POLITICAL LANDSCAPE SCHOOL

1. POLITICAL LANDSCAPE
SCHOOL
Prepared By: Ashfak Mahmud
Geography & Environmental studies
University of Chittagong

2. POLITICAL LANDSCAPE SCHOOL
According to the school, political geography is the study
of various features of the political landscape of the
states such as size, shape, population differences,
subdivisions, frontier and boundaries. It is concerned
with the cultural landscape.

3. The items included in such a study of political
geography are the following:-
The Area:
 Location, size and form
 Core areas and nuclei
 Political sub-divisions—local, sub-provincial and
provincial.

4. 1. Area
Location: In political landscape school the location of a state
determines it's economic or military power. For example, India has
open water ways to the Indian ocean & it's economic condition is
more stable than Nepal.
Size: The size of a state or country determines its human & natural
resources. A medium size state which really adds political strength,
while the large or larger size has inherent inner contradictions;
often leading to political crisis or instability and small size is
politically enviable. For example, Bhutan is a small country which
has a small population & fewer resources.
Forms: Every country differs in their own forms and structure. A
dominant forms determines the political landscape of a state. For
example, In Afghanistan, the land forms are hilly whereas in
Bangladesh is a country of flood plain. That's why transportation
system is much easier than of Afghanistan's.

5. Core areas & nuclei: It is a common idea that conceives the
people in the entire region that they belong together.
Historically, in certain states, a core may have played a major role
in spreading that idea to other regions & it may continue today
as in France, Argentina & Mexico to focus the interest of the
regions on itself as the centre of what has become a functioning
unit but the common idea for a state may develop where no
core-area exists.
Political Subdivision- Local, sub-provincial, provincial : Some
Countries have their political power distributed among
provinces, sub province and local respectively. For example, In
Canada, local governments have been called "creatures of the
province" because the authority of a local government derives
solely from the provincial government. Provinces can create,
merge, and dissolve local governments without the consent of
the federal government or the people in the affected locality.

6. 2. The internal Pattern:
Differences—
 Race,
 Language,
 Religion,
Distributions—
 Suffrage
 Parliamentary Representation

7. 3. The internal pattern
Races: A race is a grouping of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into
categories generally viewed as distinct by society. Some states are divided according to
racial category. For example, In Africa the majority of people are Negroid whereas in
Russia there are majority of people are mongoloid.

8. Language: language determines the distinctiveness of a country. For example,
In Germany, German language is needed to communicate & all administrative
work. Like Germany, Arabic for Saudi Arabia & Korean for Korea.

9. Religion: Sometimes religion differences form distinct states to bring peace &
avoid religious conflict. For example, In Saudi Arabia, the majority of the
people are Muslim, Hindu in India Christian in Western countries.

10. Distributions
Suffrage: Suffrage means the right to vote in political elections.
In most democracies, eligible voters can vote in elections of
representatives. Voting on issues by referendum may also be
available.
In Switzerland, this is permitted at all levels of government. In
the United States, some states such as California & Washington
have exercised their shared sovereignty to offer citizens the
opportunity to write, propose & vote on referendums &
initiatives, other states & the federal governments have not

11. Parliamentary Representation: Parliament in a parliamentary
form of government is a multi functional organ of a state, but
its functions are rarely defined in any constitution or other
document anywhere in the world. The Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe (PACE) consists of a number of
individual representatives from each Member State, with a
President elected each year from among them for a maximum
period of two sessions.
For example, Parliament of Bangladesh is a unicameral
legislature consisting of 350 members of which 300 Members
from 300 territorial constituencies that is one from each
constituency, on the basis of adult Franchise. The remaining 50
seats are reserved for women who are elected by the aforesaid
elected Members in accordance with law on the basis of
procedure of proportional representation in the Parliament
through Single Transferable Vote. This provision for 50 reserved
women seats will continue for ten years from the beginning of
the 9th Parliament.

12. 3. Terminal Elements:
 Boundaries and their configuration
 Disputed areas.
 Frontier Zones:
 Defence positions
 Militarised and demilitarised zones
 Custom barriers

13. 3. Terminal Elements
Boundaries: Boundaries are dividing line that marks the limit of
an area. It indicates the operation of centripetal forces. It’s a
spreading factor. The boundaries are linear. It’s artificial,
geometrical and political. In boundaries there is no human
settlement. Boundaries are changing phenomenon and highly
moveable.

