Unit 4: Political Boundaries

boundary evolution

the technical wording of a treaty that legally defines where a boundary should be located

delimitation

cartographers mark off the boundary form the evolution

demarcation

physical objects are placed to mark the boundary

international

limits of each state’s jurisdiction and authority

frontier

geographic area in which no state exercises complete control

international law of the sea

foreign countries cannot have their military ships travel within 12 miles of the coast of another country

exclusive economic zones (EEZs)

each country has the right to explore for resource up to 200 miles off their shores

350 mile zone

economic zone expandable to the maximum extent of 350 nautical miles(only if no other country waters are in the way)

median-line principle

if two countries are separated by less than 400 miles of water, the dividing line will be an equidistant point between the two

global commons

areas in which no one country has the right to extract natural resources

intrastate boundaries

boundaries within a nation that divide it into providence, prefectures, departments, etc.

what are the four types of political boundaries?

antecedent, subsequent, superimposed, relic

antecedent

drawn before an area is well populated

subsequent

drawn after an area has been settled

superimposed

forced on an existing cultural landscape, country, or people by a conquering or colonizing power that is unconcerned about preexisting cultural patterns

relic

former boundary line that no longer functions as such, but is still marked by landscape features or differences on the two sides

what are the types of boundary conflicts?

definitional, territorial, allocational, operational, locational

definitional conflicts

disagreement over how a boundary was delineated or interpretation of the historical documents that defined the border

territorial conflicts

disagreement over the ownership of a region, often because a boundary being superimposed that divides an ethnically homogeneous population

allocational conflicts

fighting over mineral deposits, fertile land, fishing grounds, or water sources lying in or under border areas

operational conflicts

disagreement over policies to be applied along a boundary, such as immigration, customs, land use, etc.

locational conflicts

conflict is over the location of the boundary, not the definition (when a river boundary changes course)

electoral geography

analysis of how boundaries are drawn around voting districts, and the spatial patterns created by election results and their relationship to the socioeconomic characteristics of voters

redistricting

redrawing electoral and legislative district borders to reflect changes in population after every census

electoral college

electors from each state proportional to and representative of that state’s population vote for a candidate they believe best represents their constituency’s choice

popular vote

amount of the individual votes for a candidate within a given area

gerrymandering

the practice of drawing the boundaries of voting districts so as to unfairly favor one political party over another, to fragment voting blocs, or to achieve other non-democratic objectives