Definition of boundary problem in political geography
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POLITICAL BOUNDARIES are frequently defined as borders constructed and imposed on or around a geographic territory in order to distinguish between areas of governance or types (strategies) of political control. They function both as a tool for managing a group of peoples and as a way of minimizing conflict and organizing efficient political units. Political boundaries can divide not only territory but cultures, languages, ethnicities, and natural resources. In doing so, they can provide people with a sense of security and belonging or, alternatively, with a sense of exclusion.
Political boundaries appear in multiple, differing forms and operate on a variety of scales. The most commonly pictured political boundary is one that takes the form of a man-made physical structure, for example, a barbed-wire fence or a checkpoint. Major international political boundaries frequently take this particular form, particularly political boundaries between uneasy, unstable political neighbors. These political boundaries can often become particularly militarized, as evidenced by the border between the UNITED STATES and MEXICO, although certain international borders lack any means of physical monitoring (certain sections of the border between the United States and CANADA, for example).

Other political boundaries may follow natural, physical boundaries. The edge of a lake or the path of a riverbed can provide a naturally occurring political boundary. Finally, political boundaries can also be visible only on a map and not at all evident to the naked eye. This type of particular border can be found between counties within individual states in the United States, for example. This does not make the border less effective in dividing a particular region or area into political units, but instead suggests that there is no risk to the state in allowing individuals to freely travel between such political units.
Political boundaries occur at a variety of different scales, from global (boundaries between nation-states) to local (boundaries between towns, voting districts, and other municipally based divisions). Such boundaries can also occur at an international level, “above” the nation-state. International boundaries are becoming increasingly important as international human rights takes on an increasingly visible role in the international arena. Such boundaries can include those between organizations providing certain measures of security and countries that are not a part of such a group and not protected by their resources. At all levels, however, political boundaries not only demarcate political control, but determine distribution of resources, from international protection to other, more local benefits, demarcate areas of military control, divide economic markets, and create areas of legal rule.
As a general rule, political boundaries are never static but rather are constantly subject to shifts and changes. Traditionally, boundaries between countries have received the most attention, and been the subject of the most intense disputes. Such disputes over political boundaries arise over questions involving how to determine where boundaries are located, how such boundaries are to be interpreted, and who should control areas within the boundaries at issue. Efforts to change international political boundaries between nations require consent of the relevant nations; however such borders are more often the site of attempts to forcibly change (or ignore) political boundaries. When such consent is not forthcoming, political boundaries frequently become the site of conflict.
Where political boundaries divide (or combine) ethnic groups, such boundaries can feed ethnic conflict, as a group of peoples is forced apart or merged together. Political boundaries also raise significant issues surrounding immigrant and refugee flows, as regulations and restrictions over admitting or excluding individuals from a particular nation place a country’s political boundary at the center of the debate.