FRQ Boundary Sung-Ki Lee

There are different types of boundaries that exist. The first type is the regular boundary
like a border between countries, cities or towns. A boundary is a vertical plane that cuts through
the subsoil and airspace. Also there are boundaries that are not visible but exist like the
boundaries of a cultural group or ethnic group. The process of creating a boundary is first to
legally establish a boundary in a document. It has to be the exact location from one point to
another. Than you allow cartographers put that boundary on a map through Delimitation. After
that you place the boundary on the earths surface so that it is visible to others which is known as
demarcation. Examples of demarcation could be simple as a sign that states welcome to Norfolk.
There can be different shapes created by the borders. A boundary can create a state that is
compact. To be compact means that the distance from the center of the state to any boundary is
very similar. This causes the state to have a square or circular type of shape rather than a random
shape. The advantages to having this type of shape is that the country will be easy to defend and
the transportation/ communication will be very fast and efficient; however, having this shape but
separate you from bodies of water and fracture ethnic groups. Some current day examples of
compact states are Zimbabwe and Montenegro. Another shape that can be created by a boundary
is a prorupted state which is a country that that an extension from its main body. This shape
occurs so that a state can have land access to water or other important resources. A prorupted
states can be hard to govern because there is a extending area from the main body; therefore,
communication and transportation might be difficult between the extend land and the main land.
Current day examples are Thailand and Windhoek. Last example of a shaped is a fragmented
state. This type of shape has multiple pieces of land that are separated by a barrier usually water.
An advantage of this a fragmented shape is that it can gain multiple resources and to defeat the
country you must conquer all the pieces of the country; therefore, they have war and resource
advantages. However, they have difficult time communicating with each separate land which
makes it difficult to work together or govern. Japan, Philippines, and Indonesia are examples of a
fragmented shape.
Creating a superimposing boundary has impacted the lives of the Africans more than we
can imagine. As the colonist from Europe came to take what they wanted so they boundaries
were drawn according to them. This created multiple conflicts in the African culture, politic, and
economy. It created conflict between the politics because ethnic groups were divided causing one
country/state to have multiple ethnic and religious groups in that country. Therefore, if the
government or person in power supported one ethnic group rather than the other it created
conflict. A real life example of a political conflict is the war in Sudan. South Sudan is being
tortured by the people in the north because they have different views and perspective. This
means that the South Sudan acts differently than the North because they have different cultures.
In Sudan they were made one country when the north were Muslim and had different resources
than the south while the south was Christian. By creating boundaries it separated cultures and
ethnic groups. It also made the resources be unequally distributed to countries in Africa. This
FRQ Boundary Sung-Ki Lee
caused multiple conflicts in Africa which has affected the people. In Sudan the South have
majority of the resources; therefore, the north Sudan is not allowing them to leave or gain
independence. North Sudan has more followers in its culture and political government. Therefore,
South Sudan cannot do much to gain their equality and rights. Now wars are starting and
children, parents, and friends are dying. They are becoming refugees and losing their homes the
people are affected by this conflict of political power, economical resources, and cultural
background.