Territoriality - AP Human Geography

An elongated state is a state that is long and narrow. It stretches a long way in one direction (either north-south or east-west) and a very short way in the other direction. Chile is the classic example of an elongated state because it spans thousands of miles top to bottom, but only a few hundred from side-to-side. The opposite of an elongated state is a compact state.

According to the Heartland Theory, a government that controls Central Eurasia (much of Russia, some of Eastern Europe, and the Middle East) is likely to eventually dominate much of the world. Mackinder believed that this region was central to interaction between Europe and Asia and to the rest of the world. Most contemporary geographers disagreed with him.

A perforated state is a state that completely surrounds another state. Two classic examples are Italy, which completely surrounds San Marino and the Vatican, and South Africa, which completely surrounds Lesotho. Due to the vulnerability of the surrounded state, it is often vital for that state to maintain good relations with the perforated state that surrounds them.

When a line of latitude or longitude is used to delineate the political barrier between two states we call that boundary a “geometric boundary.” One famous example of a “geometric boundary” is the 49th parallel between the United States of America and Canada.

A prorupted state is a state that has a primary body of territory that comprises most of the state, but that also has a long extension that can dramatically increase the territorial power and significance of the country. The classic example of a prorupted state is Thailand.

The geographic term for a country that is completely surrounded by the territory of more than one other country and has no direct access to the sea is “landlocked.” Being landlocked is generally considered to be a major disadvantage for a country because that country must rely on another country for any goods that are transported by sea. Many wars have been started by landlocked countries seeking to carve a path to the ocean through another country's territory.

A fragmented state is a state whose territory is physically divided into several distinct segments. This presents a unique set of problems to the government and administration of fragmented states because there are physical barriers that prevent ease of transportation and limit the control that can be wielded by the centralized government. Two classic examples of fragmented states are Indonesia and the Philippines because they are states comprised of a few big islands and dozens of smaller islands.

Alaska is an example of an exclave because it is a region of the United States that is completely separate from the main body of the United States. It can be helpful to think of the prefixes "ex-" and "en-" when considering the meaning of “exclave” and “enclave.” The prefix "ex-" means outside of and the prefix "en-" means inside of.

An enclave is the name given to a state that is completely surrounded by another state. Famous examples of enclaves include Lesotho (which is completely surrounded by South Africa) and San Marino and Vatican City (which are completely surrounded by Italy).

A “landlocked state” is a state that is completely surrounded on all sides by other countries that has no direct access to the ocean. Of these countries, only Bolivia is landlocked state. Its access to the Pacific Ocean is blocked by the territory of Chile and Peru, something that has been the source of frequent war. Russia and Germany were two famous examples of landlocked states, but they both were able to expand to gain access to the ocean at some point in their history.

An “exclave” is a region of a country that is completely separated from the main body of that country, usually by the borders of another country. One classic example of an exclave is Alaska because it is not part of the contiguous continental United States.

A compact state is a state that is reasonably small and centralized; it usually somewhat resembles a square. Compact states are usually easier for a centralized government to manage because every outlying region in the country is roughly equidistant from the center. Poland is the classic example of a compact state. The opposite of a compact state is an elongated state.

Italy is the classic example of a perforated state because it completely surrounds two other countries, San Marino and Vatican City. The name given to the region that is surrounded by the perforated state is an “enclave.” So San Marino and Vatican City are both enclaves within the perforated state of Italy.

A physical boundary is something tangible and concrete that is often used as the political barrier between two states. Mountain ranges and rivers are common examples of these throughout the world. A line of longitude, however, is a human construction, not a physical boundary. When a line of longitude or latitude is used to represent the political barrier between two states, this is known as a "geometric boundary."

Vatican City is an example of an enclave because it is an independent state that is completely surrounded by the borders of another state, in this case, Italy. Switzerland, although landlocked, is bordered by many countries and is thus not technically an “enclave.”

The Philippines is considered a fragmented state because its territory is physically divided, by the ocean, into several distinct regions that make it harder for a centralized government to wield control. Although the territories of the United Kingdom and the United States are not wholly contiguous they are not usually considered to be fragmented states because the vast majority of their significant territory is contiguous.

The term “annexation” is used to describe the internationally legal addition of new territory into an existing state. When we use the phrase “internationally legal” this is of course a dubious distinction, but essentially a nation can “annex” more territory in certain situations without it being considered an act of war. The United States, during its history of westward expansion, consistently annexed new territory, primarily because the Native Americans were not considered legitimate claimants to the land by the international community.