it should probably not become a country in the first place. When I hear about an
ethnic region of a country trying to gain independence I always think to myself, “How would this new state even survive
economically?” It is pointless for these groups to strive for autonomy if they don’t have an established economic plan.
Most of these newly established states probably expect that the United Nations will supply them with food and material
goods. That’s fine in the beginning, but they need to become self sufficient very quickly.
8.3: Given the movement toward increased local government autonomy on the one hand and increased authority for
international organizations on the other, what is the future of the nation-state? Have political and economic trends since
the 1990s strengthened the concept of the nation-state or weakened it?
I think the concept of the nation-state has been somewhat weakened since the 1990s. The World Trade Organization
compromises the power and sovereignty of individual countries because it can order changes in taxes and laws that it
considers unfair. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund conditionally loan money to certain countries which
influences the economic policies of the countries receiving the loans. The European Union has essentially made Europe
one large country. There are other international organizations like the Organization of American States in the Western
Hemisphere and the African Union that try to influence member country’s policies. Globalization has severely weakened
the power of nation-states.
8.4: In his book 1984, George Orwell envisioned the division of the world into three large unified states, held together by
technological controls. How accurately has Orwell’s vision of a global political arrangement been realized in an age of
terrorism?
Oceania was somewhat similar to NATO. Oceania’s core territories are the Western Hemisphere, the British Isles,
Australia, and Southern Africa. Eurasia was somewhat similar to the Warsaw Pact. Eurasia included all of continental
Europe and Siberia. There is no sort of super-state that has anything in common with Eastasia. There could be an alliance
between Japan, China, Korea, and other Southeast Asian countries in the distant future, but there is no planned alliance for
this region in the near future.
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Pause and Reflect Questions
8.1.1: How might UN membership substantially increase in the future beyond the current level?
It would take more nationalities seeking autonomy and breaking away from already established states. Almost every
country is a member of the UN, so it would require more countries being created. The regions of the world where these
new states would most likely occur are in Africa, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia.
8.1.2: The polar ice caps are receding with the warming of Earth. How might this affect competing territorial claims?
The United States, Canada, Russia, Norway, and Denmark (because Greenland is a Danish colony) will be fighting over
territorial rights to the Arctic Ocean. The reason all these countries are interested in establishing territorial claims in the
Arctic Ocean is because there is potentially a lot of oil underneath the ocean floor.
8.1.3: What is the importance of the Fertile Crescent in the development of religions as discussed in Chapter 6? How do
you think the development of ancient states and religions in the region are related?
When people were nomadic hunter and gathers there was never a religion that was practiced by a large number of people.
Each little wandering group had its own beliefs. People became more sedentary when plant and animal domestication
became common. Because of the agricultural surplus that the domestication of plants and animals provided, not every
person had to be actively involved in agriculture. This contributed to the development of city-states. It allowed for the
establishment of a formalized religion practiced by thousands of people.
8.2.1: Referring to Figure 7-40, where do the boundaries of Slovenia not match language boundaries?
The political boundaries do not match the languages boundaries in the extreme eastern portion of Slovenia and in a small
region in the southern portion of Slovenia.
8.2.2: To what branches of Indo-European do the principle languages of Moldova belong? How might these linguistic
differences affect politics in Moldova?
Most people in Moldova speak Romanian which is a language in the Romance branch. Since Romania shares a border
with Moldova and no other country near Moldova speaks a language in the Romance branch, it could cause Moldova to
want to become part of Romania eventually.
8.2.3: If Abkhazia and South Ossetia become independent states, how would they compare in size to microstates described
earlier in this chapter?
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Many of the microstates that were mentioned earlier in the chapter are islands. Abkhazia and South Ossetia are not islands
so they would not be your typical microstate, but their sizes would be similar.
8.2.4: What would need to change for Puerto Rico to no longer be classified as a colony of the United States?
Puerto Rico would need to either become the 51st state of the United States or become a completely independent country.
8.3.1: Where outside of Africa is an example of a physical boundary?
Chile and Argentina are separated by the crest of the Andes Mountains.
8.3.2: Where does the boundary between Canada and the United States follow physical features rather than geometry?
The United States and Canada are separated by the Great Lakes in the eastern portion of the country.
8.3.3: Where outside of Africa is an example of a landlocked state?
Bolivia is a landlocked state.
8.3.4: What region of the world appears to have the greatest concentration of autocratic regimes?
Southwest Asia and Africa have a long history of autocratic regimes.
8.3.5: How was the city of Las Vegas treated in the two maps drawn by political parties compared with the final map
drawn by the court?
The Democratic plan made Democrats more numerous than Republicans in three of the four districts. By clustering a large
share of the state’s registered Democrats in District 4, the Republican plan gave Republicans the majority of registered
voters in two of the four districts. The map drawn by the court created regularly shaped districts that minimized
gerrymandering.
8.4.1: How does the map of military alliances in Europe during the Cold War compare to the map of regime types?
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was comprised of democratic countries. The Warsaw Pact was comprised of
communist countries.
8.4.2: What might be the reaction of people in Canada, Mexico, and the United States if the three countries
simultaneously elected a North American Parliament?
I don’t think very many people would like it. People in the United States, Mexico, and Canada want autonomy and don’t
want to be overruled on major decisions by the other two countries. In 1994, when the North American Free Trade
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Agreement (NAFTA) was passed, many people were upset in all three countries. I don’t think that the scenario described
above will happen without massive and violent protests taking place.
8.4.3: How has travel in the United States been affected by the 9/11 attacks?
Traveling across the United States/Canada border and the United States/Mexico border has become much more difficult.
The waiting time to get across the border has increased substantially. Airline tickets have gone up because of the
increased TSA fees tacked on to the ticket price. Air travel has become much more of a hassle because of all the security
screening that takes place at the airports.
8.4.4: Suspected terrorists captured primarily in Afghanistan have been detained at a detention camp run by the United
States at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Do you think that suspected terrorists should be tried in a U.S. military court, brought
to the United States for civilian trials, or sent back to the country from which they were captured?
I think they should be tried in military courts. They did not commit a crime in the United States or are they U.S. citizens,
so trying them in the United States as civilians seems somewhat ridiculous. I don’t really trust the legal system in
Afghanistan so I would not try them there either.
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