4.5 Countries, Borders and Governments

Notes

A state (country) has defined borders, a permanent population, a government and sovereignty (control over its own affairs). A nation is a group of people with shared identity. A nation-state is a country whose people mostly share one national identity.

• Physical boundaries follow rivers or mountains (the Rio Grande between the United States and Mexico). Geometric boundaries are straight lines, like much of the US-Canada border along the 49th parallel in the west. Cultural boundaries follow language or religion.
• Landlocked countries have no sea coast (Bolivia, Mongolia, Switzerland). An enclave is a territory surrounded by another country (Lesotho inside South Africa). An exclave is separated from its main country.
• Governments: democracy (citizens vote), monarchy (a king or queen), dictatorship (one ruler). In a unitary state power is centralized; in a federal state power is shared with regions (United States, Canada, Germany).
• Some borders are disputed, meaning more than one government claims the territory (for example, parts of Kashmir).