Chapter 8, Key 2Why Boundaries Cause Problems

1. Compact State: (circle shape)

• the distance from any point of the country to its center is about the same.

• supposed to provide the most geographic stability

• Does not guarantee peace. Can still have ethnic conflicts and civil wars

• e.g. Poland, Iceland, Democratic Republic of the Congo,

Zimbabwe

CIA Factbook. online

2. Elongated

• Can create separatist areas due to distance from center or core (capital or economic center

• Vietnam, Chile, Norway

Hello down there!

3. Prorupted States• An area that extends

from a compact area • Access

or Disruption

• Can create room for factions geographically– Southern Thailand

4. Perforated State• broken by another

country• 1. exclaves:

separated from the state by another state– e.g. Azerbaijan

(Fellmann 347)

• 2. enclaves: surrounded by another state– e.g. Christian

Armenia– b. e.g. South Africa-

Lesotho

US question next slide

Practice Analysis of Shape

• What US state is an exclave?

• The same state is also a prorupt state.

• What shape best describes California?

Elongated

5. Fragmented State• consisting of 2 or more

pieces• can make some

interactions within the country more difficult

• Two types– Fragmented by Water

• Indonesia, East Timor, West Papua,

Philippines – Fragmented by Land

• Alaska, Angola, Russia, and India/Bangladesh

Landlocked States1. States that lack a direct outlet

to the sea are called Landlocked

2. Africa, where 14 of the 54 countries are landlocked

3. During colonization, Europeans built railroads to connect to the sea. Now many of these railroads travel through many independent states so cooperation is important

4. Access to the ocean is important because it facilitates trade of bulky goods. Landlocked states must depend on other countries for use of seaports.

Rubenstein

What is a boundary?

• Boundary: a vertical plane that cuts through the airspace and ground to determine ownership

Rubenstein

Types of BoundariesPhysical Boundaries

1. Mountain boundaries a. Sparsely populated and hard to

crossb. Not always peaceful. Chile and

Argentina almost fought a war over where to draw the boundary along the Andes Mountains

2. Desert Boundariesa. Also permanent and sparsely

populated and hard to cross.b. Sahara desert has formed a

natural boundary between North African countries and those just south of the desert Fellman

3. Water Boundariesa. Rivers, lakes and

oceansb. Visible on maps, don’t

change much. offer good protection.

c. Problems arise when rivers, shore line changes, or how far the boundary is from the shore.

d. In 1983 most countries signed the Law of the Sea, which recognized a 12 nautical miles off shore boundary and exclusive fish rights of 200 miles.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Zonmar-en.svg

B. Cultural boundaries• Geometric boundaries

– Geometric boundary: straight line boundary totally unrelated to physical features

• Boarders with Canada and many western states

• Religious boundaries (Ethnic)– Boundaries often coincide with religion, but rarely created

because of religion– Exceptions are South Asia and Ireland blog.proud-geek.com 

• Language boundaries– Languages have long been a means of distinguishing

nationalities, especially in Europe– These boarders, although slightly redrawn after WWII

remain largely in place today. Yugoslavia and the Czechs and Slovaks are only exceptions

• Green Line boundary– Cyprus. Line of UN control or a boundary where there

is a buffer zone

IV. Boundary Disputes

A. Territorial / Definitional

-Whose Land is it? Focus on legal language of the agreement

B. Positional / Locational => 1991

1. focus on delimitation and demarcation of the border2. the interpretation of the definition is the dispute3. Saudi Arabia vs. Yemen (oil rich border not covered in the treaty)

Rubenstein

IV. Boundary Disputes

Positional / Locational1. focus on delimitation and demarcation of the border2. the interpretation of the definition is the dispute3.Saudi Arabia vs. Yemen (oil rich border not covered in the treaty)4.Chile vs. Argentina

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IV. Boundary Disputes

C. Functional / Operational Border Dispute

1. way boundary should function2. how should each side handle cross-border migration

The border wall between Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Mexico

http://revolutionaryfrontlines.wordpress.com

Boundary Disputes• D. Allocational

Border Dispute– 1. dispute over

boundary due to location of resources

– 2. water supplies - Colorado River

www.newworldencyclopedia.org

Various boundary disputes - what type are they?

• Botswana has built electric fences to stem the thousands of Zimbabweans who flee to find work and escape political persecution.

• Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002 Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but despite international intervention, mutual animosities, accusations, and armed posturing have prevented demarcation; Ethiopia refuses to withdraw to the delimited boundary until claimed technical errors made by the EEBC that ignored "human geography" are addressed, including the award of Badme, the focus of the 1998-2000 war.

• All of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands.

Source: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/fields/2070.html

Functional

Territorial and Positional

Resource