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AP Human Geo

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Unit 4

4.5 The Function of Political Boundaries

8 min read•january 7, 2023

Amanda DoAmaral

Riya Patel

Amanda DoAmaral

Riya Patel

AP Human Geography 🚜

320 resources

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Types of Boundary Disputes

A boundary dispute is a disagreement over the location or demarcation of a border between two or more countries, states, or other political or geographic entities. Boundary disputes can arise for a variety of reasons, such as changes in political or economic conditions, conflicting interpretations of treaties or agreements, or competing claims to natural resources or strategic territory.

Boundary disputes can be difficult to resolve, as they often involve complex legal, historical, and cultural issues. In some cases, boundary disputes may be resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, while in other cases, they may escalate into military conflict or other forms of violence. Boundary disputes have been a source of conflict and tension in many parts of the world and have contributed to the outbreak of wars and other violent conflicts.

Boundaries have always been fluid, so they can also bring about disputes.

Here are a few examples of different types of boundary disputes:

Territorial disputes: Territorial disputes involve conflicting claims to specific pieces of land or territory. These disputes can arise over islands, border regions, or other areas that are perceived to have strategic or economic value.
Maritime boundary disputes: Maritime boundary disputes involve conflicting claims to the rights to explore and exploit the resources of the oceans and seas. These disputes can arise over the location of maritime boundaries, the rights to fish in certain areas, or the rights to extract oil, gas, or other resources from the seabed.
Boundary disputes between states or provinces: Boundary disputes can also occur within countries, between states or provinces that have overlapping or conflicting claims to territory. These disputes may involve issues such as the location of state or provincial borders, the rights to natural resources, or the allocation of tax revenues.
Boundary disputes between indigenous groups: In some cases, boundary disputes may involve conflicting claims to land or territory by indigenous groups. These disputes may be fueled by a sense of historical or cultural attachment to the land or by a desire to protect traditional ways of life.
Boundary disputes between private landowners: Boundary disputes can also occur between private landowners, particularly in cases where the location of property lines is unclear or in dispute. These disputes may involve issues such as the rights to use or access certain land, the rights to natural resources, or the rights to build on or develop certain property.

However, the most important types of disputes to know for the AP Human Geography test are:

Definitional disputes are disagreements on how to interpret legal documents. For example, Chile and Argentina are separated by the physical boundary of the Andes Mountains. However, there are disputes on the southern end because they are sparsely populated and were never clearly defined.

Locational disputes occur when entities have different ideas of where a boundary should be placed. An example of this was Post-WWI where the boundary between Poland and Germany was disputed. While the line was drawn in the Treaty of Versailles, there were ethnic Germans on the Polish side, which led Germany to dispute the boundary, especially as the Nazis began expanding.
Locational disputes can lead to Irredentism, which is a type of expansionism when one country annexes another because it has cultural ties to the population. This is exactly what the Nazis did by annexing Austria under the pretext that ethnic Germans in the area gave them the right to reclaim the territory as their own.

Operational disputes involve a discrepancy about how the boundary functions. During the Syrian conflict that began in 2011, refugees fled in droves to neighboring countries (an example of Ravenstein’s Laws of Migrations). The drastic flood of people escaping the war created disputes about who would be responsible for them, a responsibility that mostly fell on neighboring countries.

Allocational disputes involve natural resources. Because boundaries create an invisible wall from land to sky, this also draws a line between any resources discovered underneath the land. In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait on the premise that they were drilling oil on the Iraqi side, breaking the limit of the boundary.

The Law of the Sea

The Law of the Sea addresses issues with states and their water boundaries. The Territorial Sea includes 12 miles of complete sovereignty away from the coast. The Contiguous Zone has limited sovereignty up to 24 nautical miles from the coast. The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is up to 200 nautical miles to explore in and extract materials from. High Seas is anywhere past the EEZ.

Source: Transport Geography

Important Definitions

Boundary

A boundary is a line or border that marks the limits or edges of an area or entity. Boundaries can be physical, such as a fence or wall, or they can be conceptual, such as a line on a map or a legal demarcation.

