AP HUG

Name____________________________________
Class Activity- Political Organization of Space Lab
Date___________ Period________

Task 1Supranational Organizations

Definition of a supranational organization: Three or more states who have formally agreed to political, economic, and/or cultural
cooperation.
Directions: Use the websites www.europa.eu, www.un.org, and www.nato.int to research these three major supranational organizations and
answer the questions in the table below.
For more information on the European Union, watch these videos: European Union Explained (http://youtu.be/O37yJBFRrfg) or A Brief
Summary of the history of European Union enlargement (http://youtu.be/RE6QgoykLZU )

EU
What does the
acronym stand for?
What are the
member states?
- How many?
- Key states?

What is the purpose

of the organization?

UN

NATO

When was the

organization
created?
Has it expanded
since creation?

EU
What are the
requirements for
membership?
Are there any states
currently hoping for
membership?
Is there anything in
particular preventing
their membership?

Since its creation,

has the group been
successful in its
endeavors?
Explain why or why
not.

UN

NATO

Do you believe this

supranational
organization will
remain a significant
political entitiy?
Or, is it declining in its
importance?

Task #2State Shapes and Boundaries (Territorial Morphology)

1. Watch the following videos related to state boundaries and answer the questions.
a. Countries Inside Countries: Bizarre Borders Part 1 (http://youtu.be/Vui-qGCfXuA)
How could it affect a state to only have one neighbor?

b. Canada and the United States: Bizarre Borders Part 2 (http://youtu.be/qMkYlIA7mgw)

Why did the author of this video classify the U.S. / Canada border as bizarre?

4. Read the information about state boundaries and complete the table below using an atlas or online map.
Historically, frontiers rather than boundaries separated states. A frontier is a tangible geographic area that provides an area of separation. A boundary is
an infinitely thin, invisible, imaginary line. Almost universally, frontiers between states have been replaced by boundaries. Exceptions: Antarctica and
Arabian Peninsula.

Physical Boundaries
Definition and Types

Coincide with significant features of natural landscape.

mountain boundaries - effective if difficult to cross; contact may be limited
or impossible; rather permanent and sparsely inhabited
desert boundaries - hard to cross, sparsely inhabited
water boundaries - readily visible on map; relatively unchanging; typically in
the middle of the water; can be good protection from attack; difficulty arises
when position of water changes over time; exact location of ocean boundary
can be problematic (1983 Law of the Sea - standardized territorial limits for
most countries at 12 nautical miles; gave states exclusive rights to fish and
other marine life within 200 miles)

Cultural Boundaries

Follow distribution of cultural

characteristics or other manmade

qualities.
geometric boundaries - drawn as
straight lines on map. Examples:
U.S./Canada, Chad/Libya
religious boundaries - when
religion is used to select actual
boundary line. Example: British
partitioned India into Pakistan (Muslim)
and India (Hindu)
language boundaries: an
especially important cultural

characteristic for defining boundaries in

Europe.

Find three examples from

states other than the
United States. Describe
each specific type of
boundary.

Physical Boundaries
Pros?
Cons?

Find three examples within

the United States.

Cultural Boundaries

5. Study the Walls of the World infographic on the left. Choose ONE wall and write a short paragraph that explains why it exists and any current issues
associated with it. The info graphic can also be found at the website below

Task #3Geopolitics: World Power

Theories
1. Watch Crash Course World History: The
Cold War https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=y9HjvHZfCUI
Who fought in the Cold War? Why?

What was the purpose of the Berlin Wall?

How might containment be related to the Domino Theory?

What was the effect of the Cold War on Europe?

2. Watch Crash Course U.S History: The

Cold War https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=9C72ISMF_D0
What were the goals of Containment?

What was the Truman Doctrine?

What was the Marshall Plan?

How was the Cold War a centripetal force for the United States?

3. Watch Crash Course U.S History: The Cold War in Asia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2IcmLkuhG0
Summarize the Cold War in Asia in a paragraph

4. Read the information about geopolitical theories and carefully examine the map.
Geopolitics: the study of the spatial and territorial dimensions of power relationships
Friedrich Ratzel: A 19th C. geographer who theorized that a state has a life cycle with a predictable rise and fall of power. (Now controversial
because used by Adolf Hitler to justify attacking weaker states, promoting German nationalism)
Heartland Theory (British geographer Sir Halford Mackinder): The idea that a land-based power would ultimately rule the world; a pivot area
of the earth (Eurasia) holds the resources, both natural, and human, to dominate the globe. Attracted support when Soviet Union emerged as a
superpower after WWII.
Rimland Theory (Nicholas Spykman, 1944): The key to global power is not the Eurasian heart, but the rim. The rim is the large swath of land
encircling the heartland, roughly touching oceans and seas. Rimland theory states that this area is unlikely to fall under any one superpowers
control, which is an important key to keeping a global, geopolitical balance of power.

Cold War: Dominated geopolitics from 1945-1991. The competition between two superpowers -- the United States (capitalism, democracy) and the
Soviet Union (communism, dictatorship) -- for control of land spaces all over the world. The domino theory stated that if one state in a region came
under the influence of communism, then the rest of the region
would fall to communism as well. Often used to justify U.S.
intervention around the world.
Questions:
1. How do the heartland and rimland theories relate to the Cold
War?

2. How do the heartland, rimland, and domino theories relate to

NATO? To the U.N.?

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