Political regions and structure

Abstract

Here attention is focused on the morphology of the state, its form and internal structures, while recognising that each state is a complex relationship between people, territory and government. The control of sovereign territory, precisely bounded and administered from a state capital, is a factor common to all states, though variation is found in the effectiveness of this control within and between states, and in the disposition of political-geographical sub-regions. There is great variability in the size and shape of states, while capitals, core areas and boundaries differ in their nature and origins. Though morphological approaches no longer dominate political geography, studies of the morphology of states still have a significant role to play, and advances in morphological analysis are essential to the overall development of the subject.