Boundaries serve a variety of purposes, including defining and separating different areas or entities, establishing ownership or jurisdiction, and regulating the movement or behavior of people or other entities. Boundaries can be established for a variety of reasons, such as to protect property or resources, to mark the limits of a political entity, or to distinguish one area from another.

Boundaries can be a source of conflict or tension, particularly when there are disputes over their location or when they are used to restrict the movement or rights of certain individuals or groups. As a result, the establishment and management of boundaries can be a complex and sensitive issue in many contexts.

Dispute

A dispute is a disagreement or difference of opinion between two or more parties. Disputes can arise in a variety of contexts, such as in personal relationships, in business or commercial transactions, or in the context of public policy or international relations. Disputes may involve issues such as money, property, rights, or values, and they may involve conflicting interests or viewpoints.

Disputes can be resolved in a number of ways, including through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration. In some cases, disputes may be resolved through legal proceedings, such as a lawsuit or a court ruling. It is often in the interests of the parties involved to try to resolve disputes peacefully, as disputes can lead to conflict, hostility, and resentment if they are not resolved.

Irredentism

Irredentism is a political movement or ideology that seeks to reclaim and incorporate into a country territory that is seen as historically or culturally linked to that country, but which is currently controlled by another state. Irredentism is often fueled by a sense of national identity or by a belief that the territory in question should be reunited with the country in order to be "complete" or "whole."

Irredentist movements have been a source of conflict and tension in many parts of the world, as they often involve claims to territory that is already inhabited by other people. These movements can lead to disputes over borders, and in some cases, to military conflict or other forms of violence.

Irredentism is distinct from expansionism, which is a policy or ideology of territorial expansion, and from imperialism, which is the policy or practice of extending a country's power and influence over other countries or territories.

The Law of the Sea

The Law of the Sea is a body of international law that governs the rights and responsibilities of states in relation to the use of the oceans. The Law of the Sea provides a framework for the management of marine natural resources, the settlement of disputes, and the protection of the marine environment. It includes provisions on the rights and duties of states in the use of the oceans, the delimitation of maritime boundaries, the exploitation of marine resources, and the protection of the marine environment.

The Law of the Sea is codified in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which was adopted in 1982 and has been ratified by more than 160 states. The UNCLOS defines the rights and responsibilities of states in relation to the use of the oceans and establishes rules for the settlement of disputes. The UNCLOS also establishes a framework for the management of marine resources, including provisions on the rights of states to explore and exploit the resources of the seabed, the rights of states to fish in the high seas, and the rights of states to protect the marine environment.

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

An Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a sea zone over which a state has the right to exploit, conserve, and manage the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of the seabed, subsoil, and water column. The EEZ is a maritime zone established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that extends 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from the baseline of a coastal state. Within the EEZ, the coastal state has the right to explore and exploit, and conserve and manage, the natural resources of the seabed, subsoil, and water column, and to establish and use artificial islands, installations, and structures.

The EEZ is an important concept in international law, as it establishes the rights and responsibilities of states in relation to the use of the oceans and the exploitation of marine resources. The EEZ provides a framework for the management of marine resources and the protection of the marine environment, and it plays a role in shaping the balance of power between states in the global maritime system.

High Seas

The high seas are the waters and oceans outside the territorial jurisdiction of any individual state. The high seas are considered to be a global commons, and are governed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The UNCLOS establishes the rights and responsibilities of states in relation to the use of the high seas, and provides a framework for the management of marine resources and the protection of the marine environment. Under the UNCLOS, states have the right to explore and exploit the resources of the high seas, subject to certain rules and conditions. The UNCLOS also establishes the right of states to engage in activities such as scientific research, freedom of navigation, and the laying of submarine cables and pipelines on the high seas.

The high seas are a vital component of the global maritime system, and play a role in shaping the balance of power between states. They are also an important source of food, minerals, and other resources, and are home to a diverse array of marine life.

Browse Study Guides By Unit

🗺Unit 1 – Thinking Geographically

👪Unit 2 – Population & Migration

🕌Unit 3 – Cultural Geography

🗳Unit 4 – Political Geography

4.1Introduction to Political Geography

4.2Political Processes

4.3Political Power and Territoriality

4.4Defining Political Boundaries

4.5The Function of Political Boundaries

4.6Internal Boundaries

4.7Forms of Governance