Control and Influence of State Shapes

The shape of a state controls the state's length of its boundaries with other states as well as the amount of communication and the amount of conflict within the state.

A shape (of a state) can also affect internal administration and social unity.

The five basic shape states are: compact, prorupted, elongated, fragmented, and perforated.

<p>Compact states are most known for their efficiency.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The ideal compact state is a state that is shaped like a complete circle with the capital city located in the exact middle of this state.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>One political advantage of a compact state lies within the fact that a compact state can easily establish good communications within said state.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>One economic advantage of a compact state is that the trade of raw materials could be easily established through the use of roads, railroads, airports, etc.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>One social advantage of a compact state is the fact that most people that reside within the compact state share a similar language and/or religion.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>3 examples of compact states are Burundi, Kenya, and Rwanda.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A prorupted state is a compact state with a proruption in it.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Prorupted states are created to give states access to a resource and to separate states that otherwise would have shared a boundary.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The four steps to establish boundaries are to define, delimit, demarcate, and administrate the boundary.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An example of a proruption being created in order to separate states can be seen with the creation of a proruption east of Afghanistan.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An example of a proruption being created in order to give states access to a resource can be seen when Germany carved a proruption to the east in Namibia (known as the Caprivi Strip).</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>One social implication of a prorupted state is that the proruption could separate ethnic groups.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An elongated state is a state with a long and narrow shape.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Some examples of elongated states include Chile, Italy, Malawi, and Gambia.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The competition among European countries that occurred in the 19th century to establish colonies in Africa is called the Berlin Conference.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Gambia belonged to Britain and Senegal became French after the Berlin Conference.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The border divided families and ethnic groups.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>One positive outcome was that trade moved freely along this border.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A political challenge is that a capital at either pole might create advantages for surrounding cities and disadvantages for cities farther away.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An economic challenge is that trade and movement of opportunities may be limited due to transportation difficulties.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A social challenge is that different regions of the state may speak different languages.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An economic advantage is that different regions could grow different crops leading to agricultural diversity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A political advantage is that different political ideas could come together.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A political disadvantage is that protecting a large, narrow state may be hard.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A fragmented state is a type of state that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>All states that have offshore islands are fragmented states.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The two types of fragmented states are those with areas separated by water and those separated by an intervening state.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A social disadvantage is that fragmentation hinders communication and makes integration of people nearly impossible.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Indonesia manages this by encouraging migration from denser fragments to more isolated fragments.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An economic disadvantage is that intervening nations/waters could make importing/exporting goods harder.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A political disadvantage is that the fragmentation creates centrifugal forces due to the difficulty in uniting different islands.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Some examples include the United States, Canada, and Russia.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<ul> <li>Economic Pro: They can grow more crops due to differing temperatures.</li> <li>Economic Pro: More EEZs for exporting oils and fish.</li> <li>Political Con: Difficult communication for those living far from the capital.</li> <li>Social Con: Different ethnic groups may be isolated.</li> </ul> Signup and view all the answers

<ul> <li>Economic Pro: More access to resources due to proruption.</li> <li>General Pro: Direct access to other states via roads and railroads.</li> <li>Social Con: Proruption may separate ethnic groups.</li> </ul> Signup and view all the answers

<ul> <li>Social Con: Fragmentation hinders communication.</li> <li>Economic Pro: Nautical miles are spread out due to the EEZ.</li> <li>Political Con: The capital can be distant from certain areas.</li> <li>Social Con: Broken communication across regions.</li> <li>Political Con: Weaker government in law establishment.</li> </ul> Signup and view all the answers