Unit IV. Political Patterns and Processes

This unit addresses the political organization of the world. Building on knowledge of populations and cultural patterns learned in previous units, students examine the contemporary political map and the impact of territoriality on political power and on issues of identity for peoples. Students also look at the different types of political boundaries, how they function, and their scale, as they consider both internal and international boundaries. The interplay of political and cultural influences may cause tensions over boundaries to arise, such as sovereign states making claims on what other states consider to be international waters.  Students also examine forms of government and how forces such as devolution may alter the functioning of political units and cause changes to established political boundaries. Separatist and independence movements that challenge the sovereignty of political states may arise from economic and nationalistic forces, as seen in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Spain. The influence of supranational organizations such as the United Nations or European Union and their role in global affairs presents another challenge to nationalist sovereignty. Student understanding of cultural patterns and processes helps inform their understanding of the consequences of centrifugal and centripetal forces.

Unit IV Questions

1. What is a “state”?
2. What is a “nation”?
3. What is a “stateless nation?” Give an example.
4. What is a “multinational state”? Give an example.
5. What is a “multistate nation”? Give an example.
6. What is an “autonomous region”? Give an example.
7. When and where did the concept of the modern nation-state begin?
8. What role did colonialism and imperialism have on the spread of nationalism?
9. What role did colonialism and imperialism have on contemporary political boundaries?
10. Give an example of a post-World War II independence movement and describe the effects that movement has had on the political map.
11. What effects did the end of the Cold War have on the world balance of power?
12. Describe the Heartland Theory.
13. Describe the Rimland Theory.
14. Describe the Organic Theory.
15. Define and describe territoriality.
16. What roles do international boundaries play?
17. What is the Law of the Sea?
18. What are the roles of internal boundaries?
19. What is gerrymandering?
20. Compare and contrast unitary states and federal states.
21. Draw an example of each of the following types of state morphology: compact, elongated perforated, fragmented, and prorupted.
22. What is supranationalism?
23. How do economies of scale lead to supranationalism?
24. How do trade agreements lead to supranationalism?
25. How do military alignments lead to supranationalism?
26. How do transnational environmental challenges lead to supranationalism?
27. What is the UN?
28. What is NATO?
29. What is the EU?
30. What is ASEAN?
31. What is NAFTA?
32. What is devolution?
33. What factors can lead to devolution?
34. Compare and contrast the three types of devolution: autonomous regions, subnational political-territorial units, Balkanization. Give an example of each type.
35. How have advances in communication facilitated devolution?
36. How have advances in communication facilitated supranationalism?
37. How have advances in communication facilitated democratization?
38. What is a centrifugal force in political geography?
39. How can political factors create centrifugal force?
40. How can economic factors create centrifugal force?
41. How can cultural factors create centrifugal force?
42. What is a centripetal force in political geography?
43. How can political factors create centripetal force?
44. How can economic factors create centripetal force?
45. How can cultural factors create centripetal force?