Why are independent states considered the building blocks of the world political map?
What are the various political entities?
How do the concepts of sovereignty, nation-states, and self-determination shape the contemporary world?
How have colonialism, imperialism, independence movements, and devolution along national lines influenced contemporary political boundaries?
How is political power expressed geographically?
What is territoriality?
What are the various types of political boundaries?
What is the purpose of boundaries, and why are they often contested?
Why is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea significant?
How do voting districts, redistricting, and gerrymandering affect election results on various scales?
What is the difference between a federal and unitary state?
What is devolution, and what are some factors that can lead to devolution?
How have advances in communication technology facilitated devolution, supranationalism, and democratization?
What are some examples of supranational organizations, and how can they challenge state sovereignty?
What is the difference between centrifugal and centripetal forces, and how does these concepts apply at the state scale?
I can...
Identify and define the different types of political entities.
Explain the processes that have shaped contemporary political geography.
Describe the concepts of political power and territoriality as used by geographers.
Define types of political boundaries used by geographers.
Explain the nature and function of international and internal boundaries.
Define federal and unitary states.
Explain how federal and unitary states affect spatial organization.
Define factors that lead to the devolution of states.
Explain how political, economic, cultural, and technological changes challenge state sovereignty.
Explain how the concepts of centrifugal and centripetal forces apply at the state scale.
Standards
SS.Geog2.a.h - Evaluate population policies by analyzing how governments affect population change.
SS.Geog3.b.h - Analyze the role of supranational organizations (e.g., NAFTA, NATO, UN).
SS.Geog5.a.h - Analyze the intentional and unintentional spatial consequences of human actions on the environment at the local, state, tribal, regional, country, and world levels.