In the United States, local power can be centralized under regional or county governments, or it can be divided into a patchwork of cities, school districts, and other types of districts. In a country, it can be centralized in one national government or divided between the national government and several local governments. Political power can be divided in several ways. Boundaries separate territories at various scales, from those that divide the world into countries to those that determine where students attend school. At the same time, many cultural groups were divided into several political groups, such as the hundreds of small German states in central Europe or the various groups of nomads in central Asia.Ī government demonstrates its power over a geographic area by enforcing laws that govern individual behavior and affect how resources are used. Many states were sprawling, diverse empires, such as the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East or the British Empire that included people of many cultures. Today’s political map consists mostly of independent states in which all territory is connected, and most people share a language and other cultural traits.

The following summary is from AMSCO AP Human Geography:

👉 Check out more AP Human Geo reviews on the subject page! As you are reviewing for this unit, focus on the key concepts! The following guide will be updated periodically with hyperlinks to excellent resources. In AP® Human Geography, unit 4 covers political geography.

Unit 3 ap human geography study guide