14. Disputed Areas: A disputed area is one countries claim belongs to
them, so that there is a disagreement or war between them.
in Bangladesh and the Indian states of West
Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya. Within the main body of
Bangladesh were 102 enclaves of Indian territory, which in turn
contained 21 Bangladeshi counter-enclaves, one of which
contained an Indian counter-counter-enclave – the world's only
third-order enclave. Within the Indian mainland were 71
Bangladeshi enclaves, containing 3 Indian counter-enclaves.

15. Frontier zones
Frontier is a line which separates two countries. In political
geography frontier is the political and geographical area near or
beyond a border or boundary. Basically it’s the region of a country
that fronts on another country.
Defence positions: Defence services are needed to defend a
country. It’s vital for national interests and values against external
and internal threats of armed aggression. In short armed forces
are an imperative as the ultimate instrument of national security.

16. Militarized zones: A military or an armed force is a
professional organization formally authorized by a sovereign state
to use lethal or deadly force and weapons to support the interests
of the state. It typically consists of branches such as an Army,
Navy, Air Force, and in certain countries the Marines and Coast
Guard.
For example, Kashmir is the most densely militarized zone in the
world. More than 700,000 Indian military personnel are deployed
in the state; for every eight Kashmiris, there is an Indian soldier.
Few of the largest military forces of the world consist of USA,
China, UK, Turkey, Japan, Pakistan, India, and North Korea.

17. Demilitarized zones: A demilitarized zone, DMZ is an area in
which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers
or contending groups forbid military installations, activities or
personnel. A DMZ often lies along an established frontier or
boundary between two or more military powers or alliances. A
DMZ may sometimes form a de facto international border, such as
the 38th parallel between North and South Korea. Other
examples of demilitarized zones are a 120-mile (190 km)
wide area between Iraq and Kuwait, Antarctica (preserved for
scientific exploration and study) and outer space (space more
than 100 miles (160 km) from the earth's surface).
Many demilitarized zones are considered neutral
territory because neither side is allowed to control it, even for
non-combat administration.

18. Custom Barrier: A customs barrier, or trade barrier, acts to limit
trade across borders by creating and enforcing various
restrictions.
Customs barriers may be put in place by governments who are
looking to give an advantage to a domestic industry over that of a
foreign competitor.

19. 4.The External Pattern
International grouping: Many countries form alliance for certain
beneficial facts. As per se a country may take help of another
countries military to defend against other threats. Or sometimes
many small militarized countries form alliance to defend themselves
from other vast military powers.
For example in the 2nd world war the Axis alliance was Germany,
Japan, and Italy. Whereas the other main leading countries are
former Soviet Union, United states, United Kingdom, and The
Republic of China.

20. Colonial Patterns: Colonies are build by colonists of different colonies
stretching from their home to different extent. Some colonists may
approach as for trade, but overtime settles and may dominate after long
period. The British colonists were found in the Indian, Australian,
Canadian and some African regions. The French colonies were found in
the western African regions. China was colonized by Japans colonists.

21. Conclusion
Since the school “restricts the subjects to a study of the
visible elements of mans of political organization & activity”,
it can afford a limited interpretation of political geography &
narrows down a scope.

22. References
The New World: Problems in Politi-cal Geography. Yonkers-on-Hudson, N.Y.: World Book
Co., 1921.
"Political Geography of Power," Geo-graphical Review, XXXII (1942), 149-52.
Famgrieve, JAMES. Geography and World Power. London: University of London Press,
1915.
FISCHER, ERIC. "The Nature and Function of Boundaries" and "The Impact of Bound-
aries." In H. W. WEIGERT (ed.), Principles of Political Geography, pp. 79-142. New York:
Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1957.

23. References
The New World: Problems in Political Geography. Yonkers-on-Hudson, N.Y.: World Book
Co., 1921.
"Political Geography of Power," Geo-graphical Review, XXXII (1942), 149-52.
Famgrieve, JAMES. Geography and World Power. London: University of London Press,
1915.
FISCHER, ERIC. "The Nature and Function of Boundaries" and "The Impact of Bound-
aries." In H. W. WEIGERT (ed.), Principles of Political Geography, pp. 79-142. New York:
Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1957.