Level 71
1 day < 1 min
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Population and Cities of the World

Political Geography and Territorial Boundaries

An overview of how political borders are drawn, recognized, disputed, and maintained across the world, from colonial-era partitions to modern maritime claims and frozen conflicts.

60-Second Review

Express review

A condensed, point-by-point summary of the module, for reviewing right before a test or exam.

  1. What Makes a State, and How Borders Form. Statehood, recognition, and the different ways political borders are drawn across the world.
  2. South Asian and Middle Eastern Border Disputes. Partition-era and ongoing border disputes across South Asia and the Middle East.
  3. Contested Sovereignty and Enclaves. Disputed sovereignty, enclaves, exclaves, landlocked states, and Europe's microstates.
  4. Frozen Conflicts and Divided States. Frozen conflicts, breakaway states, and the divided cases of Taiwan and Korea.
  5. Maritime Boundaries and the Law of the Sea. How maritime borders, UNCLOS, and disputes over seas and Antarctica are governed.
  6. Geopolitical Chokepoints. The narrow straits and canals that concentrate the world's seaborne trade.
  7. Regional Political Geographies. A regional tour of contested political geography from the Balkans to the Pacific.
  8. Devolution, Secession, and Shifting Borders. Devolution, secession, supranational unions, and shifting post-Soviet borders.

This module continues after "Cities and Urban Geography" in the syllabus. If you haven't reviewed it yet, it may help set the context.

Key points

Visual module map

1What Makes a State, and How Borders Form
2Contested Sovereignty and Enclaves
3Maritime Boundaries and the Law of the Sea
4Geopolitical Chokepoints
5Devolution, Secession, and Shifting Borders

Alternative visual view: a simplified sequence of some of the module's key points, in their order within the syllabus.

Your module mastery

0% (overall measurement)
Approximate breakdown by skill
Understanding of historiographical debate0%

A rough estimate based on the key points reviewed, not an exact measurement of actual mastery.

Final test

You need to review all key points to unlock the final test.

Optional mini-games

Extra practice, with no penalty, to reinforce the module's content.

Review Flashcards

Review each key point with cards that flip to reveal the summary.

Memory

Match each concept with its definition in as few attempts as possible.

Time Attack

Answer true or false statements before time runs out.

Chronological Order

Put the module's key points back in their original order.

Further reading

Bibliography and cited sources used to create this module.

  • Flint, C. and Taylor, P. J. (2018). Political Geography: World-Economy, Nation-State and Locality. 7th ed. Abingdon: Routledge.
  • Jones, M., Jones, R., and Woods, M. (2004). An Introduction to Political Geography: Space, Place and Politics. Abingdon: Routledge.
  • Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/
  • United Nations. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982). https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/unclos_e.pdf
  • Permanent Court of Arbitration. The South China Sea Arbitration (Republic of the Philippines v. People's Republic of China), Case No. 2013-19, Award of 12 July 2016. https://pca-cpa.org/en/cases/7/
  • Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty. The Antarctic Treaty (1959) and the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (1991). https://www.ats.aq/